Bio

David DeYoung is a fixed term Outreach Specialist with more than a decade of work and research experience in developing countries. In his current role as the Program Manager of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Legume Systems Research, David will oversee a portfolio of innovative and effective research, training, and outreach projects related to grain legumes that address the needs of grain legume value-chain stakeholders, policy makers, and development professionals. 

His legume research experience includes farmer technology adoption, varietal identification and seed dissemination models in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Haiti. This research was done in close collaboration with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Legume Systems Research on Grain Legumes (Legume Innovation Lab).  He has additional research experience in South American and Asia.  David, most recently, has worked with a Tanzania based team on national food commodity price information systems and health issues with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy at Michigan State University (MSU).

In Honduras, David worked for an NGO promoting job creation through small and medium enterprise (SME) development including business training, consulting and microfinance.  As a graduate student in the Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics (AFRE) department at MSU, he studied the determinants of sustainability of community-based seed production and marketing groups in Nicaragua.

David received a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Calvin College and a master’s degree from AFRE at MSU. His master’s degree research was supervised by Dr. Mywish Maredia and funded by the Legume Innovation Lab.