JOSEPH SEDGO
Ouagadougou
Summary
- PhD and MBA-trained agricultural specialist with over 30 years of professional work experience in more than 10 countries throughout West Africa.
- Excellent in program management and leadership.
- High competency in agricultural value chains.
- French-English bilingual proficiency.
Overview
43
43
years of professional experience
Work History
International Development Specialist (Consultant)
Freelance
01.2024 - Current
- Key areas of competency include food security/nutrition, agricultural value chains, resiliency, climate change, environmental impact assessment (22 CFR Reg
- 216), entrepreneurship development and innovations, strategic decision-making, the role of culture and leadership in organizations, and business plans;
- Supported client satisfaction through diligent scheduling and resource allocation plans;
- Deciphered performance trends through consistent review of critical KPIs;
- Developed performance metrics from cost information to help improve profitability, on-time delivery, and quality production;
- Utilized critical thinking at strategic levels to solve complex problems;
- Worked with host country governments, NGOs, International Organizations, and private sector partners
Regional Policy Advisor
World Food Program
08.2023 - 12.2023
- Provided technical backstopping to countries and suggested policy recommendations enabling smallholder producers to reduce post-harvest losses, add value to their crops, improve their livelihoods, and actively engage with markets for profit
- Key responsibility also included providing specific assistance to smallholder agricultural market support (SAMS) throughout the 19 countries of West and Central Africa
- Other achievements included producing papers on fertilizer subsidies and food security stocks to promote food security and resilience throughout the sub-region
International Development Specialist
Freelance
09.2019 - 08.2023
- Actively provided short, medium, and long-term technical assistance to Governments, NGOs, private sector businesses, and international organizations interested in promoting agricultural value chains, food security, food nutrition, and higher resilience for rural populations in West Africa;
- Key clients included IFDC, BF Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, and IsDB
Chief of Party
AECOM-USAID
11.2016 - 09.2019
- Responsible for the oversight of technical, administrative, logistical, and financial management of the program dealing with cattle, sheep, and goat production and sales in Mali;
- Also coordinated the team members and played an interface role between the donor (USAID), implementing partners (e.g., ICD, AMRAD, SONIKARA), and host-country authorities (Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries);
- The project had a multidisciplinary team averaging about 60 people;
- Drafted/reviewed reports, coordinated the M&E and CLA teams, proactively worked out the financial projections, and monitored expenditures to ensure compliance with the agreed USAID procedures and expectations;
- Key results included reaching over 32,000 smallholder producers and enabling them to increase their productivity and levels of revenues 3-4 times more than before
- About 23,000 (72%) of beneficiaries included women and youth;
- During tenure, worked with private sector organizations (e.g., Banks, MFIs, Meat Processing Industries) to establish forward contracting between LAHAM (meat processing plant in Kayes) and cattle fattening associations in Mopti; organized open-café days to facilitate contacts between producer organizations and financial service providers (e.g., Banks and MFIs); enabled producer organizations to secure loans with MFIs (Micro-Finance Institutions); used the CRS-SILC approach to assist women and youth groups to mobilize needed capital to serve as a collateral before applying for loans with MFIs
- USAID-FtF in Mali funded this program, commonly called 'Livestock for Growth' (L4G), for five years with an envelope estimated at 14.5 million USD
Country Head and Chief of Party
Alliance for A Green Revolution In Africa (AGRA)
11.2013 - 10.2016
- Used good organizational skills to manage workload;
- Reviewed activities regularly to identify opportunities for improvement;
- Completed required paperwork within anticipated timeframes;
- Supported operations with consistent maintenance and updates of corporate files and records;
- Coordinated a cohort of field specialists, including seed scientists, soil scientists, policy advisors, gender/youth specialists, and agro-economists who regularly traveled to Mali and Burkina Faso to backstop and recommend necessary changes for the AGRA-funded programs
- Key achievements included contributing to the due diligence of selected partners, monitoring and providing grants, training, and installing over 2,000 agricultural input dealers in each country
- As a result, all these actions contributed to boosting staple crop production and reducing food insecurity
- I also successfully coordinated the five-year strategic plan of AGRA (2016-2020), hence enabling both the program in Burkina Faso (43.5 million USD) and the program in Mali (33.5 million USD) to secure the needed resources for the upcoming activities
- The program had an overall envelope of about 18 million USD for Burkina Faso and Mali
Country Representative
IRD-USDA
05.2010 - 10.2013
- Coordinated and managed the overall program, including technical, administrative, logistical, and financial aspects of the USDA-funded sesame-fonio program, also called the 'Bene-Fine' project (about 4.5 million USD)
- Interfaced regularly with project members to coordinate strategies, schedules, and tasks;
- Interpreted data and created reports based on project needs and deliverables, tracking benchmarks and making recommendations for change;
- Prepared agendas for external workgroups and internal project teams, organizing meeting materials for distribution;
- Prioritized tasks and personal work plan to meet project milestones;
- About 70,000 beneficiaries were reached, and more than 5,000 women entrepreneurs were trained and assisted in becoming operational in their respective undertakings
Regional Technical Agriculture Advisor (RTA)
CRS-West Africa Regional Office (WARO)
01.2003 - 04.2010
- Served as the overall strategic/technical lead and advisor for the CRS programs in West Africa
- This portfolio included more than 10 countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo;
- Also, sporadically backstopped programs in RCA, Chad, and RDC;
- During this tenure, provided regional agricultural strategy as guidance for country programs, ensured capacity-building of agricultural staff, monitored programs, and coordinated the development of proposals that generated important resources from donors, such as USDA, USAID, BGMGF, and others;
- As a result, food security/nutrition in West Africa significantly improved; I also contributed to the production of two important CRS books commonly referred to as 1) Getting to Markets and 2) Working Together, Learning Together
Country Representative
USAID-FEWSNET
11.1997 - 04.2002
- Oversaw the overall administrative, technical, logistical, and financial aspects of the program;
- Produced and distributed over 60 famine early warning bulletins throughout the country to the host country government, USAID, US Embassy, NGOs, International Organizations, and private sector partners;
- Also contributed to editing a compendium book sponsored by WCASRN/ICRISAT-Mali
- The book was entitled 'Towards sustainable sorghum production, utilization, and Commercialization in West and Central Africa.'
