Thomas Randolph, Agricultural Economist

Dr Tom Randolph has been named Director of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish. The Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Dr Jimmy Smith, made the announcement on Thursday 13 October 2011.

ILRI leads this CGIAR research program – which will be collaboratively undertaken with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the WorldFish Center as the core CGIAR partners. Various other strategic and value chain partners will play key roles in the implementation of the program.

Dr Randolph was instrumental in the collaborative process to develop the proposal. He previously headed ILRI’s research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets under the Market Opportunities Theme.

He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. His research interests at ILRI included animal and human health issues and impact assessment. Before joining ILRI in 1998, he conducted policy research at the Africa Rice Centre in West Africa.