Paavo Eliste is the Practice Manager, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, East Asia and Pacific Region, based in Singapore.
Prior to this assignment he was Lead Agricultural Economist in Agriculture and Food Global Practice of the World Bank, based in Washington, DC and Paris, France where he headed the Africa Sustainable Development Policy Unit.
He was the Lead Agriculture Economist and Sector Coordinator of agriculture and rural development programs in China and Mongolia, based in Beijing, China during 2015 to 2019. From 2009 to 2014 Paavo was Senior Economist and Sector Coordinator for agriculture and rural sectors in South East Asia, based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and from 2004 to 2009 he was Senior Economist in Sustainable Development Department in Africa Region.
Paavo has accumulated nearly 29 years of international development experience, working in 3 regions. He holds Ph.D. in natural resources economics and M.S. degree in agricultural economics from West Virginia University in USA.