CGIAR Research Program Directors

Tom Randolph is based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to his current appointment he led a research team working on enhancing the competitiveness of smallholder livestock keepers through better access to inputs, services and markets, a part of ILRI’s Market Opportunities Theme.

Tom started his career as a volunteer teacher in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He first joined the CGIAR as a social science fellow at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA, now AfricaRice) funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. Later he became a policy economist and went on to lead the Policy Support Program. Tom joined ILRI in 1998, initially to research issues related to animal and human health associated with livestock development.

Tom studied agricultural economics at Cornell University where he was awarded MSc and PhD degrees. His PhD dissertation was based on field work conducted in Malawi with the Harvard Institute for International Development. Tom examined the impact of agricultural commercialization on child nutrition in smallholder households, and his thesis earned the American Agricultural Economics Association’s outstanding PhD dissertation award.