Uma J. Lele

Uma Lele (born 28 August 1941; Koregaon, Satara, India) She spent much of her career working with the World Bank and other international organizations. In July 2018 Uma Lele became president-elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists.

Early life and education Uma Lele was born on 28 August 1941 in Koregaon, Satara, India

Career After graduating, Lele lived in Canada and carried out field research in India on grain markets. In 1971, she was hired by the World Bank and began studying areas in South Asia and Africa. She worked on her book The Design of Rural Development: Lessons From Africa (1975) as a visiting professor at Cornell (1973–1974), returning to the World Bank in 1974 and remaining there until 1990. and a Best Research Award on Gender in Development through the International Association of Agricultural Economists. Lele led the first comparative study to look at the design of rural development within Africa, and concluded that the bank's development approach was not effective in the African context, due to lack of infrastructure. In comparison, in countries like India, existing institutions were more stable and provided practical experience and support for the use of development funds. She recommended that projects needed "to build human and institutional development capacities" and to "build capacity before institutions could absorb large inflows of capital.”

In this and in later work such as her comparisons of water-related policies in China and India, Lele emphasizes international diversity, the need to understand local conditions and suit interventions to circumstances Lele has also pointed out close links between agricultural sector performance and macroeconomic performance and examined the roles that donors play in the successes and failures of development.

As a Division Chief in the development research department, reorganized by Anne Osborn Krueger in the 1980s, Lele carried out a comparative study on aid to African agriculture. The MADIA (Managing Agricultural Development in Africa) discussion papers examine the effectiveness of liberalisation and privatisation attempts in agricultural marketing over 25 years by aid donors (the World Bank, USAID, UKODA, DANIDA, SIDA, France, Germany, and the EEC) in six African countries (Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Senegal). Lele also independently published a book on aid and capital flows. and Senior Advisor in the World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department (later called the Independent Evaluation Group). Lele examined the impact of CGIAR's programs in a comparative context with other global programs. This analysis led to the identification of changes that had occurred over time and a rethinking of CGIAR's role.

Awards and honors 2019, Honorary Fellow. African Association of Agricultural Economists 2018, Clifton R. Wharton Jr. Emerging Markets Award, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management 2017, M. S. Swaminathan Award, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences, for “lifetime achievement in leadership in agriculture.” 2015, Honorary Life Member, International Association of Agricultural Economists 2014, Fellow, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE) 2008, CALS Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award Recipients, Cornell University 1999, Fellow, American Agricultural Economic Association 1995, Distinguished Scientist of Asian Origin, American Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin (AASIO)

Selected publications Lele has authored or edited at least 18 books and reports and over 130 book chapters, papers, and articles.