Dr. Sidi Cherno Jammeh is a highly respected Gambian who served at the World Bank for many years before his retirement a few years back. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Development Economics and International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in May 1987, a Master of Arts (MA) from the same institution in May 1981, and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in International Economics from Georgetown University in May 1977.
He has over 30 years of experience, including more than 20 years with the World Bank, advising policymakers in government, the private sector, and various multilateral, regional, and bilateral institutions. His expertise primarily focuses on agricultural development programs aimed at poverty reduction and facilitating connections between investors and clients in the African region.
He has extensive experience designing and executing strategies and initiatives for comprehensive social and economic development and fostering public-private partnerships. His expertise extends to the design and execution of investment projects, encompassing problem-solving, supervision, monitoring, evaluation, project documentation, and project commencement facilitation.
Dr. Jammeh covers every aspect of the project cycle with his effective skills and experience in mentoring and coaching, primarily for WB Task Managers and project staff in client countries. This includes project concept development and design, writing appraisal documents, overseeing mission planning, and preparing project and implementation completion reports (PCRs/ICRs), making him an outstanding Gambian professional.
In October-December 2017, as lead consultant, Dr. Jammeh led a World Bank Mission to the Republic of Chad to launch the preparation of the Implementation Completion Report (ICR) of an Agricultural Emergency and Production Support Project (total project costs of $47 million). I produced and submitted the ICR in December 2017. The World Bank Group favored this ICR.
In December 2016, He also led a Mission to the Republic of Niger to introduce the Green Yelwa Company, Nigeria Ltd. to the Government of Niger. Green Yelwa is involved in the production and marketing of organic fertilizers. I joined the company as a Partner and Vice President of Operations and Corporate Development, leading the company’s strategy of promoting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in the African region by introducing and adopting the Green Yelwa Bio-products.
Dr. Jammeh was the Lead Consultant GAMWORKS and Undertook a Mission to the Gambia to: (a) participate in the joint Govt. of the Gambia-IDB Supervision Mission of the CILIP and (b) write the Impact Assessment Report of the CILIP and the Project Completion of the CILIP, including building a case for a Follow-on operation to consolidate the achievements of this Success Story and to scale-up in terms of scale (transiting from subsistence agriculture to agriculture as a Business, based on the value chain approach) and scope (National coverage).
November 3 December 3, 2014, he served as an International Consultant to the National Fadama Coordination Office (NFCO), FMARD, Nigeria. He led the Review of the first batch of Business Plans (BPs) submitted by the beneficiary-production Groups/farmer groups of the Fadama III Plus Additional Financing (AF) Project before submitting the same to the World Bank for their mandatory Review and approval. The assignment also included Mentoring management and technical specialists of the NFCO on the Anatomy of a Business Plan. Fadama III +AF Project (total cost of $200 million) is a WB-assisted project to support the implementation of the Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). World Bank has reviewed and approved the First Batch of BPs, thereby satisfying conditions for the release of funds to the Production Clusters on time for the start of dry-season farming (2014/2015) of the target value chain commodities viz: Cassava, Rice, and Tomatoes.
In October 2013-January 2014, he was the Lead Consultant—the Gambia Commercial Agriculture and Value Chain Management Project; Assisted the World Bank and Government Teams with preparing this $20 million WB-funded project. The scope of the assignment includes leading the project design work, providing quality enhancement support on project-related studies on the bankability of the proposed project: technical, economic, and financial viability; soundness and sustainability from a social and environmental safeguards point of view; anticipated risks and risk mitigation strategies and implementation arrangements. He also provided substantive input into analyzing business propositions in commercial agriculture, including large-scale commercial farms to medium-scale operators in agricultural production and processing and ancillary enterprises along the value chain.
He also leads several missions to Africa while working with the World Bank, including the Lead Consultant and Senior Advisor to the Atepa Group of Senegal for the development of a proposed Casamance Sugar Mill Project (comprising Cane Sugar Estate, Sugar Mill, Industrial Alcohol Distillery; and Cogeneration Facility) and serve as Technical Assistant and Advisor to the National Project Coordinator (NPC), Nigeria Fadama III Project with the responsibility to assist the WB Team Leader and the NPC and the Government Team with the preparation of the Fadama III plus Additional Financing (Fadama III+AF). WB is financing Fadama III+AF with an IDA Credit of $200 million to support the implementation of the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda. He led the project design work and assisted in processing the project through the Board in June 2013.
