John Ulimwengu, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, joined IFPRI in March 2007 as a post-doctoral fellow. Prior joining IFPRI, John worked as a consultant with the University of Missouri on a Workforce Innovations Regional Development (WIRED) project for the Alabama-Mississippi region. He also worked as a lecturer at the University of Kinshasa (Congo, DRC) and as a national expert with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He earns master degrees in development economics from Williams College and in economics from Ohio State University. He received his PhD in agricultural economics from Ohio State University. His research foci include poverty dynamics, economic growth, and rural development.

He is involved in research and policy advisory work on sector policy and strategy issues related to the implementation of the AU/NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP).