Sam is a graduate of University of Ghana, Legon (BS, 1988), University of Massachusetts, Amherst (MS, 1993) and University of California, Davis (PhD, 1998), with specialty in econometrics, natural resource economics and development economics. Sam joined IFPRI as a Research Fellow in February 2004 and was out-posted to Kampala, Uganda to lead its country program to support the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of key agricultural and rural development strategies. In February 2006, Sam relocated to the Washington DC office to lead the research on monitoring and evaluation, particularly assessing the impact of public investments, polices and programs on poverty reduction, growth and other human development indicators in Africa.

Already serving as head of the IFPRI based CAADP Team as well as interim ReSAKSS coordinator, Sam signed on as the official ReSAKSS coordinator in January 2011. Sam’s research interests focus on policy, institutional and technology strategies for agricultural and rural development, poverty analysis, and land tenure.