Country development strategies link investment choices with development objectives supporting poverty reduction and economic growth. However, within many countries, policy choices are difficult because policymakers don’t have enough internal support to generate the information they need to make good decisions and prioritize investments. Within this context, IFPRI’s research aims to generate new knowledge, build local capacity, and create policy dialogues that support agricultural and rural growth and reduce poverty.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
In a February 2012 speech, Bill Gates declared, “If you care about the poorest, you care about agriculture. Investments in agriculture are the best weapons against hunger and poverty, and they have made life better for billions of people.”
For many years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has been actively working with IFPRI to bring this vision into action, focusing on sustainable agricultural growth, investment in agricultural research, provision of safety nets to strengthen resilience, prioritization of nutrition interventions for women and children, property rights and management of natural resources, and much more. Together, BMGF and IFPRI have produced cutting-edge research and set measurable targets for increasing agricultural productivity.
Highlights of this innovative collaboration is in this brochure.
HarvestPlus
Since 2004, HarvestPlus has been working to combat micronutrient malnutrition, also known as “hidden hunger,” which afflicts billions of people worldwide.
West African Agriculture and Climate Change
Maize, millet, rice, and sorghum are the major cereal crops in West Africa, yet yields from these crops are very low compared to the world average and even other regions within Africa. A changing climate will challenge production systems already under pressure to increase output to feed a growing population.
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme: Long-Term Strategic Analysis for Improved Growth and Poverty Reduction
MOTIVATION After years of declining investment in rural development and low agricultural productivity, the African Union Commission launched the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in 2003. Participating African governments committed to allocate 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture in order to help achieve a 6 percent annual agricultural growth rate. With USAID >> Read more
Aflatoxins in Groundnuts in Mali
MOTIVATION Aflatoxins are naturally occurring carcinogenic substances found in high quantities in some of Africa’s crops. They spread rapidly in warm tropical climates, inflicting harm on humans and animals. In 2008, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the AflaControl project analyzed groundnuts in Mali: these groundnuts were the focus of major livelihood >> Read more
The Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators Initiative
Informing Policymakers for Better Allocation of Research & Development Resources
