Shaun Ferris, PhD
Director of Agriculture and Livelihoods | Catholic Relief Services
Baltimore, MD, UNITED STATES
Shaun Ferris is an agriculture expert for farming in Africa, Asia and Latin America and how to improve crops and incomes of small farmers.
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Biography
Dr. Shaun Ferris leads CRS’ team of agriculture experts who work in more than 50 countries worldwide. Shaun's team members use their expertise to help smallholder farmers boost yields and incomes, as well as recover from the devastating damage caused by natural disasters; pests, such as fall armyworm; plant diseases; and the increasing impact of climate change. The team promotes new agricultural practices, and helps farmers grow into agripreneurs, or farmers who are fully engaged and connected with local markets and beyond. Members of Shaun's team teach these farmers new skills, techniques and technology.
Shaun has been working in agricultural innovation for more than 32 years, including with global leaders such as USAID, USDA, the UN’s FAO, UNCTAD, and IFAD, Britain’s DFID, and the World Bank. Previous to working with CRS, Shaun spent 16 years with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research. Shaun has also worked with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
A native of Great Britain, Shaun holds a bachelor's degree in horticultural science from Reading University, a master's degree in tropical agriculture from Nottingham University, and a PhD in plant physiology from Cranfield University.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Tropical Agriculture
Markets and Agricultural Entrepreneurs
Digital Agriculture
Agribusiness
Regenerative Agriculture
Agriculture Expert
Climate-Smart Agriculture
Natural Resource Management
Horticulture
Agricultural Value-Chains
Education (3)
Cranfield University: PhD, Postharvest Physiology 1992
University of Nottingham: MSc, Tropical Agriculture 1989
Reading University: BSc, Horticultural Science 1985
Affiliations (1)
- Catholic Relief Services : Senior Technical Advisor for Agriculture and Environment
Links (2)
Languages (1)
- English
Recent Media Appearances (2)
Fall Armyworm threatens Sub-Saharan food-supply
ReliefWeb
2017-12-13
“This pest is expected to be a major shock to an already fragile economic situation for many millions of households,” says Shaun Ferris, Catholic Relief Services’ director of agriculture and livelihoods...
Will big agriculture mergers impact smallholder farmers?
DevEx
2016-09-29
Across Africa, many of the major multinational chemical companies are already present through research facilities and supply agreements with local distributors. But there simply aren’t commercial incentives to market the kind of innovation-driven, higher-value commercial agriculture products that is driving these mergers to smallholder farmers, said Shaun Ferris, director of the agricultural livelihoods team at the international NGO Catholic Relief Services...
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