In 2009, Kevin Chen joined IFPRI as China Program Leader and Senior Research Fellow, based in Beijing, China. He is also Director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (ICARD), jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and IFPRI. He currently serves as a co-editor of China Agricultural Economic Review. Kevin has more than 17 years research and outreach experience in development issues related to agricultural production, market, trade, environment, and policy.

Before joining IFPRI, Kevin was Field Director of $40 million China Canada Small Farmer Adapting to Global Markets Project, jointly funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Chinese Ministry of Commerce, from 2005 to 2009. He was an assistant professor and then associate professor at the Department of Resource Economics and Sociology, University of Alberta, from 1995-2004. He also served as a co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics in 2003-04. Kevin holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics & Business from University of Guelph and a M.S. in Agricultural & Resource Economics from University of Maryland and a B.S. in Agricultural Economics & Management from Zhejiang Agricultural University.