We are pleased to announce that Dr. Godfrey Bahiigwa is joining IFPRI-WCAO as the new ReSAKSS Africa-wide Coordinator, starting September 4, 2012. Prior to his appointment, Godfrey worked with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) in Uganda for five years as the Director of the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA) Secretariat, where he led a team that provided technical and policy analysis that guides policy and strategy formulation for agriculture in Uganda. He was also the CAADP focal person for Uganda for three years. Prior to joining the government of Uganda, he worked with International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi as the first regional coordinator of ReSAKSS-ECA. Before that, he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) in Uganda for eight years.

Godfrey holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a Master’s Degree in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota in the United States, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture from Makerere University in Uganda. He has written papers and published in international journals and book chapters on agricultural policy, rural poverty, food security, rural taxation and general agricultural development. His current interests are in seeking and sharing knowledge and practical solutions to increase agricultural productivity and sustainable market access for African farmers.

Godfrey will be assisting the ReSAKSS Africa-wide team with coordinating the regional nodes and establishing and strengthening country SAKSS nodes. He’ll be based at the IFPRI-Kampala Office for the rest of the year and will be moving to IFPRI-Addis Ababa Office starting January 1, 2013. Sam Benin, the out-going coordinator, will continue to work with the ReSAKSS team focusing on CAADP M&E feature topic research and knowledge management.

Please join in welcoming Godfrey to our team!