Curriculum vitae

Flemming Nielsen

Personal information

Profession	Agricultural geographer
Nationality	Danish
E-mail address	Consultants@Bananahill.net
Telephone number	+31-(0)641667461
Skype	fnielsen9

Key Qualifications

Research at PhD and PostDoc level with leading universities in different countries and international research centres focused on participatory research, farmer innovations, local ("indigenous") knowledge, farmer communications and agroforestry. Considerable experience in related development activities, including project design, fundraising, appraisals, evaluations, and communication of research and experience-based knowledge through printed media as well as the Internet. Countries Of work experience are Denmark, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Portugal, Norway, The Netherlands and Mozambique (a total of more than twelve years in developing countries). Has for the last four years been working for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as advisor to the reform process of the recently merged regional agricultural research institute in the central provinces of Mozambique. Current activities include research and development activities on Jatropha curcas and other bio-fuels in developing countries.

Education

Post-Doc on Farmer Innovations

University of Wageningen (Technology and Agrarian Development Group), in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Research on "Spatial Variation in Indigenous Knowledge - GIS support for participatory agricultural research and development"; Field research in Kenya and Tanzania.
(July 1998 - April 201).

Ph.D. in Agricultural Geography

University of Copenhagen (Institute of Geography). Thesis on "Issues in the Utilisation of Indigenous Knowledge in Agroforestry Research"; Field research in Uganda.
(achieved in 1998).

M.Sc. in Human Geography

University of Copenhagen; Specialisation in Tropical Agriculture; Thesis on "Indigenous Agroforestry Systems in Uganda".
(1992-93).

B.Sc. in Human Geography

University of Copenhagen; Research on Desertification processes in Darfur, Sudan.
(1987-92).

Languages

Language	speaking	reading	writing
English	fluent	fluent	fluent
German	good	good	moderate
Portuguese	basic	fair	basic
Danish	mother tongue

Studied Russian for three years in high school but not in use since 1984. Also studied French for one year and Arabic for half a year.

Computer Literacy

Computer literate since 1980; experience with PCs (DOS, Windows, QNX, OS2, Linux, Apple Macintosh and mainframes. Experienced user of major office software (MS and Corel WP) data-bases (Access, Dbase, MySQL), statistics (Statistica, SPSS, SAS), graphics (Adobe, Corel and Micrographics programmes), programming (Visual Basic and Pascal) Software for web creation (Frontpage, ASP, PHP, JavaScript), GIS (Grass, QGis, ArcView, MapInfo) and remote sensing (Chips).

Professional Experience

Managing Research Program on Jatropha curcas

Sub-contracted by the FACT Foundation to manage field research program on Jatropha curcas in Mozambique. Collaborators include university researchers, government researchers, NGOs and farmers' clubs. The main subject areas are variety trials, performance and yield trials, research on pest identification and eradication with low cost methods, and economic analysis.

Advisor, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA)

Danida Advisor on Agricultural Research to the Mozambican government. Assisting in implementing reform of the agricultural research system, including backstopping Zonal Research Centre Coordinator (for the central provinces of Manica, Tete, Sofala and Zambezia), training researchers, undertaking quality control, fund-raising, establishing local and international collaboration and implementing Msc training programme with international partners.
Based in Chimoio (Manica), Mozambique (December 2003 - December 2007).

Research Fellow, Wageningen University and Research Centre

In the Technology and Agrarian Development group headed by Prof. Paul Richards. Research on farmers' innovations (May 201 - September 2003). Teaching and supervising PhD students in the fields of participation and rural development (February-September 2003).

Senior Researcher, ILEIA (Information Centre for Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture)

Providing scientific backstopping for publications on experience-based knowledge. Member of the editorial board of LEISA Magazine, and twice the lead editor. Other achievements include the development of a web-based communications strategy, significant input into development of alternative funding strategies, successful fund-raising, impact assessment in Ethiopia, programming of an interactive website, preparation and overseeing of tendering process, establishing collaboration with major institutions abroad and maintaining extensive international network.
Based in Leusden, The Netherlands (October 200 - July 2002).

