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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.

Erick Boy

researcher spotlight

Erick Boy

Erick Boy is the Chief Nutritionist in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. As head of nutrition for the HarvestPlus Program since 2008, he has led research that has generated scientific evidence on biofortified staple crops as efficacious and effective interventions to help address iron, vitamin A, and zinc deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.

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Four lessons for financial innovation in agrifood systems
IFPRI Blog
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July 01, 2025

Four lessons for financial innovation in agrifood systems

By Kate Ambler, Jeffrey Bloem, Alan de Brauw, Mehrab Bakhtiar, and Eduardo Maruyama

Digital apps and other approaches for modernizing value chains.

Shaping strategies for Rwanda’s agricultural transformation
IFPRI Blog
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June 30, 2025

Shaping strategies for Rwanda’s agricultural transformation

By Maria DiGiovanni, James Warner, and Serge Mugabo

How IFPRI research helps guide policy.

Financing healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems: Laying out options for action
IFPRI Blog
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June 30, 2025

Financing healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems: Laying out options for action

By Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla, Geeta Sethi, and Johan Swinnen

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Publications

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Journal Article

Whole maize flour could enhance food and nutrition security in Malawi

2025Ngoma, Theresa Nakoma; Taleon, Victor; Mvumi, Brighton M.; Gama, Aggrey P.; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; Matumba, Limbikani
Details

Whole maize flour could enhance food and nutrition security in Malawi

Maize is the staple cereal in Malawi, with a daily per capita consumption of 383 g (dry matter basis), primarily consumed in the form of nsima, a thick porridge. We combined a milling experiment with focus group discussions (FGDs) to provide insights into mass and nutrient losses during maize grain dehulling and maize flour consumption patterns in rural Malawi. Milling batches (30 kg) of four maize grain varieties were dehulled at three abrasive disk dehullers under controlled conditions. The impact of maize variety and dehuller design on mass and nutrient losses during dehulling was statistically significant (p < 0.05), with a mean mass loss of 28.1 ± 5.7%, and nutrient losses of 9.8 ± 1.9% for protein, 61.7 ± 2.0% for zinc, and 47.7 ± 3.6% for iron. Six FGDs conducted in rural areas of Lilongwe District revealed a preference for refined flour due to convenience and cultural norms, despite the nutritional benefits of whole grain flour, which was recognized for its ability to provide satiety, particularly during periods of maize scarcity. Participants also highlighted switching between flour types based on seasonal maize availability, social stigma associated with whole grain flour, and awareness of nutrient losses during dehulling. Given Malawi’s precarious food insecurity situation, transitioning from dehulled maize flour nsima to whole maize flour or less refined nsima, is imperative. Our study findings can have food and nutritional savings for other southern Africa countries where the dehulling is a common practice.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ngoma, Theresa Nakoma; Taleon, Victor; Mvumi, Brighton M.; Gama, Aggrey P.; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; Matumba, Limbikani

Citation

Ngoma, Theresa Nakoma; Taleon, Victor; Mvumi, Brighton M.; Gama, Aggrey P.; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; and Matumba, Limbikani. 2025. Whole maize flour could enhance food and nutrition security in Malawi. Discover Food 5(1): 40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00311-y

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Southern Africa; Maize; Maize Flour; Nutrition; Food Security; Milling; Food Losses

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00311-y Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Journal Article

Using a list experiment to measure intimate partner violence: Cautionary evidence from Ethiopia

2025Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene
Details

Using a list experiment to measure intimate partner violence: Cautionary evidence from Ethiopia

While indirect response methods are increasingly used in surveys to measure sensitive behaviours such as intimate partner violence, important questions persist around how respondents understand and react to these methods. This article presents evidence from a list experiment measuring multiple forms of intimate partner violence in rural Ethiopia. We find that the list experiment does not generate estimates of intimate partner violence that are higher than direct response questions; rather, prevalence estimates using the list experiment are lower vis-à-vis prevalence estimates using the direct reports, and are sometimes even negative. We provide suggestive evidence that this pattern may reflect ‘fleeing’ behaviour by respondents who do not wish to be associated with statements indicating their exposure to intimate partner violence.

Year published

2025

Authors

Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene

Citation

Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; and Tambet, Heleene. 2025. Using a list experiment to measure intimate partner violence: Cautionary evidence from Ethiopia. Applied Economics Letters 32(11): 1594-1600. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2024.2308579

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Domestic Violence; Behaviour; Measurement; Questionnaires

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2024.2308579 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Journal Article

Journal Article

Zinc distribution in structural components of high kernel‑zinc maize and its retention after milling

2025Taleon, Victor; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; Dollah, Yusuf; Rosales, Aldo; Kalejaiye, Olatundun; Menkir, Abebe
Details

Zinc distribution in structural components of high kernel‑zinc maize and its retention after milling

High kernel‑zinc maize (HKZM) has the potential to contribute to addressing zinc deficiency in regions with high maize consumption, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, milling HKZM may lead to loss of zinc when removing the pericarp and embryo. This study evaluated the zinc distribution in kernel components of HKZM maize grown in different environments, and examined how milling affected its zinc concentration. The zinc concentration in HKZM lines was 27.0–30.7 μg g−1 while in conventional maize it was 19.5–22.6 μg g−1. Zinc in maize endosperm represented 20.5 to 28.2 % of the total kernel zinc while that in the embryo represented 68.1 to 75.7 %. HKZM retained 43 % of its kernel zinc after milling, resulting in flour with 5 μg g−1 higher zinc concentration compared to regular maize flour. Environmental factors had a significant effect on kernel zinc concentrations. Maize grain from commercial mills had 21 μg g−1 zinc, with zinc losses of 22 % to 65 % during milling, resulting in flours with 6–10 μg g−1 of zinc. While HKZM shows promise in alleviating zinc deficiency, its anticipated impact may be limited in regions where refined maize is frequently used for making foods. The development of maize varieties with higher zinc concentration in the endosperm, along with promoting increased consumption of less refined maize products can boost zinc intake for deficient populations.

Year published

2025

Authors

Taleon, Victor; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; Dollah, Yusuf; Rosales, Aldo; Kalejaiye, Olatundun; Menkir, Abebe

Citation

Taleon, Victor; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; Dollah, Yusuf; Rosales, Aldo; Kalejaiye, Olatundun; and Menkir, Abebe. 2025. Zinc distribution in structural components of high kernel‑zinc maize and its retention after milling. Food Research International 217(October 2025): 116830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2025.116830

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Zinc; Maize; Milling; Nutrient Deficiencies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2025.116830 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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