LIRNEasia Lead Economist Harsha de Silva was recently appointed to a five-member Scientific Advisory committee for a two-year multi-country African research project, eAgriculture Network for Africa (eARN Africa): Effectiveness of Electronic-Based Interventions in Linking African Farmers to Markets. The project aims study the effectiveness of ICT-based intervention in linking African farmers to markets so as to inform policy decisions of African governments and stakeholders aimed at improving livelihood of smallholder farmers.
The project is funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada; an inception meeting was recently held in Kampala, Uganda, which Harsha de Silva attended. The project will be conducted in six African countries: Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Ghana, Benin, and Madagascar.
The Scientific Advisory Committee constitutes:
- Prof. Chris Ackello-Ogutu, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi, Kenya
- Prof. Julian May, School of Development Studies, Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa
- Dr. Colin Poulton, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
- Dr. Adrian Mukhebi, CEO Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange and Market Economist, Nairobi
- Dr Harsha M. De Silva, Lead Economist, LIRNEasia
Harsha leads the agriculture-focused research at LIRNEasia, including a study on the impact of ICTs on transaction costs in agricultural markets in 2007.
4 Comments
Chanuka Wattegama
Congratulation Harsha. Great to hear this.
Sameera Wijerathna
Congratulations Dr. Harsha.
Hope you can make use eARN Africa experiences in Asia as well.
Sameera.
http://ict4d-in-srilanka.blogspot.com/
Sameera Wijerathna
Congratulations Dr. Harsha
-Sameera.
harsha de silva
thanks! the great thing is that with such interactions what ever we learnt in asia we can now share with our friends in africa. faster learning curve, less replication and clearly more efficient…
Missed opportunities in Philippine data governance
Even though the Constitution of the Philippines protects citizens’ right to access official records and research data used in policymaking, the absence of a comprehensive right-to-information law has left implementation subject to executive discretion. In a recent article published in InsiderPH on April 6, 2026, J.
Rethinking Sri Lanka’s Data Centre Hub Ambition
The idea of turning Sri Lanka into a regional data centre hub is an attractive one, particularly in the context of growing global demand for digital infrastructure and AI-driven services. However, it raises important economic questions, especially whether this is a viable and high-return investment strategy for a small, fiscally constrained economy like Sri Lanka.
Nepal’s digital crossroads: building a transparent data governance framework
Nepal’s evolving digital landscape highlights a growing tension between constitutional guarantees of privacy and access to information, and a fragmented, outdated data governance framework. In a recent article published in Republica on March 17, 2026, Avash Mainali, Country Researcher for Nepal for LIRNEasia’s D4D Asia project, argues that while the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Policy, 2082 (2025), marks a positive step, its impact will depend on whether it can move beyond aspirational language to enforceable rights.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific