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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.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

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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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experts

Innovation Policy and Scaling

Arun Baral

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HarvestPlus

profile

Bio

Arun Baral has been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HarvestPlus since 2019, succeeding HarvestPlus founder Howarth Bouis. As CEO, Baral oversees the interdisciplinary, global efforts of HarvestPlus to develop and deliver micronutrient-rich staple food crops to reduce micronutrient deficiency (known as “hidden hunger”) among malnourished populations. He champions biofortification within the CGIAR system, the private sector, and among national agricultural research centers, as well as in the international agriculture and nutrition communities. He focuses on developing effective partnerships to scale up biofortification and support development of sustainable biofortified food systems that provide access to nutritious food for all. Baral also spearheaded the establishment of HarvestPlus Solutions, a non-profit entity working with partners in the private and public sector to fill gaps in biofortified food value chains to scale up biofortified products.

Baral joined HarvestPlus in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer, after more than 30 years in the international agriculture sector, with roles in commercial operations, profit and loss management, strategy, finance, business development, and marketing. He has been based in Asia, Africa, and the United States, and has also traveled extensively for work in Latin America. Prior to joining HarvestPlus, Baral spent over 24 years with DuPont Pioneer as Asia Regional Business Director, where he was instrumental in developing and executing a strategy that significantly grew the Asia business. Baral holds an MBA from Drake University in Iowa, and a bachelor’s of Commerce from Delhi University in India.

HarvestPlus

Innovation Policy and Scaling

Publications

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Opinion Piece

How nutrition-smart agriculture can help build resilience against the “Three C” crises of climate, conflict and COVID-19

2022Baral, Arun
Details

How nutrition-smart agriculture can help build resilience against the “Three C” crises of climate, conflict and COVID-19

We hear a growing chorus of warnings from members of the food and nutrition security community about the dire consequences of the war in Ukraine on global rates of hunger and malnutrition. Arif Husain, chief economist at the World Food Programme, noted recently that threats in numerous countries to food production and availability from the “Three C’s” — climate, conflict, and COVID-19 — are rapidly being compounded by the “Three F’s” — spiking food, fuel, and fertiliser prices. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the number of undernourished people worldwide could increase by 8 to 13 million this year alone. Even households which may not be particularly dependent on imported or purchased foods — including hundreds of millions of smallholder farming families in Africa and Asia — are likely to feel the effects of the downward spiral of global trade on their ability to produce food. This is in large part due to higher prices for key farming inputs — particularly fertilisers — which were already on the upswing prior to the war in Ukraine and are now increasing even more quickly.

Year published

2022

Authors

Baral, Arun

Citation

Baral, Arun. 2022. How nutrition-smart agriculture can help build resilience against the “Three C” crises of climate, conflict and COVID-19. Farming First. First available online on May 16, 2022. https://farmingfirst.org/2022/05/how-nutrition-smart-agriculture-can-help-build-resilience-against-the-three-c-crises-of-climate-conflict-and-covid-19/

Keywords

Crises; Biofortification; Covid-19; Climate; Capacity Development; Nutrition; Conflicts; Resilience

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Opinion Piece

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Brief

Catalyzing the scale-up of crop biofortification

2020Baral, Arun; Birol, Ekin
Details

Catalyzing the scale-up of crop biofortification

Globally, an estimated two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies that contribute to weakened immune systems, disease, disability, and even death.1 One of the main causes of micronutrient deficiencies – also known as hidden hunger – is low-quality diets that rely on calorie-rich but micronutrient-poor staple crops, and include very little nutrientdense foods such as animal-sourced foods and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Year published

2020

Authors

Baral, Arun; Birol, Ekin

Citation

Baral, Arun; and Birol, Ekin. 2020. Catalyzing the scale-up of crop biofortification. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133959

Keywords

Biofortification; Seeds; Policies; Crops; Stakeholders; Knowledge and Information Systems; Trace Elements; Partnerships; Seed Multiplication; Knowledge

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133959 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Brief

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Opinion Piece

COVID-19 highlights need to boost resilience of Africa’s rural poor

2020Baral, Arun; Das, Aparna; Rustrick, Bill
Details

COVID-19 highlights need to boost resilience of Africa’s rural poor

The current COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it are significantly impacting countries around the world, regardless of their level of income or economic development. Apart from the novel coronavirus’ tragic toll in terms of human health and lives lost, government-imposed rules and restrictions on movement and assembly have upended work and livelihood activities for billions of people, causing serious strain on budgets and household resources, seriously impacting people’s ability to care for and nourish themselves and their families. These negative effects can be immediate and often catastrophic for people who have few resources to fall back on in hard times — such as Africa’s estimated 33 million smallholder farming families.

Year published

2020

Authors

Baral, Arun; Das, Aparna; Rustrick, Bill

Citation

Baral, Arun; Das, Aparna; and Rustrick, Bill. 2020. COVID-19 highlights need to boost resilience of Africa’s rural poor. Devex. First published online on May 4, 2020. https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-highlights-need-to-boost-resilience-of-africa-s-rural-poor-97122

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Southern Africa; Eastern Africa; Health; Covid-19; Farmers; Maize; Capacity Development; Smallholders; Drought Resistance; Nutrition; Trace Elements; Rural Areas; Resilience

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Opinion Piece

Blogs

HarvestPlus: Twenty years of enriching diets with biofortification
IFPRI Blog
 | 
April 28, 2023

HarvestPlus: Twenty years of enriching diets with biofortification

By Arun Baral

A key tool in the battle for better nutrition and health.

Events

Micronutrient Forum: 6th Global Conference
IFPRI at External Event

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October 16 to 20, 2023

Micronutrient Forum: 6th Global Conference

Hybrid Conference: October 16, 2023 – 8:30 AM to October 20, 2023 – 5:00 PM CEST. IFPRI is pleased to participate in this year’s Micronutrient Forum 6th Global Conference, being held at the World Forum in The Hague October 16–20, with a focus on “Nutrition for Resilience (N4R).

Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) 2023 Summit
IFPRI at External Event

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September 5 to 8, 2023

Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) 2023 Summit

Event: September 5, 2023 – 3:00 AM to September 8, 2023 – 7:30 AM EDT. IFPRI is participating in Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) 2023 Summit.