For four decades, the longstanding collaboration between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has been crucial to helping developing countries attain agriculture-led economic growth. The innovative programs and strong evidence base produced through this partnership have contributed to transforming policies and investments for improved food security, nutrition, incomes, and resilience around the world.
USAID and IFPRI have been working together to understand and leverage the vast potential of agriculture to achieve food security. USAID recognizes that to unlock agriculture’s potential, innovation through new technologies and strategic evidence-based policies are necessary. USAID’s early collaborations with IFPRI, which remain relevant today, analyzed fertilizer policy and agricultural growth linkages in India, food subsidy systems in Egypt, and food security in several African countries, and explored cutting-edge ideas such as breeding essential micronutrients into staple crops. The partnership expanded to support broad-based economic growth, emphasizing income opportunities created through trade and improved markets. In the early 2000s, IFPRI served as a partner to the US Initiative to End Hunger in Africa. More recently, IFPRI assisted in the evaluation and implementation of the US government’s Feed the Future initiative to address the root causes of poverty and hunger. The outcomes of this partnership include providing critical support to developing countries that allows them to drive their agricultural development, advance nutrition for the most vulnerable, inform agricultural growth in Africa, improve livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and empower women in agriculture.
IFPRI has long collaborated on research initiatives with US universities, including Michigan State, Cornell, Tufts, and the University of California–Davis, and lent its research and technical expertise to other US agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, to assist in their efforts to feed the world and fight global hunger.
This brochure presents highlights of key USAID-IFPRI collaborations.
“In the US government, we have embraced so much of what IFPRI has done in the…Feed the Future initiative. We’ve learned so much and have re-engaged…IFPRI has really continued to push the envelope—the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, the Global Hunger Index—these are helping us make the case [for investing in agriculture]. And at USAID, we rely heavily on IFPRI’s work to sustain our effort. IFPRI has continued, I think, to have incredible impact on decision makers.”
Rob Bertram, Chief Scientist, Bureau for Food Security, USAID, at IFPRI’s 40th Anniversary Celebration on November 18, 2015.
