Hi. I’m James Henderson.
My work focuses on how agricultural data, governance, and political economy shape food systems outcomes. I work at the intersection of policy, institutions, and evidence, with a particular focus on who controls data, how it circulates through multilateral systems, and whether it actually informs decisions.
I am the Agriculture Program Lead at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, hosted by the United Nations Foundation. I work closely with Rome-based agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, and the Committee on World Food Security, as well as regional institutions such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. My work engages directly with global governance processes linked to food security, agricultural statistics, and accountability.
I have extensive experience convening and supporting advocacy-oriented policy dialogue at country level. This includes sustained engagement with senior government officials, national statistical offices, ministries of agriculture, donors, and research institutions in Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Botswana. I work across technical and political audiences and maintain active professional networks across these contexts and within multilateral systems.
My background combines applied research, portfolio leadership, and high-level representation. Over more than a decade, I have worked across production, trade, and consumption dynamics in globally traded agricultural commodities, with a strong focus on how institutional incentives, data systems, and power relations shape outcomes. I am regularly involved in shaping policy-relevant narratives, convening coalitions, and representing organizations in complex, politically sensitive environments.
I hold a BSc from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MSc in Environmental Governance from the University of Freiburg. I am completing a PhD in Agricultural Sciences at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn. I am based in Cologne, Germany.
