Eric Owusu, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Eric Owusu is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Risk Analysis and Impact Evaluation Program at JIFSAN. He investigates the impacts of food safety trainings on grower welfare in line with the Produce Safety Rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act. He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Connecticut in 2021; a Master of Science Degree in Applied and Resource Economics from the same University; and a Master of Philosophy Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Prior to joining JIFSAN, Dr. Owusu’s most recent research focused on the productivity and efficiency of innovations and technologies in farming systems in Africa and the United States. He has worked in both international and national agricultural research systems: As a research officer at the International Water Management Insitute of the CGIAR, he investigated the socio-economics of water management solutions and produce safety in (peri-)urban agricultural systems in West Africa. As a research scientist within Ghana’s Food Research Institute, he implemented studies funded by the Canadian International Development Agency through the Africa Rice Center on the impacts of innovations in rice production systems in addition to economic valuation of rice varietal quality attributes using experimental auctions. He also investigated the socio-economics of the use of alternative food flours in Ghanaian bakeries under the World Bank-funded West African Agricultural Productivity Program.

Awards

Predoctoral Fellowship
Ag. & Resource Economics Department, University of Connecticut

Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
The Graduate School, University of Connecticut

Bishop-Carder Scholarship
College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut

His current research interests lie in the fields of Production, Development and Welfare Economics.

Journal Articles

• Owusu, E. S. and Bravo-Ureta, B. E. (2022). Reap when You Sow? The Productivity Impacts of Early Sowing in Malawi. Agricultural Systems. doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103412
• Owusu, E. S. and Bravo-Ureta, B. E. (2021). Gender and Productivity Differentials in Smallholder Groundnut Farming in Malawi: Accounting for Technology Differences. Journal of Development Studies. doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2021.2008364
• Britwum, K., Owusu, E. S. and Demont, M. (2020). Confronting genetic gains with markets: Retrospective lessons from New Rice for Africa (NERICA) in Uganda. Outlook on Agriculture 1-13. doi: 10.1177/0030727020948967
• Namara, R. E., Hope, L., Owusu, E. S., De Fraiture, C. and Owusu, D. (2014). Adoption patterns and constraints pertaining to small-scale water lifting technologies in Ghana. Agricultural Water Management 131: 194-203. doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2013.08.023.
• Katic, P. G., Namara, R. E., Hope, L., Owusu, E. and Fujii, H. (2013). Rice and irrigation in West Africa: Achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies. Water Resources and Economics 1:75-92. doi: 10.1016/j.wre.2013.03.001.
• Kamwamba-Mtethiwa, J., Namara, E. R., De Fraiture, C., Mangisoni, J. and Owusu, E. S. (2012). Treadle pump irrigation in Malawi: Adoption, gender and benefits. Irrigation and Drainage 61(5):583-595. doi: 10.1002/ird.1665.

Research Reports

• Narrod, C. and Owusu, E. S. (2023). Pilot controlled experiment to validate supplemental training materials on the Produce Safety Rule. Submitted to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.
• Owusu, E. S. and Bravo-Ureta, B. E. (2020). Gender gap in groundnut and soybean farm productivity: Evidence from central Malawi. A report submitted to the USAID- funded Malawi Agricultural Diversification (AgDiv) and Feed-the-Future Peanut Innovation Lab.
• Owusu, E. S. and Bravo-Ureta, B. E. (2019). Benefits and costs of groundnut and soybean production: A farm level analysis for Malawi. A report submitted to the USAID-funded Malawi Agricultural Diversification (AgDiv) and Feed-the-Future Peanut Innovation Lab.
• Bravo-Ureta, B. E. and Owusu, E. S. (2019). Baseline descriptive analysis of farm and household data collected in three Districts in Malawi during 2017-2018. A report submitted to the USAID-funded Malawi Agricultural Diversification (AgDiv) and Feed-the-Future Peanut Innovation Lab.
• Namara R. E., Awuni, J., Barry, B., Giordano, M., Hope, L., Owusu, E. S., Forkuor, G. (2011). Smallholder shallow groundwater irrigation development in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute. 35p. (IWMI Research Report 143). doi: 10.5337/ 2011.214.
• Namara, R.E.; Barry, B.; Owusu, E. S.; Ogilvie, A. (2011). An overview of the development challenges and constraints of the Niger Basin and possible intervention strategies. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute. 34p. (IWMI Working Paper 144). doi: 10.5337/2011.206.