Subsistance farming

I began my professional journey in Sri Lanka’s flourishing floriculture industry, focusing on European and Far Eastern markets. Over five years, I led research and development initiatives, pioneering non-conventional breeding methods that significantly advanced the sector. This foundation facilitated my transition into project and program management, where I have had the privilege of collaborating with governmental bodies and international funding organizations. A highlight of my career was playing a key role in the success of the National Agriculture Development Program (2003-2014), contributing to strategic planning, coordination, and execution, while bringing over two decades of diverse experience within Sri Lanka’s agricultural development sector. My professional journey has been shaped by multidisciplinary training, equipping me with expertise in project and program management, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning in MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning), sustainable rural development, climate-smart agriculture, food and nutrition security, Agric value chain & SME developments,Results-Based Management (RBM), gender mainstreaming, and knowledge management, among other areas of competence. Since October 2015, I have had the privilege of coordinating multifaceted projects and programs for the EU Delegation in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with a focus on integrated rural development. These initiatives span critical sectors such as agriculture ( agri- green), food and nutrition, local governance, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), SCP (Sustainable Consumption and Production), and Nature based tourism, all aimed at fostering positive, sustainable development. As I continue my professional path, I remain committed to leveraging my diverse expertise to drive impactful transformations across Sri Lanka’s evolving sectors, contributing meaningfully to sustainable development goals.

Working on Scaling up Village Input Fairs, Agriculture, Innovation, DEI, and more.

I am teacher and Enterpreneur by professional

Engineer, agronomist, specialized in agro-enterprise, with an extensive knowledge of agricultural production systems, agricultural value chains, and a 25+ years’ experience in leading changes at enterprise level through the introduction of new productions and new techniques in challenging climatic and technical environments.

Experience providing expertise on agricultural development, agricultural policy, agricultural value chains, on donor-funded projects, and multiple collaborations with private and public stakeholders around agriculture : suppliers, traders, administrations, governments, elected representatives, professional bodies (Chambers of Agriculture, unions), cooperatives, NGOs, international donors and financial institutions (AFD, IFC, IFAD, etc.).

In 2021, Successfully passed the “Data, Economics, and Development Policy” MIT Micromaster Program, a university-level training on the use of statistics, econometrics, experimental and quasi-experimental methods in the building of evidence-based policies. This learning was completed by two university certificates on theory of change and monitoring & evaluation.

Strong expertise in information systems, databases, data analytics, and other IT related domains such as software development, statistical analysis, database conception and management, development and operation of management information systems and enterprise software. Diligent member of the stackoverflow community, a leading website for professional software developers, with an estimated 4.2 M developers reached through my contributions.

Extensive experience in business management and operations, including budgeting and finance, accounting, information systems, procurement, activity monitoring and administration; and leading enterprise start-up and development, including sourcing, installation and starting up of equipment, organization of supply chains, mobilization of finance.

Hands-on and academic knowledge of the socioeconomics of the most vulnerable rural populations and groups: refugees, women, and youth.

Served as a senior change management advisor and Board Member of $180M, 3000 staff company, heading the Finance and Audit Committee.

Built and led teams, from 5 to 100 staff, from line-workers to engineers and managers, while scaling up and running businesses, conducting market research studies, and developing information systems.

Business-savvy, adaptable and trusted partner with demonstrated capacity to take on new challenges.

Works in French (native), English (extended professional use), Arabic (strong knowledge of middle eastern dialect, intermediate learner of Modern Standard Arabic). Learning Indonesian

 

Jean-Benoît Bourjeois is a socioeconomist, holder of a diploma master in socioeconomy at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS - Paris) in 1995. He is an independent expert since 1998 and is working in particular on the design and the implementation of M&E system in Africa on different projects (Public Finances, Infrastructures project, Poverty program in Morocco and in Senegal. Jean-Benoît Bourjeois carries out evaluations studies for different donors (European Union, MCC, Lux-Development, French Development Agency, NGOs...).