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Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Agnes Quisumbing

Agnes Quisumbing is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. She co-leads a research program that examines how closing the gap between men’s and women’s ownership and control of assets may lead to better development outcomes.

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Research by country and region

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TOPIC

Markets and Value Chains

Well-functioning markets for agricultural inputs and agrifood products are essential for economic growth and development, as well as food and nutrition security. The development, marketing, distribution, and use of agricultural inputs play an important role in determining production and yields. Agricultural growth and development require efficient and inclusive value chains for agricultural outputs, dynamic markets, efficient contract farming arrangements, horizontal coordination mechanisms, access to information and risk-coping tools for producers and traders, and opportunities for increasing gender equity. But ineffective policies, weak institutions, and inadequate infrastructure often prevent developing countries from moving toward a more market-oriented agricultural economy.

IFPRI researchers study food and agricultural value chains to better understand how to address these challenges. Using tools and experimental approaches developed by IFPRI, researchers test and validate innovative marketing arrangements and public interventions meant to help develop value chains that are efficient, inclusive, and resilient to external shocks. Our work builds understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to risk management, collective action, market failures and missing markets, and public investments to reduce gaps in physical infrastructure.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 9, SDG 10, and SDG 16, and the CGIAR Impact Areas on Nutrition, Health, and Food Security and Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs.

markets

topics

Publications

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Working Paper

Feasibility of nationwide warehouse receipt system: An assessment of the potential for a nationwide warehouse receipt system and recommendation for the requisite legal and regulatory framework

2024Narayanan, Sudha; Hussain, Siraj; Rashid, Shahidur
Details

Feasibility of nationwide warehouse receipt system: An assessment of the potential for a nationwide warehouse receipt system and recommendation for the requisite legal and regulatory framework

Warehouse receipts systems (WRS) have been used to tackle multiple challenges faced by farmers. In the absence of adequate collateral and consequent credit constraints, a WRS enables the use of inventory as collateral for loans, thus removing a key constraint farmers face. With growing digital reach, electronic based Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWR) that can be swapped, exchanged and traded and can assist in deepening financial markets while maintaining the integrity of the system. While e-NWRS can potentially address farmer level constraints, they can also be viewed from a larger policy perspective as a system that aids government plans for food security and manage public procurement operations better and more nimbly; it can also play a key role for enhancing the efficiency and food quality and safety along value chains by enabling mid-stream players like traders and importers to manage these chains better. This report seeks to inform the policy process around e-NWRS by focusing on the potential of Ware house Receipt Financing, more broadly, in the agricultural development of Bangladesh. To do this we review global evidence as well as evidence closer to home, within South Asia, to understand the pre-conditions and prerequisites for a successful system.

Year published

2024

Authors

Narayanan, Sudha; Hussain, Siraj; Rashid, Shahidur

Citation

Narayanan, Sudha; Hussain, Siraj; and Rashid, Shahidur. 2024. Feasibility of nationwide warehouse receipt system: An assessment of the potential for a nationwide warehouse receipt system and recommendation for the requisite legal and regulatory framework. IFPRP Working Paper 15. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149086

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Storehouses; Smallholders; Credit; Digital Agriculture; Markets; Policies; Agricultural Development

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Report

The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework

2024Benfica, Rui
Details

The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework

Sustainable food systems provide enough quality, healthy, and affordable food to all without imposing a burden on planetary and social boundaries. By this standard, it is quite clear that food systems in many countries are not sustainable as they generate substantial environmental, social, and health costs while failing to provide affordable food to all (FAO et al., 2020). This implies the need to have a good understanding of the extent to which those externalities are present in country specific food systems. The key challenge is that such externalities are not reflected in market prices (Baker et al., 2020), being therefore hidden factors to drivers of choices by market players, as the link between market activity and those social and environmental harms is not directly visible or reflected in the incentives that drive economic systems (UNFSS, 2021). Internalizing the externalities of the food systems will require the full estimation of costs, including the measurement of externalities through “True Cost Accounting” (TCA) approaches. This document provides the analytical framework for the application of approaches in a research study to measure the true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam. It focuses on: o Key research questions, their relevance, and policy implications o How the TCA analytical framework fits in The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework o Country selection and geographic focus – national, sub-national o Data requirements for estimating the true costs, including household surveys, workers’ surveys, externally compiled Global Impact Database (GID), and monetization factors. o A step-by-step process for estimating the true costs in the study area and country level GID analysis.

