Klaus Droppelmann
Klaus Droppelmann studied tropical plant production at University of Hohenheim in Germany graduating in 1993. For his PhD he moved to the faculty of Geooecology at the University of Bayreuth. In his research work he specialised in water-harvesting technologies for annual cereal and agro-forestry systems in Israel and Kenya, respectively. After a few years as Post-doctoral researcher at the Wyler Department for Desert Agriculture in Israel, he moved on to join the German development cooperation in Zambia in the year 2001. There he first focused on institutional capacity strengthening of decentralised agricultural stakeholder organisations and advised a microcredit fund. From 2004 to 2008 he worked at a national consultation platform in Zambia’s agricultural sector where he gained a deep understanding of institutional relationships and policy processes around agricultural development in southern African. In late 2008 he joined IFRPI to assist in the roll-out of its country program in Malawi and subsequently became its acting team leader. Since 2013 Klaus is based in Johannesburg, South Africa working as an independent consultant and process facilitator in rural development. His main research interests revolve around climate smart smallholder farming systems, technology uptake and agricultural policy processes.