Dr. Rodney D. Cooke (United Kingdom) is currently Board Chair of CIP, and works as an independent consultant in agriculture and rural development. He served as Director of IFAD’s Policy and Technical Advisory Division (PTA) since 2000. IFAD is an International Financial Institution and a Specialized United Nations Agency whose mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty. Its main objective is to provide direct funding and to mobilize additional resources for programs designed to promote the economic advancement of the rural poor. From 1995-2000 Dr. Cooke was Director of CTA (ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, Wageningen, The Netherlands), whose programs reflect and respond to ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) needs. He has also served as Deputy Director NRI (Natural Resources Institute, Chatham, UK), Head of Natural Resource Management Division (1992-1995) and as Deputy Director NRI, Head of Finance and Central Services Division, including leader of Marketing Group (1989-1992).
Dr. Cooke obtained his BSc. In Biochemistry and his PhD. in Protein Chemistry and Enzymology from Bristol University, UK. He was a Visiting Scientist (plant biochemistry) at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 1970.
His key expertise is in institutional appraisal, corporate planning and management of change; project identification, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; R&D management and technology transfer and training programmes. His experience includes short and long-term assignments in Latin America, Africa, India and S-E Asia.
