Oluyede Ajayi
Oluyede Ajayi PhD (Olu) is an experienced, multilingual, strategic leader in development programmes, agricultural science, and development, mainstreaming climate adaptation in the designing of agricultural and rural investment portfolio from financing institutions, and in managing human and financial resources.
He has as strong passion to ensuring that research and innovation efforts make real developmental impacts. He currently provides strategic and intellectual leadership on the nexus between food security and rural wellbeing and climate change at the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) based in the Netherlands. His career spanned three international CGIAR research centres, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the EU-ACP Technical Center. He has extensive experience in (digital) agriculture, climate change, rural development and, mainstreaming climate adaptation in the design of investment projects of multilateral development banks including the African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank (WB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with a portfolio of several projects. He has successfully led development programmes including managing grants, project cycle management, private sector engagement, evidence-based policy advice and multi-stakeholder advocacy agendas.
He has successfully built alliance with a range of clients across the public and private sector. He has led several research and development projects to strengthen the capacity of regional organisations in several regions of the world. Olu has lived in several countries in Europe, Southern Africa region, Eastern Africa region, West Africa region and, has managed project portfolios in the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and SIDS region. In addition to his mother tongue, he has excellent skills in English, French and basic Dutch and German. He has over 200 publications, is the winner of the Diamond Author Prize and Most Productive Team Awards in the CGIAR over multiple years, highly prolific and cited scientific publications (cited by Google Scholar and ResearchGate within the top 10% research/scientist in the global science community on agriculture, agroforestry, climate change, NRM, Policy).
Olu is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS), Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Climate Research for Development (CR4D), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).