ICARDA; International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
Girma Tesfahun Kassie has a diverse work experience in the field of agricultural economics. Girma Tesfahun started their career in 2009 at CIMMYT as a Valuation Economist, where they worked until 2013. Following that, they joined ICARDA in 2014 and held multiple roles, including Senior Scientist - Agricultural Marketing and Senior Agricultural Market Economist. Girma Tesfahun'smost recent position at ICARDA was as the Principal Agricultural Market Economist. In 2023, Girma Tesfahun Kassie joined Debre Markos University as an Adjunct Professor of Agricultural Economics.
Girma Tesfahun Kassie completed a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in World Food Economics (Valuation) from the University of Kiel, Germany from 2005 to 2008. Additionally, from 2021 to 2022, Girma pursued a Postgraduate Certificate (Masters 2nd Cycle Degree) in Applied Econometrics from The University of Lancaster, UK.
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ICARDA; International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
Getting agricultural research innovations into use in the dry areas is critically important, especially since these regions cover 40 per cent of the earth’s surface and are home to 2.5 billion people – a significant percentage of the world’s population. This is the core work of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (ICARDA), which works with partners worldwide, developing innovations to improve food security and the livelihoods of the rural poor. ICARDA’s work targets non-tropical dry areas in developing countries, and also produces international public goods with potential for global application. Research covers crops (wheat, barley, faba bean, lentil, chickpea and forage legumes), the management of natural resources (water, land, biodiversity), small ruminant production (sheep and goats), farming systems (intensification, diversification, integration between farming system components), and socio-economics and policy research – on how policies can be more relevant to the situation of low income countries. The estimated benefits of ICARDA’s crop improvement research and production of new varieties over the past 3 decades has been estimated at US$850 million per year. Over 900 improved varieties of wheat, developed from ICARDA material, have been released for cultivation worldwide. The new varieties offer higher yields; better tolerance to drought, heat, cold and salinity; and improved resistance to diseases, weeds and insect pests. Watch our short video - ‘ICARDA - What We Do’