Program Coordinator
OAU-CST-SAFGRAD
03.1995 - 12.1997
- Program Coordinator in charge of technical backstopping, peer review of papers by national scientists, capacity building, resource-mobilization, and field-monitoring of projects funded by the Organization of African Unity Semi-Arid Food Grain Research And Development (OAU-SAFGRAD);
- Participated as one of the USAID-commissioned team members in evaluating the USAID-funded programs in West Africa (maize, millet, sorghum, groundnut, and cowpeas);
- Also contributed to the production of two important documents referred to as follows: 1) Evaluation of the USAID-funded research networks in West and Central Africa (Parties 698-0478); 2) Technology options for sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa by Taye Bezuneh, Alphonse M
- Emechebe, Joseph Sedgo, and Mahama Ouedraogo (Eds)
Principal Scientist
IFDC-Africa
02.1991 - 12.1994
- Principal Scientist in Soil Fertility: served as principal lead on agro-forestry and fertilizer research in Togo and the Sahel region in West Africa;
- Also coordinated the train-the-trainers project, which enabled national scientists from West Africa to gain and reinforce their skills in statistical data analysis;
- Countries involved in this train-the-trainers program included Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo
Research Associate/post-doctoral Scientist
Institute of International Agriculture, MSU
09.1989 - 02.1991
- Provided technical assistance, participated in resource mobilization, and facilitated excellent partnerships between MSU and Francophone African universities (e.g., Senegal, Mali, Guinea/Conakry, RDC, etc.)
Graduate Research Assistant
Crop and Soil Science, MSU
10.1983 - 09.1989
- Conducted field and laboratory research as a partial requirement for the PhD program;
- Took diverse courses in soil fertility and plant nutrition with a minor in agri-economics and ag-mechanization;
- Participated in teaching and coaching of junior students;
- Completed PhD degree in September 1989
National Director of the FAO Fertilizer Program
FAO/Ministry Of Agriculture And Rural Development
12.1981 - 02.1983
- Served as a liaison officer in charge of this program at the Ministry;
- Participated in the training of national technicians as well as producer organizations on the proper application of fertilizers in the field;
- Advised the Ministry on various fertilizer and other input policy issues in Burkina Faso;
- As a result, staple crop production was boosted throughout the country
Education
MBA - Enterpreneurship And Innovation
York Saint John University
London, UK03-2023
Ph.D. - Crop And Soil Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan, USA09-1989
Skills
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Agriculture value chains and business plans
- Satellite imagery analysis
- Financial planning and budgeting
- Program management and leadership
- Resource mobilization and advocacy
- Policy analysis and recommendations
- Bilingual French-English proficiency
Affiliations
- • Active member of the MSU Alumni Association • Active member of the International Alumni Association • Active member of the ABPEC-BF USA • Active member of the York Saint John University Alumni Association • President of the “Haya Haya Oubritenga” Association
HONORS AND AWARDS
· 2019 Certificate of Excellence for serving as Chief of Party for the USAID L4G project in Mali
· 2013 Certificate of Completion as Board Member of the American International School of Bamako (AISB)
· 2008 Certificate of Excellence by the CRS Board and CEO
· 2000 Certificate of Excellence awarded by the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs
· 1989 Academic Achievement Certificate awarded by the Black Faculty and Administrators Association of MSU
Timeline
International Development Specialist (Consultant)
Freelance
01.2024 - Current
Regional Policy Advisor
World Food Program
08.2023 - 12.2023
International Development Specialist
Freelance
09.2019 - 08.2023
Chief of Party
AECOM-USAID
11.2016 - 09.2019
Country Head and Chief of Party
Alliance for A Green Revolution In Africa (AGRA)
11.2013 - 10.2016
Country Representative
IRD-USDA
05.2010 - 10.2013
Regional Technical Agriculture Advisor (RTA)
CRS-West Africa Regional Office (WARO)
01.2003 - 04.2010
Country Representative
USAID-FEWSNET
11.1997 - 04.2002
Program Coordinator
OAU-CST-SAFGRAD
03.1995 - 12.1997
Principal Scientist
IFDC-Africa
02.1991 - 12.1994
Research Associate/post-doctoral Scientist
Institute of International Agriculture, MSU
09.1989 - 02.1991
Graduate Research Assistant
Crop and Soil Science, MSU
10.1983 - 09.1989
National Director of the FAO Fertilizer Program
FAO/Ministry Of Agriculture And Rural Development
12.1981 - 02.1983
MBA - Enterpreneurship And Innovation
York Saint John University
Ph.D. - Crop And Soil Sciences
Michigan State University
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