Agriculture, Food Systems & Rural Development
Research and advisory work on food and nutrition security, rural policy, agricultural institutions, extension systems, innovation platforms, technology scaling, and smallholder livelihood transformation.
Research & Thought Leadership
Generating knowledge for policy, innovation and sustainable development.
MDC's research portfolio connects rigorous evidence with practical decisions in agriculture, food systems, rural development, gender and youth inclusion, resilience, social protection, digital transformation, natural resource governance and public health.
9Research practice areas
17Experts and advisors
Multi-sectorAgriculture, health, policy and governance
AppliedEvidence for action
Practice Areas
MDC's research agenda is organized around nine applied knowledge domains.
These areas translate MDC's multidisciplinary expertise into clear research, advisory and thought-leadership capabilities for governments, development partners, universities, NGOs and private sector actors.
Gender & Youth Analysis in Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation
Applied research and policy support for gender-responsive and youth-inclusive agriculture, livelihoods, market systems, and agri-food value chains.
Rural Employment & Social Inclusion in Agriculture and Rural Development
Policy studies, programme design, and market systems analysis focused on inclusive employment, women- and youth-led agripreneurship, and equitable rural development pathways.
Disaster Risk Management & Resilience Programming
Evidence generation and technical assistance for vulnerability analysis, resilience programming, disaster-risk management systems, and adaptive development interventions.
Environment, Natural Resources & Governance
Research and advisory support for climate-smart agriculture, environmental governance, land-use planning, indigenous knowledge systems, climate finance, and sustainable rural energy.
Social Policy & Social Protection
Research, evaluation, and learning support for poverty reduction, social protection, humanitarian action, inclusion, and gender-transformative policy instruments.
Political Economy Analysis in Agriculture & Rural Development
Rigorous analysis of the political, economic, institutional, and social dynamics shaping agricultural policy, rural livelihoods, food security, innovation, land governance, and market access.
Digitization of Agriculture & Rural Areas for Livelihood Transformation
Research and advisory work on digital agriculture, rural digital transformation, data-driven decision support, digital advisory systems, and technology-enabled livelihood transformation.
Public Health & Agriculture
Integrated research at the agriculture–nutrition–health nexus, with attention to maternal and reproductive health, food systems, community health, nutrition education, and rural wellbeing.
Capabilities
Explore the full research and advisory capability portfolio.
Each domain is designed to support research design, evidence generation, policy dialogue, programme evaluation, institutional learning and scalable development solutions.
Agriculture, Food Systems & Rural DevelopmentResearch and advisory work on food and nutrition security, rural policy, agricultural institutions, extension systems, innovation platforms, technology scaling, and smallholder livelihood transformation.
- Food and nutrition security
- Rural and agricultural policy and institutional analysis
- Establishing and institutionalizing multi-stakeholder innovation platforms (MSIPs) for sustainable agri-food system transformation
- Farmer Field School (FFS) curriculum design and training
- Pluralistic agricultural extension and advisory services for smallholder farmers
- Impact evaluation of food and nutrition security programmes and projects
- Assessment of agricultural technology adoption and scaling, including the influence of political interests, social norms, and market dynamics
- Policy reform and institutional capacity development for scaling agri-food system innovation in smallholder farming systems
- Science, technology and innovation policy in agriculture and food systems
Gender & Youth Analysis in Agriculture and Food Systems TransformationApplied research and policy support for gender-responsive and youth-inclusive agriculture, livelihoods, market systems, and agri-food value chains.
- Gender and youth analysis and social inclusion in agriculture and livelihood programmes
- Assessment of youth aspirations and opportunity structures in agriculture and food systems
- Gender- and youth-differentiated sustainable agri-food value chain analysis
- Policy strategies for targeting and integrating youth and women across rural–urban agri-food value chains
Rural Employment & Social Inclusion in Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentPolicy studies, programme design, and market systems analysis focused on inclusive employment, women- and youth-led agripreneurship, and equitable rural development pathways.
