government of Ethiopia and its development partners has asked IFPRI to provide technical assistance to the Agency, which will involve long term engagement of researchers from three research division of the institute.
In the summer of 2010, the WFP contacted subtheme 2.2 to carry out an exploratory assessment of the potential establishment of a strategic grain reserve (SGR) system in Southern Sudan. Based on the project‘s findings, which estimated that an SGR would result in an annual savings on food procurement of US$10 million and would contribute to market development and improvement in the livelihoods of the poor, the WFP and its donors asked subtheme researchers to provide similar inputs regarding new investments in feeder roads and safety net programs. These projects will open the doors for IFPRI to engage in long-term food policy research in South Sudan, where food and agricultural policy research support is desperately needed.
The three studies funded by HarvestPlus are aimed at identifying 1) predominant varieties of study crops (rice, wheat, pearl millet, cassava, and beans) in the study countries (India, Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Nigeria) 2) agro-ecological, household-, market-, and variety-level factors that affect farmers‘ choice of varieties, and 3) farmers‘ sources of seed and information about seed. These studies are currently ongoing and their findings are expected to provide crucial information for the development of efficient and effective dissemination strategies for biofortified crops. Varietal maps recently developed for open pollinated varieties (OPV) of pearl millet in Maharashtra state of India are currently being used to target the dissemination of biofortified (high iron) OPV pearl millet developed by HarvestPlus.
The study of constraints to agricultural growth in Ethiopia (now closed) contributed to an important and influential discussion on the role of agriculture in Ethiopia‘s growth, and on the major constraints to that growth. This was reflected in an IFPRI-hosted forum on the role of agriculture at which the Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister attended and in continuing discussions with the Chief Economic Advisor.
Subtheme 2.3: Institutions and Infrastructure forMarketDevelopment
At the global level, the research carried out under subtheme 2.3 was highlighted in numerous media articles worldwide. Maximo Torero‘s statements on wheat price volatility and the summer‘s wildfires in Russia were featured in several prestigious news outlets, including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Reuters Africa.
The subtheme‘s work on impact evaluation of infrastructure wrapped up in Ethiopia in 2010. The project used voucher-based experiments to randomly evaluate the micro-level
impact of infrastructures on households‘ well-being, arguing that voucher programs offer a relevant, effective, and ethical way to analyze and improve uptake and use of infrastructures. The results and the design implemented in this project has become a best practice in impact evaluation at the World Bank and at several multilateral agencies. Similar initiatives are now also being implemented by MTID with the support of the Millennium Challenge account in El Salvador.
The subtheme‘s innovative approach to weather insurance was selected from more than 800 applications as the winner of the grant competition ―Marketplace on Innovative Financial Solutions for Development 2010. The project was also chosen for a research grant by 3ie from among 255 proposals. The project‘s innovations and initial results have sparked considerable interest among a variety of private and public sector institutions working in this area, including Allianz, the World Bank, IFC, WWF-US, IADB, IICA, Oxfam America, BASIX, Caribbean Risk Managers Ltd, and Endurance Reinsurance Corporation ofAmerica.
Finally, a poverty score card system combining information regarding risk and poverty using a non-parametric technique was developed to determine the allocation of development grants. The core concept was to not only focus on targeting the poor, but also to assure the sustainability of development programs. This system was developed and implemented in four Central American countries through a competitive fund to identify innovations in linking smallholders to markets. View the scorecard and implementation results.
Subtheme 6.3:Urban-Rural Linkages andNonfarmRuralDevelopment
The subtheme‘s study of the behavioral determinants of remittances continued in 2010. In particular, the project aims at understanding what types of motives drive remittances. This will prove relevant for public and private enterprises trying to affect remittance behavior. Project results suggest that control over how remittances are spent may not be as important a factor as previously shown, with many participants seeming to prefer the flexibility of cash remittances over grocery vouchers. The evidence is also suggestive of a gender effect, with female remitters wanting more control over how a remittance is spent when the stakes are high.
2010 Internal Program Review-Markets, Trade and Institutions
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