Post-doc Researcher

Post-doc on "Spatial Variation in Indigenous Knowledge". Financed by the Danish Foundation for Development Research. Based at University of Wageningen's Technology and Agrarian Development Group headed by Prof. Paul Richards. Collaboration with the East-African Highland Initiative (a CGIAR system-wide initiative). Field-work at three sites in Kenya and Tanzania.
(July 1998 - April 201)

Webpage Consultant

One week consultancy designing web pages for the Technology and Agrarian Development Group, University of Wageningen.
(August 1999)

Ph.D. Student, University of Copenhagen

Based at the Institute of Geography (May 1997 - June 1998). Dissertation Topic: Indigenous knowledge and agroforestry research. The dissertation is based on research carried out during three years employment with ICRAF, based in Uganda.
The Ph.D. programme included a number of special courses and other activities:

Training course in Experimental design and analysis in agroforestry research
ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya (May 1996)
Course in Research-Extension-Farmer linkages
IAC, Wageningen, The Netherlands (June-July 1996)
Ph.D. course on Indigenous ecological knowledge
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, Univ. of Bangor, UK (February-April 1997)
Ph.D. course on Management of trees in developing countries
Development Sociology, University of Wales, Bangor (February-March 1997)
Presentations, Lecturing and Supervising
Participating in and presenting papers at a number of international and national conferences; supervising M.Sc. students, and lecturing at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (1994-1998).

Associate Researcher, ICRAF (International Centre for Research in Agroforestry)

Attached to AFRENA (Agroforestry Research Networks for Africa) in Uganda. Developing research methods for better use of indigenous knowledge in formal research as well as collegiate farmer participatory research.
JPO position sponsored by Danida (May 1994 - May 1997).

Development Researcher, Centre for Development Research

Data analysis of large household survey in Tanzania. Social scientists from Tanzania and Denmark were investigating the performance of the public sector in Tanzania.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark (Oct 1991 - May 1994).

Consultant and Volunteer Project Officer, CARE Danmark

Editing TOR for appraisal team. Project monitoring incl. editing of progress reports. Editing project abstract, reviews, articles and other informative project documentation.
Based in Copenhagen (Oct 1990 - May 1994)
This position included the following activities:

Appraisal Mission, Uganda
Member of an appraisal team studying the Queen Elizabeth National Park Conservation Project in Western Uganda. Duties included assessment of research needs and Rapid Rural Appraisal in fishing villages.
Financed by DANIDA (1992).
Agroforestry Project Evaluation, Rwanda
In a two-person team evaluating an agroforestry project in Rwanda. Main topics were the efficiency of the monitoring system, organisational set-up and involvement of the target group.
Sponsored by CARE Danmark (1991).
Feasibility Study, Uganda
Member of a team carrying out a feasibility study for a project in Queen Elizabeth National Park Conservation Project, Western Uganda.
Sponsored by CARE Danmark (1991).

M.Sc. and B.Sc. Student, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Degrees in Human Geography, at the Institute of Geography (September 1987 - November 1993)
These studies included the following activities and courses:

Field Research on Indigenous Knowledge, Uganda
5 months of fieldwork in Uganda for M.Sc. thesis on: "Agricultural Development Based on Indigenous knowledge - A Study of Agroforestry in Luwero District, Uganda". The aim was to develop methods for integrating indigenous knowledge in agricultural development projects and research. The thesis received the highest mark possible.
Sponsored by Danida, CARE Danmark, Plums Ecological Foundation and Steensbys Rejselegat (1992).
Course in Tropical Agroforestry, ICRAF
4 week study in tropical agroforestry at ICRAF (International Centre for Research in Agroforestry) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Sponsored by Danida, Care Danmark and Plums Ecological Foundation (1992).
Field Research on Desertification, Sudan
12 months of field research on the desertification of eastern Sudan. The dynamics of desertification were investigated and assessed using satellite images, air photos, soil sampling and interviews. The report was accepted by the university as equivalent to one year of a M.Sc. and received the highest mark possible.
Sponsored by the Government of Lower Saxony, Germany (1989-90).

