Education:
Ph.D., Michigan State University, Resource Development, 1995
-Certificate in African Studies, African Studies Centre, MSU, 1993
M.S., Michigan State University, Agricultural Extension and Education,1988
B.S., Colorado State University, Psychology, 1983
International Experience:
Dr. Simpson is a specialist in international agricultural and rural development with 25 years of education and experience in design, implementation and assessment of development assistance efforts at the community, national and regional levels. He has extensive experience with the planning, management and evaluation of agricultural and environmental research programs, international research networks, local seed systems, national extension programs, producer association capacity-building, and the design and implementation of formal (university) education and non-formal training programs.
Trained in agricultural economics (farm management, benefit-cost analysis, project appraisal), agroecology (farming systems, tropical soils, agroforestry), community development and agricultural extension, he has broad experience with development projects and agricultural systems throughout the tropics and temperate zones. Technical areas of expertise include freshwater aquaculture, dryland and irrigated agriculture, livestock production, agroforestry, indigenous knowledge and household livelihood systems, qualitative assessment tools, carbon sequestration, natural resource management and adaptation to climate change.
- Currently he assists the Dean’s Office, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, with international engagement efforts. Since joining MSU in 2003, he has served as the Assistant Director for International Programs with the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, and led the development of natural resource management projects in the Institute of International Agriculture;
- He is a founding member of MSU’s Global Observatory for Ecosystem Services (GOES), has served as MSU’s Technical Coordinator for the Famine Early Warning System Net (FEWS Net) IQC, Integrated Water and Coastal Management IQC, and initiated MSU’s involvement in the Prosperity, Livelihoods and Conserving Ecosystems (PLACE) IQC, and served as the co-Chair of the West Africa Research Network for earth observations and environmental change (WARN);
- He maintains active research collaboration with and serves in an advisory role to the major international development organizations, including the CGIAR system (ICRAF, IITA, ILRI and the System-wide Program on Participatory Research and Gender Analysis), Food and Agriculture Organization (Global IPM Facility and Africa Regional Office), Millennium Challenge Corporation (Burkina Faso and Morocco), USAID, the World Bank, and others.
- From 1998 – 2000 he served as Senior Scientist and Program Leader for Systems Development and Technology Transfer with the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), located in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, where he created and led implementation of a new research program serving the Association's 17 member countries in West & Central Africa until the outbreak of political violence;
- From 1995 – 1998 he was a Lecturer in Rural Development and the Convenor of the Rural Policy and Project Planning Programme, at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands. He was appointed as a Senior Research Fellow in the Dutch inter-University CERES Research School (CEntre for REsource Studies for development), and provided teaching inputs for the International Course for development-oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA), Wageningen;
- Among other experiences, he worked with the National Research Council’s Board on Science and Technology in International Development (BOSTID), assisting with a series of studies on major innovations: Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems (1992); Vetiver Grass: A Thin Green Line Against Erosion (1993); Lost Crops of Africa: Volume 1, Grains (1996), Volume II, Vegetables (2006), and Volume III, Fruits (2008);
- Geographic experience: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire), Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, India, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Western Europe.
Current Projects:
"West African Cotton Initiative Program," providing support in the assessment and design of capacity-building activities for cotton producer associations in Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad for USAID/West Africa Program;
"Developing Capacities in Carbon Stock Measurement Across Ecologies and Land Use Systems in West Africa," in collaboration with the Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal;
"Globalization of Agriculture: Training the next generation of U.S. international scholars," funded through the USDA/CSREES Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Fellowship Program;
"Improving Livestock Production in Mali: A human and scientific capacity building partnership to strengthen international collaboration in research and education," funded through the USDA/CSREES International Science and Education program.
Selected Publications:
"The Transfer and Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies: Issues, Lessons and Opportunities," African Technology Development Forum Journal Vol. 3(1): 10 – 17, 2006.
"Farmer Field Schools as an Extension Strategy: A West African experience," with Michelle Owens in “Extension Reform for Rural Development: Volume 3. Demand-Driven Approaches to Agricultural Extension,” W. Rivera and G. Alex (eds.). Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 10. The World Bank: Washington, D.C. (2004).
"Farmer Field Schools and the Future of Agricultural Extension in Africa", with Michelle Owens. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education Vol.9(2):29-36, 2002; FAO Sustainable Development-Dimensions http://www.fao.org/sd/2002/KN0702_en.htm
"Système Semencier Communautaire (CBSS) Guide du Riziculteur: Comment améliore le qualité de la semence?," with Amadou M. Bèye and M.P. Jones. Bouaké: West Africa Rice Development Association (2002).
"Adoption et Adaptation de Techniques Agricoles Innovantes dans le Sud-Ouest de Mali.” Autrepart (Cahiers des Sciences Humaines Nouvelle Serie) 15: 5-27, 2000.
"Factors Affecting the Uptake and Adoption of Rice Research Outputs in Ghana, West Africa", with M. Holderness, O.A. Sakyi-Dawson and others. In Sustaining Change: Proceedings of a workshop on the factors affecting the uptake and adoption of research output, S.D. Hainsworth and S.J. Eden-Green (eds.). DFID/CPP. Natural Resource International Limited (2000).
The Roots of Change: Human behaviour and agricultural evolution in Mali. Studies in Indigenous Knowledge and Development. London: Intermediate Technology Publications (1999).
"Investing in People: Supporting farmer learning, creativity and local social networks in the Projet Pisciculture Familiale, Zaire."International Journal of Agricultural and Extension Education Vol.5(2): 99-110, 1998.
"Practicing Evolution: A framework for participatory FSR&E," with M. Loevinsohn. In Rural livelihoods, empowerment and the environment: going beyond the farm boundary, Proceedings of the 15th International Symposium of the Association for Farming Systems Research-Extension, Pretoria, South Africa (1998).
"Technology Transfer, Agricultural Development and Democracy in West Africa: Challenges and Opportunities in Mali," with R.J. Bingen. In Technology Transfer and Public Policy, Y.S. Lee (ed), Greenwood Press (1997).
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