Nikaj Van Wees
About Nikaj Van Wees
Nikaj Van Wees serves as the Chief of Party for the USAID/Feed the Future Global Supporting Seed Systems for Development Activity, where he leads efforts to strengthen national seed systems. He has extensive experience in agricultural development and has worked with various organizations across multiple countries in Africa and beyond.
Current Role at Catholic Relief Services
Nikaj Van Wees serves as the Chief of Party for the USAID/Feed the Future Global Supporting Seed Systems for Development activity at Catholic Relief Services. He has held this position since 2019, based in the Baltimore, Maryland Area. In this role, he leads a five-year initiative funded by Feed the Future and USAID, which focuses on strengthening national seed systems to enhance agricultural productivity and food security.
Previous Experience at Catholic Relief Services
Van Wees has held multiple positions at Catholic Relief Services. He was the Chief of Party for the USAID/Feed the Future Entrepreneurial Agriculture for Improved Nutrition project from 2017 to 2018 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He also served as Senior Adviser for Livelihoods, Markets, and Resilience from 2018 to 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya, and as Regional Technical Advisor for Agriculture from 2013 to 2014, also in Nairobi. Additionally, he worked as Chief of Party for the USAID/Resilience through Enhanced Adaptation, Action-learning, and Partnership initiative from 2014 to 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Education and Expertise
Nikaj Van Wees earned a Master of Science degree from Wageningen University & Research, where he studied Environmental Planning and Design, as well as Land and Water Management, from 1994 to 1999. His technical expertise encompasses various areas including smallholder farm development, market systems development, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, agricultural finance, climate-smart agriculture, and resilience. He also focuses on livestock and crop value chain development, as well as women and youth empowerment.
International Experience
Van Wees has extensive field experience across multiple countries in Africa and beyond. His work has taken him to Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Afghanistan. This diverse international exposure has contributed to his understanding of agricultural systems and the challenges faced in different contexts.
Career Background in Agriculture and Development
Throughout his career, Nikaj Van Wees has worked with various organizations in the agriculture and development sectors. He served as an Africa Agriculture Specialist at Save the Children US from 2010 to 2011 in Pretoria, South Africa, and held roles at FAO as a Food Security and Disaster Risk Reduction Consultant. His previous positions also include working as a Senior Program Officer at Cultivate New Frontiers in Agriculture and as an Agriculture Investment Manager at Palladium: Make It Possible.