Collecting Data for Ground Truthing of Satellite Images, Portugal

Employed for 3 weeks of agricultural fieldwork in Western and Central Portugal. Land monitoring and evaluation contributing to the EEC remote sensing project, CORINE. The collected data were used for training a neural network to recognise various crop combinations and crop conditions from satellite images.
Employed by the EEC (European Union) (May 1991)

Development Worker, Sudan

One year's employment as a technical worker in Eastern Sudan at a health project. Duties included installing diesel generators, a battery operated power system, a solar water heater, incl. accessories.
Employed by the Government of Lower Saxony, Germany (1989-90).

Administrative Assistant, Danish Volunteer Service

Working in the administrative and accounting section.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark (October 1987 - August 1989)

Photographer, Seventh Day Adventist Development Agency, Sudan

Employed to make a photo documentation of relief actions for exhibition at an international fair in Khartoum. This involved trailing the food aid programme for two weeks - from the arrival in Khartoum until the final distribution in Kordufan Province.
(November 1985)

Development Worker, Les Enfants du Soleil, Sudan

Employed for the pilot project: Les Enfants du Soleil. The project focused on helping orphans living in the streets of Khartoum. Work included administrative duties and organising education, vocational training and editing project information documents incl. newspaper articles.
Based in Khartoum (November 1985 - April 1986)

Publications

Nielsen F (2002)
Changing information flows in agriculture. Editorial. LEISA Magazine 18(2): 4-5. ILEIA, Leusden, The Netherlands.

Nielsen F (2001)
Genetic engineering: not the only option. Editorial. LEISA Magazine 17(4): 4-5. ILEIA, Leusden, The Netherlands.

Nielsen F (2001)
The Push-Pull system: a viable alternative to Bt maize. LEISA Magazine 17(4): 17-18. ILEIA, Leusden, The Netherlands.

Ingevall A, Gebre Michael Y, Nielsen F (2001)
Who needs information? A study on the use and impact of the LEISA Magazine in Ethiopia. ILEIA, Leusden, The Netherlands.

Nielsen F (2001)
Why do farmers innovate and why don't they innovate more? In: Waters-Bayer, Ann and Reij, Chris (eds), Farmer Innovation in Africa. Earthscan Publications Ltd, London, UK (pp 92-103).

Coe R and Nielsen F (2000)
Scientific Fraud and ICRAF: A discussion paper. ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya.

Nielsen F (1998)
Issues in the Utilisation of Indigenous Knowledge in Agroforestry Research. Ph.D. thesis. Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nielsen F (1997)
Why do farmers experiment with slow growing trees when they don't gain from it? A study from Central Uganda. In: Proceedings from ICCIG 1997, 11-14 January 1997, Ahmedabad, India

Nielsen F, Farley CS, Wortmann CS (1997)
Opportunities and constraints for farmer participatory research for technology development and diffusion. Keynote address. In: Conference on participatory dryland agricultural research east of Mount Kenya - Programme, 21-24 January 1997, Embu, Kenya. ODA, Nairobi, Kenya.

Nielsen F (1996)
Methods for integrating indigenous knowledge and formal research in agroforestry. In: Proceedings from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements' (IFOAM) 11th Scientific Conference, Copenhagen, August 11-15 1996. IFOAM, Tholey-Theley, Germany

Nielsen F, Guinand Y, Okorio J (1995)
Farmer participatory diagnostic research: Lakeshore banana-coffee land-use system of Uganda. ICRAF, Kampala, Uganda (105 pp).

Nielsen, F. (1994)
Indigenous Agroforestry Systems in Southern Luwero District, Uganda. Working paper no. 94.16. Center for Development Research, Copenhagen, Denmark (104 pp).