John Thompson has worked on power, policy and sustainability issues in food and agriculture, water resource management and rural development for nearly 25 years, in both developing and industrialised countries.

He joined IDS in October 2006 as a Research Fellow and serves as Joint Co-ordinator of the Future Agricultures Consortium, which aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in Africa and other developing regions.

Previously, he served as Director of the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Programme of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London, and Director of Research and Development of Just Food, New York City. Thompson has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed articles, technical papers and reports, and is author and co-editor of several books.

In addition, he has sat on several international task forces, advisory panels and editorial boards, and has worked as a Research Associate at the National Environment Secretariat, Kenya, a Research Fellow at Clark and Harvard Universities, USA, and a Fellow at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria.