Nnaji, Amaka
Amaka is a Senior Research Fellow at EfD Nigeria. She is also a postdoctoral researcher with the Evans School Policy Analysis Research (EPAR) Group at the University of Washington. Prior to joining EPAR, Amaka was a Research Scientist at Innovations for Poverty Action Nigeria, where she provided research technical support to Gates Foundation Financial Services for the Poor (FSP) grantees and other policy stakeholders in the Financial Inclusion space, she was also a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria Nsukka. She holds a PhD in Development Economics from Lincoln University, New Zealand, an MSc degree in Agricultural Development Economics from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Research Interests
Amaka's current research is at the intersection of agricultural development, resource economics, and environmental policy in rural low- and middle-income countries. Her work focuses on four interconnected themes: gendered access to productive resources; climate change adaptation and clean energy transition; food security and poverty reduction; and financial inclusion. Cutting across these areas is a commitment to policy-relevant analysis that informs both the design and evaluation of development interventions.
Grants and Consultancy
- MS1309 – Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Armed Banditry on Agricultural Productivity and Food Security among Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria: A Panel Data Analysis.
- MS1483 – Empowering Households for Clean Energy: The Impact of Women's Empowerment on usage of cleaner fuels in selected countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Africa Think Tank Platform (ATTP) Project.
- Innovative Climate Finance for Unlocking Development and Equity in Africa (INCLUDING-Africa).
Awards
- Environment for Development Early Career Fellowship Recipient (2022 to 2024 cohort).
- New Zealand Agricultural Resource Economics Society (NZARES) 2021 Conference Best Paper Award.
- Lincoln University Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition Finalist
- AARES 2020 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition Winner.
- Australasian Agricultural Resource Economics Society (AARES) 2020 Heading West Travel Award.
-
New Zealand Development Doctoral Scholarship 2018-2022.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amaka-nnaji-57184072/
ORCID Profile: 0000-0002-4156-8925
Twitter Profile: @AmakaNnaji13