- Rigorous policy studies on pathways for inclusive agri-food system development and equitable employment
- Youth- and women-led rural agripreneurship development
- Market systems and agri-food value chain development
Disaster Risk Management & Resilience ProgrammingEvidence generation and technical assistance for vulnerability analysis, resilience programming, disaster-risk management systems, and adaptive development interventions.
- Vulnerability analysis
- Impact evaluation of resilience interventions
- Support for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of disaster-risk management systems
- Technical support for resilience programming
- Support for public–private partnerships
Environment, Natural Resources & GovernanceResearch and advisory support for climate-smart agriculture, environmental governance, land-use planning, indigenous knowledge systems, climate finance, and sustainable rural energy.
- Climate-smart agriculture and agro-biodiversity conservation
- Indigenous knowledge systems
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
- Climate financing and resilience programming
- Environmental policy analysis and development
- Land-use planning
- Sustainable rural energy and renewable energy
- Stakeholder engagement and policy advocacy
Social Policy & Social ProtectionResearch, evaluation, and learning support for poverty reduction, social protection, humanitarian action, inclusion, and gender-transformative policy instruments.
- Analysis of social policy frameworks to reduce poverty, vulnerability, exclusion, and exposure to social and economic risks and shocks
- Impact assessment studies on formal and informal social protection strategies
- Assessment of humanitarian action effectiveness in complex, fragile, and conflict-prone ecosystems
- Development of scalable solutions for social inclusion and gender-transformative social policy in social protection programmes
- Reflexive monitoring, evaluation and learning tools for social protection programmes in fragile and protracted conflict settings
Political Economy Analysis in Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentRigorous analysis of the political, economic, institutional, and social dynamics shaping agricultural policy, rural livelihoods, food security, innovation, land governance, and market access.
- Studies on political-economic dynamics shaping agriculture and rural development policies, rural livelihoods, and food security outcomes
- Analysis of the formulation, implementation, and impact of agricultural policies and programmes
- Market access and value chain governance, including power and relational dynamics
- Land tenure analysis covering statutory and customary arrangements
- Political and social shaping of agricultural innovation and technologies
Digitization of Agriculture & Rural Areas for Livelihood TransformationResearch and advisory work on digital agriculture, rural digital transformation, data-driven decision support, digital advisory systems, and technology-enabled livelihood transformation.
- Digital agriculture and rural digitization
- Digital advisory systems for agriculture and rural development
- Data-driven decision support for development programming
- Technology-enabled livelihood transformation
- Digital tools for evidence, learning, monitoring and decision-making
Public Health & AgricultureIntegrated research at the agriculture–nutrition–health nexus, with attention to maternal and reproductive health, food systems, community health, nutrition education, and rural wellbeing.
- Maternal and reproductive health
- Food systems and human health nexus
- Agricultural practices and human health
- Nutrition education
- Community health education
How We Work
Evidence that is rigorous, participatory and usable.
MDC combines quantitative and qualitative research with systems thinking, stakeholder engagement, policy analysis and practical knowledge translation.
Mixed MethodsSurveys, KIIs, FGDs, case studies and participatory tools.
Systems AnalysisMapping institutions, markets, networks and innovation ecosystems.
Impact EvaluationBaseline, midline, endline and theory-based evaluation approaches.
Policy TranslationBriefs, frameworks, strategies and decision-ready recommendations.
Learning & ScalingEvidence use, adaptive learning, scaling readiness and institutional uptake.
Commission Research
Need evidence for a policy, programme or investment decision?
MDC can support study design, data collection, analysis, stakeholder validation, reporting, policy dialogue and knowledge translation across its research practice areas.
Research in practice
Evidence generation shaped by field realities.
Our research and thought leadership are grounded in stakeholder dialogue, field observation, participatory analysis and practical learning processes.
