Qualification – wise, Prof. Ugwu, holds a Ph. D (Agricultural Economics) (2000), M. Sc. (Agricultural Economics) (1986) and B. Agric. (Animal Science) (1982).

He is an Agricultural Economist by profession as well as a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialist. Prof. Ugwu was the Ag. Programme Manager (1999-2000) and Director Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation (PME) (1991-2002) of a World Bank-Assisted Project, the Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme.

Prof. Daniel S. Ugwu is an international development consultant and evaluation expert/Agric. Economist with over 15 years of professional experience in multi-thematic research areas including policy & economic reforms, private sector development, agribusiness/agricultural sector, climate change, food security, poverty reduction, government systems strengthening, citizens empowerment, gender equity and inclusion, monitoring and evaluation, etc. Prof. Ugwu’s key skills include agricultural &socio-economic surveys, economic impact assessment, programme/project management, financial & economic analysis, result-based performance management, baseline, mid-line and end-line impact assessment, value chain analysis, research coordination and management; and participatory methodologies.

In terms of professional experience, Prof. Daniel S. Ugwu has twenty-nine (29) years post-doctoral experience in teaching, research and consultancies in the fields of Agricultural Economics, Rural Development and Environment. He has about fifteen (15) years of practical experience in the monitoring and evaluation of various development projects in Nigeria. Prof. Ugwu is a featured and registered Consultant with the African Development Bank (ADB). He has consulted for a good number of national and international development agencies and companies such as the UK Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Bank, European Commission (EC), ITAD Limited, Ecorys Netherlands as well as for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Water Resources (FMAWR), and Federal Ministry of Environment (FME), among others.

Prof. Ugwu is an Adjunct Professor of the Institute of African Research and Development Studies (IARDS) in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management. Prof. Ugwu undertakes rigorous research in the above-listed research areas especially on critical issues that adversely affect agricultural development in Nigeria such as food insecurity, poverty, climate change and farmer-herder conflict, among others. He also engages and makes scholarly contributions to the regular monthly seminars organized by the Research Institute.

He is the Chairman/CEO, African Centre for Rural Development & Environment (ACERDEN) with the primary goal of working with government, development partners and stakeholders to promote holistic development and environmental sustainability in Nigeria and Africa for the past twenty (20) years. Prof. Ugwu is a member of about fourteen (14) local and international professional bodies. Prof. Ugwu is a member of such professional bodies as African Evaluation Association; Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Nigeria; Society for Monitoring & Evaluation (M & E) Nigeria (SMEAN); The African Rural Policy Analysis Network; African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS) Network; Farm Management Association of Nigeria (FAMAN); Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network; Nigeria Association of Agricultural Economists (NAAE) and Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN). He is also a Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) Adviser/Consultant, DFID/SPARC, Nigeria; Associate Fellow, African Heritage Institution (AHI) Enugu, Nigeria; Editorial Consultant, Journal of Environmental Issues & Agriculture in Developing Countries.

Prof. Ugwu is a member, Board of Trustees, International Centre for Integrated Development Research (ICIDR). He was the Chairman, Board of Assessors during the First International Conference on Authentic Agriculture for Sustainable Food Security in the Global Food System organize by ICIDR, Nigeria in collaboration with Copperstone University, Zambia held at the University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria, November 6-8, 2019.  Prof. Ugwu has carried out professional assignments in eleven (11) African countries, namely Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Republic of Benin and United States of America (USA).

Prof. Ugwu has served as an External Examiner for the past five (5) years to various Universities in Nigeria including the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, AwkaAnambra State, Nigeria, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Anambra State University and Ebonyi State University for Masters and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduating students respectively. Prof. Ugwu has eighty-sixed (86) local and international publications to his credit comprising of journal articles (37) Book Chapters & Monographs (8), Conference Proceedings (6) and Technical Reports (38). Prof. Ugwu is skilled in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications and software such as Micro-soft Word, SPSS, Excel and Internet Explorer, among others.