Research

Work on the economics of irrigation and water resources, technology adoption, climate change impacts and adaptation, and rural livelihoods.

Publications

• Adhikari, R., S. Redicker, S. Guug, K. Narsimhan and T. Foster. 2026. “Governing the Commons: Examining the Role of Water User Associations in Irrigation Management in Ghana.” Water Policy.
• Adhikari, R., T. Foster, A. Urfels, S. Adhikari and T.J. Krupnik. 2025. “Impact of irrigation pump ownership on farm productivity in rice-wheat cropping systems of Nepal.” Water Resources and Economics.
• Higginbottom, T.P., R. Adhikari and T. Foster. 2023. “Rapid expansion of irrigated agriculture in the Senegal River Valley following the 2008 food price crisis.” Environmental Research Letters.
• Adhikari, R., J. Antle and K. Wiebe. 2022. “Adoption and Impacts of Small-Scale Irrigation in Kenya's Maize-Based Farm Households.” In: Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems. World Scientific.
• Akpoti, K., T.P. Higginbottom, T. Foster, R. Adhikari and S. Zwart. 2022. “Mapping the potential for informal, small-scale irrigation development using spatial modelling and machine learning in the Upper East Region, Ghana.” Science of the Total Environment.
• Higginbottom, T.P., R. Adhikari, R. Dimova, S. Redicker and T. Foster. 2021. “Performance of large-scale irrigation projects in sub-Saharan Africa.” Nature Sustainability.
• Foster, T., R. Adhikari, S. Adhikari, S. Justice, B. Tiwari, A. Urfels and T.J. Krupnik. 2021. “Improving pumpset selection to support intensification of groundwater irrigation in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains.” Agricultural Water Management.
• Rosenzweig, C., R. Adhikari, et al. 2021. “AgMIP Regional Integrated Assessments: High-level Findings, Methods, Tools, and Studies (2012–2017).” In: Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems. World Scientific.
• Ghansah, B., T. Foster, T.P. Higginbottom, R. Adhikari and S. Zwart. 2021. “Monitoring spatial-temporal variations of surface areas of small reservoirs in Ghana's Upper East Region using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and machine learning.” Physics and Chemistry of the Earth.
• Oldekop, J.A., R. Horner, D. Hulme, R. Adhikari, et al. 2020. “COVID-19 and the case for global development.” World Development.
• Antle, J., R. Adhikari and S. Price. 2015. “An Income-Based Food Security Indicator for Agricultural Technology Impact Assessment.” In: Food Security in an Uncertain World. Emerald.

Under review

• Redicker, S., R. Adhikari and R. Subramanian. “From representation to voice: explaining the uneven effects of gender quotas in irrigation governance in Nepal.” Under review, Climate and Development.

A full list with citation metrics is on Google Scholar.