Elias Ayuk

Elias T. Ayuk is an independent researcher and consultant with over three decades of development research experience in Africa. His broad areas of interest revolve around institutional capacity building, poverty research, value chain analysis, and the social, economic, and policy dimensions of natural resource management. Throughout his career, Elias has held various leadership positions. He served as the Senior Strategic Adviser and Sub-Regional Director for Southern Africa at the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa based in Kigali, Rwanda (October 2019 to December 2020). Prior to that, he was the Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) in Accra, Ghana (2010–2018). He also held the position of Senior Programme Specialist and Acting Executive Director (SISERA) at the International Development Research Centre (2002-2010), as well as the role of Regional Policy Economist at the World Agroforestry Centre (1992-2002). Elias holds a B.A. in Economics with college honors from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota (1984), an M.Sc. (1986), and a Ph.D. (1989) in Agricultural Economics, both from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. He has made significant contributions to the field, publishing extensively, and serves on the Editorial Boards of two journals.