An IFPRI-USAID Symposium drawing on lessons learned and looking past the pandemic
Yumna Kassim and Lina Abdelfattah, IFPRI Egypt
| The COVID-19 pandemic has been a strong reminder of the important role that research plays in policymaking. Researchers are advising governments on effective protective measures against COVID-19, and researchers are developing vaccines in record time. As in many other countries, research has helped policymakers in Egypt to design COVID-19 responses and reform economic and social programs more broadly. In order to reflect on IFPRI’s collaboration with its Egyptian partners under the USAID-funded Evaluating Impact and Building Capacity (EIBC) project, a joint IFPRI-USAID virtual symposium took place on Tuesday, December 8th, 2020. |
The symposium’s participatory format gave Egyptian policymakers and partners from academia, think tanks, and the private sector an opportunity to discuss their experiences. All panelists and commentators stressed the importance of rigorous research and IFPRI’s valuable contributions to inform policymaking in Egypt over the past 5 years.
Testimonies from the Egyptian Government
“We cherish and value the cooperation we have with IFPRI and the support from USAID. The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) has collaborated with IFPRI to produce two research notes this year and the process was very smooth and very efficient. IFPRI has been one of the very active and supportive research institutes during the crisis. We were able to capitalize on the analytical modeling and forecasting capabilities of IFPRI and MoPED and we produced two policy notes that analyzed the impact of the crisis on Egypt’s growth with a forecast for the future,” Her Excellency Dr. Hala El-Said said. Two joint studies with the MoPED assessed the impact of the pandemic on the main sectors of the Egyptian economy during the lockdown period (as further explored in Symposium Policy Note 1). The joint studies also referenced the up-to-date information provided by the COVID-19 Food Policy Response Monitor, which provides a confirmed tally of COVID-19 cases alongside the main interventions and policies implemented by the Government of Egypt, sorted by policy type. Recommendations emphasized that public investment coupled with reforms could limit the economic fallout from COVID-19 and improve the business climate while laying the foundation for a more resilient and private-sector-driven economy.
| “We cherish and value the cooperation we have with IFPRI and the support from USAID.” H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development |
Her Excellency Dr. Nivine El-Kabbag noted that the Ministry of Social Solidarity acted on three issues that IFPRI drew to their attention, namely the impact of Takaful and Karama on women’s decision-making in the household, communication of information about the program in general, and adjusting the proxy means test. She said, “IFPRI conducted the baseline for us on our first conditional cash transfer program and according to the results that were issued by IFPRI and the recommendations that were passed, many things have been done that was positive in the program including ... adjusting the proxy-means testing formula in 2018 and in 2020 with COVID-19. ... IFPRI [also] grabbed attention to how much the community knows about the conditional cash transfer program and that outreach needs to be strengthened and clarified [which] we did.” IFPRI has also demonstrated that government investments in agriculture and social protection have played a critical role in addressing food security and poverty in Egypt (as further explored in Symposium Policy Note 3). IFPRI research also makes the argument for moving more decisively toward a cash-based social protection system in Egypt via the continuation of and improved targeting in the Takaful and Karama cash-transfer program as well as its integration with the Tamween subsidy system. Nutritionally also, both IFPRI and Commentators pointed to the importance of addressing malnutrition in Egypt, including undernutrition and overnutrition (as further explored in Symposium Policy Note 4). Dr. Habiba Hassan Wassef, of the National Nutrition Sciences Committee at the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, explained that supporting “reform of the subsidy system and the reorientation of the social protection system” has been one of IFPRI’s most important contributions in the area of nutrition, with room for further advancement and engagement.
