Elizaphan James Oburu Rao is a Senior Scientist working under the People Policies and Institutions (PPI) program at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). An agricultural economist, Rao has vast research experience in market system development, adoption and innovation pathways, and impact assessment. Rao has contributed to the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of livestock development programs ranging from institutional to market systems approaches for delivery of proven livestock technologies. Rao works with multidisciplinary teams to design and implement holistic and transformative research for development initiatives that deliver solutions at scale. As an impact assessment economist, he applies rigorous evaluation approaches including field experiments and quasi-experimental designs to evaluate the impact of agricultural technologies and institutional innovations on smallholder rural households. His research mainly focusses on: markets systems analysis and development; institutional and behavioral analysis; impact evaluation; production economics; and rural development. Rao holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from University of Goettingen, an Msc in Agricultural Economics from University of Hohenheim, an Msc in International Cooperation Policy from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University and a Bsc in Agricultural Economics from Egerton University.
