Dr. Oumou Camara, Vice President of Programs, joined IFDC in 2005 and most recently served as the Regional Director of North and West Africa. Camara has more than 20 years of experience in agricultural economics. She previously served as IFDC Senior Portfolio Manager for the region, Senior Economist seconded to the African Union Commission, and Country Representative to Ethiopia.
Prior to joining IFDC, Camara spent several years in various research assistant roles at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Washington State University, Virginia Tech, and the Department of Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University. In 2000, she joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Young African Professional Program. She later worked as an agro-economist for the International Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) based in Niger. Currently, she also serves on the Sasakawa Africa Association Board of Directors.
Camara holds both a bachelor’s of science and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Washington State University as well as a doctorate in agricultural economics from Michigan State University. She is fluent in three languages and has published several articles in various refereed scientific journals.