David C. Wilcock

David Wilcock grew up in Urbana, Illinois, USA, the son of a University professor. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in political science and economics. In 1968 he began his work in Africa by joining the US Peace Corps and serving as an English teacher in a secondary school in the Ivory Coast. There he became interested in African agriculture. Upon his return to the US he obtained further degrees in African politics, economics, and finally a PhD in agricultural economics at Michigan State University. With that degree he returned to West Africa in 1977, heading a ground-breaking USAID integrated rural development project in Burkina Faso. Subsequently he worked on the design and execution of a wide variety of agricultural development projects for USAID, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations/FAO, and various universities and NGOs. These projects covered agricultural production, research, marketing, food security, trade, and policy reform. These are covered in detail in his book "Foreign Aid and Agricultural Development in Africa: Lessons from a Career". He worked in both English and French in over 20 African countries and in a dozen countries outside Africa. He currently lives in retirement in US state of Maine.