| “According to the results that were issued by IFPRI and the recommendations that were passed, many things have been done that were positive in the program.” H.E. Dr. Nivine El-Kabbag, Minister of Social Solidarity |
USAID and IFPRI Partnership
Ms. Leslie Reed, USAID’s Mission Director for Egypt, mentioned in her remarks that “Over the past five years, USAID and IFPRI had joined hand-in-hand with the Egyptian government, think tanks, academia, and researchers to develop a digital tool to better monitor Egypt’s agricultural projects, to conduct policy research and economic analyses, and to inform evidence-based decision making. USAID and IFPRI organized 32 virtual seminars and published 12 policy papers to stimulate policy dialogue and to promote evidence-based decision making. As a result of these seminars and policy papers, substantial progress has been on subsidy reforms including the introduction of a cash-transfer program and a fertilizer subsidy reform is currently under development… We are very proud of the critical research you have carried out over the past five years, and especially so during this pandemic.”
| “We are very proud of the critical research you have carried out over the past five years, and especially so during this pandemic.” Ms. Leslie Reed, USAID’s Mission Director for Egypt |
Digitalization of Agricultural Services and Policy Analysis
Dr. Saad Mousa, General Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MoALR), affirmed that “MoALR has the vision to digitize all its sectors [and] USAID [does] support this [but] digitalization in the agricultural sector is a big challenge ... IFPRI was one of the first [institutes] to see the importance in working on digitalization with MoALR.” Together with MoALR, IFPRI publicly launched the Monitoring Agricultural Progress in Egypt (MAP Egypt) digital tool, which turned the spotlight on how digitalization can help improve monitoring, evaluation, and extension services in Egypt’s agricultural sector. MAP Egypt allows MoALR to track the status and progress of Egypt’s agricultural portfolio of national and international projects, in addition to displaying a wide range of socioeconomic indicators at the subnational level. The tool is also useful to members of the Development Partners Group for Agriculture and Rural Development and other international partners active in the sector, as it supports efforts for coherence, continuance, and duplication avoidance. A secondary level of MAP Egypt is accessible only to MoALR and provides additional information on projects such as disbursement rates, loan details, and key performance indicators. The importance of digitalization in agriculture (further explored in Symposium Policy Note 2) and to further enhance the resilience of the food system in view of shocks was repeatedly highlighted. Agriculture was considered as a resilient sector that, together with the agri-food system, makes an important and continuous contribution to both national GDP and job creation. The sector’s resilience, therefore, provides a strong case for post-COVID-19 recovery and transformation in Egypt. Agriculture even benefited from increased reliance on the digitization of agricultural and irrigation data, triggered by the outbreak of the pandemic.
| “IFPRI was one of the first [institutes] to see the importance in working on digitalization with MoALR.” Dr. Saad Mousa General Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation |
Multiple Opportunities for Collaboration and Growth
With the many challenges Egypt stands to face, as highlighted across the IFPRI-USAID Symposium’s focus areas, there are also multiple opportunities for collaboration and growth in the effort to overcome these challenges. IFPRI Director General Johan Swinnen highlighted that, “the EIBC project is a good example of how collaboration between governments, international and national research institutes, and universities can help to improve both the analytical work, methods, and policy advice by learning from other countries, by conducting joint studies and by capacity building. Clearly [this] is a really interesting [example] of the capacity and power of research and collaboration.” Many speakers emphasized the importance of continued joint policy research between Egyptian institutions and international research organizations like IFPRI. Clemens Breisinger, IFPRI Country and Regional Program Leader, summarized some of the critical opportunities and challenges for which research can help provide solutions: using the post-COVID recovery as an opportunity for fostering sustainable development; finding a good balance between public and private sector engagement in the economy; creating jobs, especially for youth; advancing women’s empowerment; building resilience to climate change and shocks; improving food security and water use efficiency, and continuing to build fiscally sustainable social safety nets.
| “The EIBC project is a good example of how collaboration between governments, international and national research institutes, and universities can help to improve both the analytical work, methods, and policy advice.” Dr. Johan Swinnen, IFPRI Director General |
The event was attended by about 300 participants and was covered by an array of local media outlets including MoPED fb, Al Ahram, Akhbar Al Youm, Al Ahram, Al Masry Al Youm, Al Mal, and Daily News Egypt.
