Staff and board

Before joining EUCORD, Mr. Magatte Ndoye held several high level positions as civil servant of the Senegalese administration for more than 30 years in the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Mr. Ndoye coordinated large programs around trade promotion in partnership with international development agencies and organizations, including NGO partners. He has represented Senegal in international bodies and organizations in positions like Vice President of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations and representing Senegal in work groups and meetings of the sub-committee on trading of agricultural products in the framework of trade policies of member states related to WTO, UEMOA, and CEDEAO. He carried out market studies in a dozen of African countries. He is a graduate in international trade from the Center for Foreign Trade and International Transport Studies in Marseille, France.

Jean Claude Muhirwa worked for 15 years in the agricultural research sector with public institutions and government projects in Rwanda. He started his career in 2005 as scientist at the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR), then joined Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Development Board (RAB) in 2011 where he held several research and technology transfer positions in the Land Husbandry, Irrigation and Mechanization Department. His main area of expertise is irrigation project design and management. Jean Claude has a Master’s Degree in Water Resources Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

Trained as agricultural engineer at the Institut Polytechnique Rural de Katibougou, Karamoko Sako has been dedicated to rural development for much of his career. In collaboration with non-governmental and public organizations, he has 30 years of solid experience in agricultural extension, research & development, varietal introduction, micro-finance, capacity building of farmers and management of rural development projects throughout Mali.

Alpha Diallo is the EUCORD Project Coordinator based in Guinea and the regional representative of EUCORD in Guinea and Senegal. He has more than 20 years of experience in agricultural development and natural resources management projects in the Republic of Guinea. Diallo has experience in management levels in both the Program for Natural Resources Management (PGRN) and the Expanded Program for Natural Resource Management (PEGRN), he has assisted with the implementation of the Activities to Reinforce Commercial Agriculture project funded by USAID, and he supervised the Potato Value Chain Development in West Africa project implemented by EUCORD.

Melisie Tolossa, with an M.A. in Rural Development Studies and over 12 years of experience in agribusiness, currently serves as the country representative for EUCORD Ethiopia. His diverse background includes roles in NGOs, government agencies, public share companies, and consultancy firms. Prior to joining EUCORD, he worked at Oro-Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Business SC as well as at the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute. Melisie’s expertise lies in agro-commodity supply chain management, value chain development, rural entrepreneurship, and livelihood development.