Year published

2024

Authors

Benfica, Rui

Citation

Benfica, Rui. 2024. The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework. CGIAR Nature-Positive Solutions Technical Report. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148762

Country/Region

Kenya; Vietnam

Keywords

Asia; Africa; Food; Food Systems; Sustainability; Markets; Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Nature-Positive Solutions

Record type

Report

Resource thumbnail

Brief

Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan

2024Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Mahrt, Kristi
Details

Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan

Quantitative data collected in August and September 2018 in 12 districts of Khatlon Province, called “The Assessment of Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains in the FtF ZOI in Tajikistan” were employed to analyze gender differences in participation in crop production and marketing activities, and to understand the association between women’s employment and their decision-making power at home. The dataset contains general information on the households’ farm activities, and detailed information of production practices for households’ main horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits, melons and cucurbitae).

Year published

2024

Authors

Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Mahrt, Kristi

Citation

Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel; and Mahrt, Kristi. 2024. Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 11. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145188

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Nutrition; Value Chains; Gender; Crop Production; Marketing; Women’s Empowerment; Employment; Decision Making

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender

Record type

Brief

Blogs

Behavioral explanations for the sell-low-buy-high puzzle in smallholder market participation: Lessons from a field experiment in Malawi
IFPRI Blog
 | 
July 22, 2024

Behavioral explanations for the sell-low-buy-high puzzle in smallholder market participation: Lessons from a field experiment in Malawi

By Joachim De Weerdt, Brian Dillon, Emmanuel Hami, Bjorn Van Campenhout, and Leocardia Nabwire

Our study tested two behavioral interventions—budgeting and sales planning—to understand and mitigate this paradox.

Opportunities and challenges for coffee production in Papua New Guinea’s highlands
IFPRI Blog
 | 
July 03, 2024

Opportunities and challenges for coffee production in Papua New Guinea’s highlands

By Rishabh Mukerjee, Helmtrude Sikas-Iha, and Damaris Warambukia

Survey insights on production, pests, and marketing.

Trade policy and food price volatility: Beggar thy neighbor or beggar thyself?
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 07, 2024

Trade policy and food price volatility: Beggar thy neighbor or beggar thyself?

By Will Martin, Abdullah Mamun, Nick Minot, and Rob Vos

The downsides of emergency trade measures.

Events

ICTforAg 2024: Localizing impact
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

May 28, 2024, 9:00 – 5:00 pm

ICTforAg 2024: Localizing impact

Event: May 28, 2024 – 9:00am to 5:00pm EDT. This event explores the localization of ICT, responsible AI in agriculture, the potential for AI to increase farm profitability, empowering citizen science, and harnessing digital solutions for sustainable and regenerative farming practices.

Dairy and Nutrition in the Global South: Potential, Progress, and Obstacles Ahead
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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April 24, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Dairy and Nutrition in the Global South: Potential, Progress, and Obstacles Ahead

Virtual Event: April 24, 2024 at 9:30am-11:00am EDT. This policy seminar examines the potential of dairy development to improve nutrition outcomes, focusing on dairy’s sizable potential for reducing child stunting and other forms of malnutrition, and how dairy systems are being developed to help meet this potential. 

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

February 28, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies

Webinar: February 28, 2024 – 09:30 AM to 11:00 AM EST. IFPRI is participating in the “Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies” webinar.

News

September 06, 2023 | In the News

Unpacking the 2023 Africa agriculture assessment report (CNBC Africa) 

CNBC Africa interviewed John Ulimwengu, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow and the technical editor and lead researcher of the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2023, launched on September 6 at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF). .  The Report titled “Empowering Africa’s Food Systems for the Future” highlights the ways in which Africa is uniquely positioned to redefine its future and […]

January 25, 2024 | In the News

The timing of the Red Sea attacks could not be worse for Democrats (Politico)

Senior research fellow Joseph Glauber is quoted in a Politico story about how the growing military conflict in a key trade corridor is threatening to unleash economic havoc on the global economy ahead of November. “If energy prices go up and remain high, you’d see food inflation persisting,” said Joe Glauber. He added that potential […]

January 18, 2024 | In the News

Red Sea attacks reverberate in food and ag trade (Successful Farming) 

Successful Farming quotes the IFPRI blog post on the Impacts of Red Sea shipping disruptions on global food security by senior research fellow Joseph Glauber and senior research analyst Abdullah Mamun.  According to the article, Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea are disrupting grain shipments from Europe, Ukraine, and Russia. “Trade disruptions are most likely to impact […]

Our experts

Shahidur Rashid

Shahidur Rashid

Director, South Asia Office, South
Asia, Development Strategies and Governance

David Spielman

David Spielman

Director, Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS), Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Gashaw Abate

Gashaw Abate

Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions

Nicholas Minot

Nicholas Minot

Deputy Division Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions

Amit Burman

Amit Burman

Project Coordinator, Development
Strategies and Governance

Razin Kabir

Razin Kabir

Senior Program Manager, Development
Strategies and Governance

May Thet Htar

May Thet Htar

Research Analyst, Development
Strategies and Governance

Brendan Rice

Brendan Rice

Research Specialist, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions

Kriti Sharma

Kriti Sharma

Research Analyst, Development
Strategies and Governance