Draft:Lawrence Alegwu Ega

Lawrence Alegwu Ega is a rural sociologist and agricultural extension expert. He was at the Institute for Agricultural Research/Faculty of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria as a researcher and Lecturer from 1974 to 1997. He rose through the rank to the position of Professor of Rural Sociology and Agricultural Extension in 1990. He was Deputy Dean Faculty of Agriculture 1987-89, Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology (1991-94), Deputy Director, Extension (1994-97) and Coordinator of the World Bank-assisted National Agricultural Research Project (1991-97). After leaving ABU, he was appointed as a Professor of Sociology at Benue State University, Makurdi from 1998 to 2016.

Early life and education
Ega was born in 1948 in rural Nigeria. After his primary education, he attended Government Secondary School Katsina Ala, and Government College Keffi (Higher School). He graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1973 with BSc Sociology degree (Second Class Upper). He joined the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology as an Assistant Research Fellow/Lecturer in 1974. He subsequently won Ford Foundation scholarship and did postgraduate studies at the prestigious Ivy League institution, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA. He obtained MSc. and PhD in 1978 and 1980, respectively, specializing in Rural Sociology, Agricultural Extension and Development Sociology.

Expertise
Ega is a subject matter specialist on land tenure and natural resource management, agricultural extension and agricultural and rural development strategies. He has been a consultant for over four decades for the Government of Nigeria and international organizations such as the World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations , Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, United State Agency for International Development (USAID) , United Nations Development Programme United Nations Office for Project Services (UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and UNOPS. He was a member of the Consortium of the Chemonics’s Promoting Pro-Poor Opportunities for Commodity Marketing (PrOpCom) in Nigeria.

Key assignments included serving as the Lead consultant to the FAO/FGN on the formulation on the Expansion phase of the National Programme for Food Security and subsequently as the Head of community driven development Programme 2008-2012. He also served as a member of numerous FAO and IFAD project formulation and appraisal missions in Nigeria. He was a member of the team that produced the document in 1978 for the establishment of the administrative system for the Federal Capital Territory.