Q&A with James Rhoads

By Christy Fricks
University of Georgia, Peanut & Mycotoxin Innovation Lab

Background

James (Jamie) Rhoads is the Assistant Director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Peanut Productivity and Mycotoxin Control. Jamie has worked extensively in Haiti over the years, applying research to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and coordinating agricultural programs. His knowledge of agricultural development, particularly in peanut production, has led to prolific work as a consultant for the private sector. He has co-authored and published a peanut production guide as well as a series of training modules for a national scale agribusiness.

PMIL: Can you tell us a little bit about your area of expertise and how it brought you to work for PMIL?

Rhoads: "My expertise is in knowing a great deal about the whole peanut value chain, from farm to fork, and also working to connect applied academic research to the private sector needs.

I’ve spent the last 5 years working for Meds & Food for Kids (MFK) as the primary liaison for the in-country partner for Peanut CRSP (now PMIL) in Haiti. MFK is a producer of a peanut-based Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food, used in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition. It is also the largest and most sophisticated processor of peanuts in the country. Through the demand initiated by MFK, millions of dollars have been invested in the peanut value chain to help smallholder farmers earn more money while also reducing the public exposure to aflatoxin.

My role has been to connect experts via the CRSP network, through UGA and the peanut industry, to develop an applied agronomy research program. Not only have I trained farmers and extension workers, but I also developed a peanut processing line and quality assurance program that could turn the relatively low quality local peanuts into a high quality raw material that meets international food safety standards."

PMIL: What are your primary job responsibilities for PMIL?

Rhoads: "I assist Dave (PMIL Director) with all activities, with a focus on facilitation of the value chain projects. I also help to assure USAID compliance, communicate research project objectives and leverage project funding to expand research impact.

Another part of my responsibilities is monitoring and guiding the social science research projects to assure that we are asking the right questions, including gender aspects, and getting data that will steer us in the right direction."

PMIL: What would you say is your overall goal for your work here at PMIL? What impact do you hope to have?

Rhoads: "I hope that I can facilitate greater connection between the private sector interests, the NGO sector, and the research community. My goal is to make progress on both the private sector side to increase the impacts and improve the sustainability of the projects, and also to improve the quality of the research and push it towards very relevant topics."

Published July 21, 2014