Dr. Sita KONE is a Senior Agricultural Economist and Consultant with over eight years of experience delivering high-impact research, impact evaluations, and policy analysis in agriculture and food security. She specializes in climate-smart agriculture, food security, agrifood systems transformation, and resilience across SSA and the MENA region. She has collaborated with IFPRI and diverse institutions, leading rigorous evaluations, economic analyses, and evidence synthesis. Her work translates complex data into strategic insights, informing policy, strengthening resilience, and guiding investments for sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient food systems. She is recognized for translating rigorous evidence into actionable recommendations and integrating climate resilience and gender into agricultural strategies.

As a consultant with the Food Security Portal, Sita Kone conducted research the best practices to strengthen household resilience to climate shocks (with focus on Burkina Faso ), including soil and water conservation practices and adaptive crop management and agroforestry.

Mercy Kalondu Peter is a statistician and research professional specializing in development research, food security analysis and humanitarian data systems. She has contributed to the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Food Security Portal, as well as the REACH Initiative and Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, supporting data-driven approaches to assess market dynamics, household vulnerability, and resilience. Her work focuses on generating evidence to inform policy and humanitarian response. She applies analytical and research skills to generate and translate evidence into insights for decision-making across research, policy, and development contexts.

As a consultant with the Food Security Portal, Mercy Kalondu Peter conducted research on innovative methods to strengthen household resilience to price and trade shocks in East Africa.

Elie Hyani is a Food Security and Livelihoods specialist with over nine years of experience in fragile and crisis-affected contexts. His work focuses on strengthening household resilience through evidence-based programming, market systems development, and climate-resilient agriculture. He combines strong analytical expertise in vulnerability and market assessments with hands-on experience in programme design and implementation. Elie has contributed to applied research and policy engagement, supporting the translation of evidence into scalable interventions. He works closely with governments, development partners, and private sector actors to design inclusive solutions that enhance food systems, livelihoods, and economic resilience across Africa.

As a consultant with the Food Security Portal, Hyani Elie conducted research on the anticipatory interventions to mitigate the adverse food security impacts of conflict in East and Central Africa.

Zerayehu Sime is an Associate Professor of Economics at Addis Ababa University, with expertise in development economics, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality, food security, industrial policy, and applied econometrics. His research examines economic development, innovation, labor productivity, governance, and household welfare in Ethiopia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He possesses advanced skills in Multi-Shock Index (MSI) construction using parametric and non-parametric methods, the analysis of household food security outcomes, and General Equilibrium (CGE) modeling with GAMS and System Dynamics modeling, employing quantitative methodologies to inform evidence-based policy and facilitate sustainable economic growth.

As a consultant with the Food Security Portal, Zerayehu Sime conducted research on compound vulnerability and food security in Somalia.

Annet Adong is an Agricultural/Development Economist with over 14 years of experience in conducting rigorous research in food systems, Conflicts and Forced displacements. Her research has for example covered topics of Hidden costs in production, barriers to adoption of technologies, resilience to shocks, recovery after conflict and hidden costs in the production of coffee. With IFPRI, Annet has worked on topics such as “ The financial needs of intermediary firms” and the Monthly Analysis of Cereal Prices in Eastern Africa. Annet has published her work in Journals World Development, Food security and Food Policy.

As a consultant for the Food Security Portal, Annet Adong authored the monthly series of commodity price reports for East Africa.

Ruth Chepchirchir is a Senior Agricultural Economist and Research Consultant with over 15 years of experience in food security, agricultural policy, and development research across sub-Saharan Africa. She has led and contributed to multi-country research and evaluation programmes, with expertise in impact evaluation, market systems, gender analysis, and climate resilience. Her work focuses on generating evidence to inform policy and strengthen smallholder livelihoods. She has collaborated with international organizations, governments, and research institutions, and has extensive experience managing large-scale datasets and delivering policy-relevant insights.

As a consultant for the Food Security Portal, Ruth Chepchirchir authored the monthly series of commodity price reports for Kenya.