Jean-Michel Sourisseau is economist and lead researcher at CIRAD at the joint research unit “Actors, Resources and Territories for Development” (ART-Dev). After a PHD on household strategies in the large irrigated systems in West Africa (Senegal Delta and “Office du Niger” in Mali), he has conducted research on pluriactivity of rural families and its implication on grassroots development policies. Since 2005 he has worked in New Caledonia, where he initiated a large survey on kanak tribes’ economy, with a specific focus on non-monetary exchanges.
Multifunctionality of agriculture and diversity of family farming around the world are recurring themes in his work. He was responsible for coordinating events and managing CIRAD’s scientific publication during the International Year of Family Farming (2014), and is now CIRAD focal point on this theme.
Recently, his research has focused on agriculture intensification pathways in the face of demographic challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa, articulating household approaches and territorial perspectives.