Nicola Francesconi
- Department
- Impact Economics
- Title
- Senior Advisor
- Phone
- +31 (0)20 568 8201
- n.francesconi@kit.nl
- Visit LinkedIn profile
Nicola Francesconi is a development economist with a PhD from Wageningen University and 17 years of international work experience.
Nicola has lived in Africa for 15 years (10 years in Senegal, 3 years in Ethiopia and 2 years in Uganda) where he worked for the CGIAR (IFPRI, CIAT and ILRI), USAID and CTA. He joined KIT in January 2021 to evaluate and manage the impact of a series of multi-million, multi-year and multi-stakeholder projects in support of rural cooperation and resilience, agri-food value chains and seed sector development across sub-Saharan Africa.
His project portfolio is funded by the Government of the Netherlands, IFDC, AGRA and the Gates Foundation, and strives toward the development of a wide range of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for inclusive agricultural transformation.
Nicola is a skilled statistician, econometrician and impact evaluator, an inspiring trainer and educator, and a sensible policy advisor. His professional aspiration is to contribute to rural resilience by enhancing the impact of humanitarian, parastatal and commercial seed systems, as well as by designing and delivering leadership training for cooperative agribusiness development.
Projects
Publications
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Is seed aid distribution still justified in South Sudan?
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Paper
Seed aid—or free distribution of seeds to farmers—is a popular intervention to simultaneously reduce food insecurity and dependency on food aid in fragile countries. However, seed aid distribution also has the potential to hinder or distort the development of local seed markets. This study analyses the targeting and impact of seed aid across the green […]
- Year of publication
- October 2024
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Unique features of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa
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Book chapter
Agricultural cooperatives and other farmer-owned organizations are widespread acrosssub-Saharan Africa. The scant available data suggests that every other rural village in Africa houses a cooperative organization of some sort. The literature suggests that when farm-households join these organizations, they derive benefits from mutual support—for weeding, harvesting, and other labor-intensive activities, but also financing funerals, weddings, […]
- Year of publication
- 2023
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Agriculture & Health are Inseparably Linked in Work Towards Sustainable & Economic Development
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Working Paper
This working paper presents a framework to account for the links between agriculture and health in low- and middle-income countries. It is aimed at supporting public and private sector donors as well as practitioners in the design of strategies, interventions, applied research, and action towards strengthening the resilience of farmers and households by improving agriculture […]
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Agricultural Cooperatives and COVID-19 in Southeast Africa. The Role of Managerial Capital for Rural Resilience
While the health impact of COVID-19 in most African countries appears modest, the impact of social distancing measures, closing of markets and reduced mobility is felt across the board. This study uses pre- and during-shock data on agricultural cooperatives from Southeast Africa to understand how resilient these smallholder-owned organizations are.
Other Publications
- Seed Aid Governance in South Sudan. Forthcoming in World Development.
- Unique features of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa. In Handbook of Research on Cooperatives and Mutuals. Edward Elgar Publishing (2022).
- Agricultural Cooperatives and COVID-19 in Southeast Africa: The Role of Managerial Capital for Rural Resilience. Sustainability (2021).
- The potential of land shareholding cooperatives for inclusive agribusiness development in Africa. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics (2021).
- Building the managerial capital of agricultural cooperatives in Africa. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics (2019).
- Determinants of market participation in smallholder groundnut farming in Zimbabwe. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development (2018).
- Seed provision services and market participation among bean producers in Uganda. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies(2017).
- Organizational health and performance: an empirical assessment of smallholder producer organizations in Africa. Journal on Chain and Network Science (2016).
- Promoting the role of farmer-based organizations for value chain integration: the tension between a program’s targeting and an organization’s investment strategy. Journal of Agricultural Economics (2015).
- The health of farmer-based organizations in Ghana: organizational diagnostics and policy implications. Journal of Development Studies (2015).
- FairTrade’s theory of change: an evaluation based on the cooperative life cycle framework and mixed methods. Journal of Development Effectiveness(2014).
- Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders’ technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics (2014).
- The hidden impact of cooperative membership on quality management: a case study from the dairy belt of Addis Ababa. Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity (2012).
- Ethiopian agricultural cooperatives in an era of global commodity exchange: does organizational form matter?. Journal of African Economies (2010).
- Evolution and challenges of dairy supply chains: evidence from supermarkets, industries and consumers in Ethiopia. Journal of Food Policy (2010).
- The life cycle of agricultural cooperatives: implications for management and governance in Ethiopia. Journal of Rural Cooperation (2008).
Also see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gian-Nicola-Francesconi