Former Borlaug LEAP fellow Dr. Emmanuel Tumusiime grew up in Uganda on a small subsistence farm and earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture from Makerere University in 2003.  Prior to coming to the US, he worked as an extension officer guiding farmers.   As Borlaug LEAP Fellow in 2007/2008, he pursued his Master's degree and conducted field research on the spatial patterns of maize production in the coastal lowland region of Kenya.  During his LEAP Fellowship, Dr. Tumusiime was mentored by Dr. Hugo DeGroote, Senior Economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Dr. Jeffrey Vitale, Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University. After completing his Master’s in 2008, Dr. Tumusiime enrolled in the PhD program at Oklahoma State University and completed his PhD in Agricultural Economics in July 2011. 

Following his graduation, he accepted a post-doctoral researcher position with Oxfam America in Washington D.C.  His area of specialization is production and development economics. Dr. Tumusiime’s research interests include: technology and policy impact assessment on producer and consumers, constraints to technology adoption and market access in small scale agriculture, and economics of precision farming systems. His goal is to design policies aimed at alleviating food availability constraints and reduce poverty in farming communities.