David Tschirley is Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University. He co-directs the department’s internationally renowned Food Security Group (FSG) and Directs the USAID-funded Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Capacity, and Influence (PRCI).
Over nearly 30 years his work has emphasized three areas: (1) agrifood system transformation focusing on the impacts of changing diets and the evolving roles of "modern" and "traditional" marketing channels, (2) the intersection of food aid, staple food markets, and emergency response, and (3) institutional approaches to linking smallholder farmers to high value markets.
Dr. Tschirley has broadly published in peer-reviewed journals, served as the Lead External Author for IFAD’s 2019 Rural Development Report, was a member of the World Food Program’s Technical Review Panel for its Purchase for Progress (P4P) program and has been a consultant to over 10 international organizations. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Dr. Tschirley has lived long-term in Ecuador (1987-1990) and Mozambique (1995-98) and works most actively now in East and Southern Africa.