Prof. Edward Rhodes
Contact: errhodes2001@yahoo.com
Tel: +232 76 611747
Professor Edward Ronald Rhodes is the Chief Executive of the National Agricultural Research Coordinating Council (NARCC), Sierra Leone. He serves as administrative & scientific head of the Agricultural Research System of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS). In this capacity, as chief executive he also taught a soil fertility management course to BSc agriculture and BSc Agricultural Education students at Njala University. He has served as Consulting Agronomist, FAO, Freetown in which he supervised a team of national experts in preparing crop production guidelines on rice, maize, cassava, sweet potato, yam, groundnut, cowpea, soybean, vegetables, coffee, cocoa, oil palm and cashew. He has also served as Consulting Agronomist for the Catholic Relief Services, Sierra Leone. Prior to his appointment in June 2004, he served as Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Njala University College, and University of Sierra Leone. He was the administrative and academic head of the Faculty of Agriculture, providing leadership and coordination of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, research and extension programmes within the faculty.
Professor Rhodes has a wealth of experience in agriculture-based development processes as well as a strong research background. He has offered several consultancy services to both national and international organisation. He is a renowned scientist, researcher, consultant and administrator. While at the Njala University as Dean of the Faculty of agriculture he doubled as co-team leader and Agriculturist for the Government of Sierra Leone/FAO/World Bank/IFAD/UNDP sponsored Agricultural Sector Review and Agricultural Development Strategy.
His professional field of expertise include Tertiary Level Learning; Agriculture/Agronomy; Farming Systems; Soil Management; Food Security/Poverty Alleviation; Administration/ Organization & Management / Institutions; Project Preparation & Evaluation; Research & Development; Reviews & Synthesis of Technical Information and Reports. Apart from heading the NARCC he Chairs meetings of the Appointment/Promotion committee and Directors Committee of MAFS; Serves as Secretary to the Board and implements its decisions. Professor Rhodes is a former university lecturer, Faculty of Agriculture at the Njala University and he holds a PhD in Soil Science from the Aberdeen University, Scotland.