Person

Seife Ayele

Seife Ayele

Research Fellow

Seife is a development economist with over 25 years’ experience in research, teaching and development practice. His work focuses on agricultural commercialisation and mechanisation, enterprise development and youth employment, political economy analysis, value chains and industrial policy. He is the principal investigator of the project Renewable Energy Development in Ethiopia which explores obstacles in energy procurement from independent power producers. He is currently a fellow in the Business, Markets and the State cluster at the Institute of Development Studies.

Prior to joining IDS, he directed programmes in Ethiopia providing access to and adoption of improved agricultural technologies by smallholder farmers. He has also held a Research Scientist position at the International Livestock Research Institute, in Nairobi, and a Research Fellow position at the Open University, UK. He has led and conducted significant research in Africa and Asia and has extensively published in the areas of agricultural innovations and technology adoption, biotech crops regulation and enterprise development. His external roles have included membership of steering committees for international research and contribution to policy consultation processes. He is a member/associate member of networks and professional societies.

PhD supervision

Seife’s two Postgraduate Researchers he supervises are:

Kyumi Ahn, thesis title ‘Farmers’ social relations and market engagement in the Andean region of Colombia’, and

Walid Salem

Google Scholar
Profile Page

Research

Project

Backstopping 2SCALE

With the financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation (DGIS), the 2SCALE programme started in June 2012, and is one of the largest incubators of inclusive agribusiness in sub-Saharan Africa. 2SCALE provides a range of support services to private partners – companies and...

Programme

Youth employment and politics

Over 40 percent of global populations are under 25 yet young people cannot secure work and increasingly face a crisis of citizenship. Youth Employment and Politics at IDS builds on decades of research to develop knowledge and evidence that contributes to effective interventions that supports,...

Opinions

Opinion

Energising renewable electricity procurement in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s electricity coverage and per capita consumption are among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa – only 44 per cent of over 110 million Ethiopians have access to electricity. Yet Ethiopia aims to reach 100 per cent energy access by 2030 and meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal:...

Seife Ayele
Seife Ayele & 2 others

10 February 2021

Publications

Seife Ayele’s recent work

Upcoming Event

CEDCA Panel Discussion: Opposition and resistance to clean energy transition

While switching from fossil fuels to clean energy addresses the climate crisis and offers development opportunities, opposition to the transition is rife. The panel will discuss the pitfalls of clean energy transition, and the drivers thereof, and strategies to inform policy and...

24 October 2024

Past Event

Renewable Energy Procurement from Independent Power Producers in Ethiopia

Recognising the importance of a robust procurement framework to attract private investment into the infrastructure sector, including energy, in 2017 the Government of Ethiopia introduced the Public–Private Partnerships policy. From 2018, several non-hydro renewable energy projects were...

16 November 2021

News

Tackle underemployment AND unemployment in Africa argues IDS Bulletin

As 12 million young people enter the African labour force each year, there are only 3 million new jobs for them (pdf). The major challenge is not just about creating enough jobs for them, but on creating ‘decent’ jobs, argues the new IDS bulletin. https://youtu.be/Lb-xvl7DUhg The...

28 November 2018