Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Food Security Group

Timothy Silberg is a fixed-term Outreach Specialist in the Department of Community Sustainability. He serves as the Capacity Strengthening Co-Lead and Resilience & Climate Lead on multiple projects for the Food Security Group (FSG), which are housed in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (AFRE). These USAID-funded projects include Policy Support for Economic Growth (PSEG), the Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Policy and Influence (PRCI), and the Innovation Lab for Legume Systems (Legume Lab).

He has over 15 years of experience in applied agroecosystems research across the globe, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Guatemala, Brazil, Nigeria, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Malawi. Timothy’s work primarily focuses on three areas:

1. Enhancing food security and agricultural productivity through evidence-based policy analysis and capacity strengthening.
2. Addressing climate change and resilience in agricultural systems through legume seed value chain analysis.
3. Applying systems thinking and design thinking to identify leverage points in complex challenges and develop innovative solutions.

Most recently, Dr. Silberg’s research has focused on increasing agroenergy production from livestock food systems in Brazil through system dynamics and mediated modeling. He is the author or co-author of 16 journal articles and is currently contributing to several book chapters. Dr. Silberg previously served as a Project Coordinator for the Norman Borlaug Institute, where he managed several high-profile projects, including those under U.S. Africa Command (e.g., Operation Olympic Chase). Additionally, he worked as an interdisciplinary data analyst (blending econometrics, crop modeling, and weed ecology) for Africa RISING (Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation). Beyond these appointments, he has consulted for prominent organizations, including the U.S. National Institute of Health, Causal Design, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Adam Smith International, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Dr. Silberg’s work has been recognized through numerous fellowships, including the Borlaug Food Security Program, MAXQDA Program (Max Weber Qualitative Data Analysis), AIARD (Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development), Gender and Justice for Environmental Change (at Michigan State University), and the Post-Doctoral Fulbright Program (Brazil). He is fluent in Portuguese and highly skilled in Quantitative Data Analysis (STATA), Qualitative Data Analysis (MAXQDA), Crop Modeling (APSIM), Mediated Modeling, Systems Modeling (VENSIM), and Human-Centered Design (Sprintbase).