Independent Policy Research Centre · Côte d'Ivoire · Est. 2026
PROSPER is an independent policy research observatory dedicated to generating rigorous, forward-looking evidence at the intersection of agricultural economics, food systems, and rural development across Africa.
Mission & Vision
Sub-Saharan Africa holds over 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, yet remains the region most exposed to food insecurity. Côte d'Ivoire — the world's leading cocoa producer — exemplifies this paradox: commanding global markets while its smallholder farmers remain among the most economically vulnerable.
PROSPER exists to close the gap between rigorous economic research and the policy decisions that shape agricultural systems across Africa. We are independent, foresight-oriented, and uncompromisingly committed to the farmers and communities at the heart of African food economies.
Our Vision
An Africa where every farmer prospers and every family is nourished — where agricultural policy is grounded in evidence, foresight, and a deep commitment to human dignity.
Our Tagline
"Prosperous Agriculture.
Sustained Consumption."
Two sides of the same reality — the farmer who produces and the family that eats. PROSPER works at the intersection of both.
Independence & Integrity
PROSPER conducts and publishes research independently. Our conclusions are determined by evidence and method alone — never by the interests of any funder, client, or partner.
We work in a sector where the same institutions that fund research are often its subjects. Our founders carry out commissioned analysis for actors across the café-cacao value chain, including public bodies. We treat this as a strength — it keeps our work grounded in real decisions — and we manage it openly: commissioned engagements are disclosed, and a client never controls the findings, framing, or publication of independent PROSPER research.
Funding sources for each publication are stated. Where a potential conflict of interest exists, we declare it. This is how we earn the right to call our evidence independent.
Research Pillars
PROSPER's research agenda spans the full arc from farm to policy — connecting commodity markets, food systems, strategic foresight, and institutional reform.
Supply chain cost analysis, price transmission, market concentration, and farmer income modeling — with deep expertise in cocoa, cashew, and staple crop value chains in Côte d'Ivoire and West Africa.
Food import dependency, consumption patterns, nutrition security, and dietary transition — bridging agricultural production decisions with household-level food outcomes and public health.
Long-term scenario modeling, climate-agriculture interactions, and strategic planning for food economies — anticipating challenges before they become crises and opportunities before they close.
Evidence-based policy recommendations, program evaluation, and institutional design for agricultural development — translating research into frameworks that governments and multilateral institutions can act on.
Leadership
PROSPER is led by African scholars deeply engaged in agriculture and rural development — working economists rooted in West African agricultural research, with active connections across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Partnerships
PROSPER develops partnerships with research institutions, policy bodies, and development organisations across four continents, all committed to evidence-based agricultural transformation in West Africa.
PROSPER builds partnerships across four continents. Specific institutional partners will be named as collaborations are formalised.
Development Roadmap
Rather than a linear roadmap, our growth is organized around three mutually reinforcing pillars that drive institutional excellence, scale, and long-term influence. Closing the persistent gaps in African agricultural research and financing takes more than another study — it takes an institution built to last.
Africa trains 13% of the world's agricultural researchers but receives just 8% of the funding. We invest in the people, data, and questions that close that gap.
Good research means little until it reaches a policymaker's desk or a farmer's field. We build the bridges that get it there.
Institutions built on a single funder rarely outlast that funder. Diversified funding, strong governance, and rigorous evidence are how we're built to last.
These three pillars don't run in sequence — they run together, so we can adapt quickly without losing sight of measurable impact.
Your support builds local evidence, steers investment toward what works, shapes policy, and ultimately reaches the farmers whose livelihoods depend on it.
Support Our Work
PROSPER is built through institutional partnerships and research funding. We welcome support from foundations, development agencies, research institutions, and public bodies committed to evidence-based agricultural policy in West Africa.
Support our independent research agenda — policy briefs, datasets, and field studies on West African agricultural value chains.
Collaborate on joint studies, co-authored publications, and capacity-building with universities and policy institutes.
Commission rigorous, independent analysis on supply-chain costs, pricing, and farmer livelihoods.
In keeping with our commitment to independence, all funding sources are disclosed and no funder controls the findings, framing, or publication of PROSPER research.
Get In Touch
PROSPER welcomes expressions of interest for joint research programmes, data sharing agreements, co-publication arrangements, advisory board participation, and financial partnerships.
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire — West Africa