Between 1989- 2005, He was Task Team Leadership at WB tasked Managed and design the Niger Pilot Private Irrigation Project, which is cited as an International Best Practice (1990-1995 ), and also Managed and created the Burkina Faso Private Irrigation Project (1993-1995) among other high profile assignments.
Dr. Jammeh has also worked on Selected Consultancy Work with the Islamic Development Bank, including the Gambia Community Infrastructure and Livelihood Improvement Project (total project cost: $18 million), for which he assisted the project team with the design and participated in the Project Appraisal Mission from April to June 2010. I also assisted the Client with the Official Project Launch Workshop.
He is Fluent in Mandingo, Wolof, English’, and French as his only working knowledge.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on Dr. Sidi C. Jammeh by the Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit (ATIGS) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC, on June 26, 2018. This award was in recognition of Dr. Jammeh’s Impactful contributions in : (a) the Development of African Agriculture, (b) Business and Private Sector Development in Africa (c) Improvements in relations between the twin Bretton Woods institutions and the African client countries on the one hand and Capitol Hill on the other and (d) Advocacy and Promotion of Inclusion and Diversity by engaging Management of the World Bank Group and the IMF to create a level playing field and equal opportunity for the Recruitment and Career Advancement of Sub-Saharan African Staff and Staff of African descent in the twin Bretton woods Institutions.
In addition to outstanding work in the Agriculture of Senegal, Niger, and Rwanda, Dr. Jammeh led the design of the World Bank Group Flagship Nigeria Fadama II Project, which is an International good practice. Known in Nigeria as Baba Fadama, Dr. Jammeh has designed 3 Fadama Projects for Nigeria: Fadama II, Fadama III, and Fadama III AF (total project costs of about $1 Billion). The Fadama Projects are so far a success story in Nigeria.
In October 1998, Dr. Jammeh, in his capacity as Chairman of the World Bank Group-IMF African Society, organized the First Africa Business Forum hosted by the Bretton Woods Institutions. Six hundred (600) top Business leaders from the 54 African countries attended the weeklong Networking event between the African private sector and their counterparts on this side of the Atlantic (particularly the US and Europe). Enduring and mutually beneficial relationships grew from this groundbreaking event conceived, designed, and implemented by Dr. Jammeh and the African Society. Six African business leaders on the Forbes list of African billionaires are Alumni of the First Africa Business Forum (1998).
Under Dr.Jammeh’s leadership (1996-2003), the African Society successfully delivered on key institutional assignments, including payment of outstanding US arrears to IDA 11 and blunting the strong opposition to the $4billion Chad Cameroon Pipeline project to successful approval by the Board of the World Bank Group. He achieved this key institutional objective thanks to the close relationship he forged between Capitol Hill (through the CBC) and African Society.
Voluntary Contributions to the Bretton Woods Institutions and the Africa Region
During his 7-year tenure (1996-2003) as Chairman of the World Bank-IMF African Society—an organization representing the some 1800 African professionals working in the Breton Woods Institutions—Sidi and his Team developed and successfully implemented a strategy to constructively engage senior management on African staffing and Racial Diversity issues and an Outreach Program whereby his organization helped mobilize the collective strength and wisdom of the Africans in the World Bank Group and the IMF to contribute positively, and sometimes in an “out of the box” manner, to the irreversible change processes taking place across the Africa Region and in the Bank and the Fund, and to enhancing relations between the Bank and the Fund and the African client countries. Below are highlights of some of the contributions of the Society under Dr. Jammeh’s leadership.
Awards
In 1997, he received the World Bank Group President Award in “Recognition of Pioneering Work and Outstanding Performance in the Delivery of New World Bank Lending Instruments” (as a member of the Core Team on APLs/LILs).
In 2000 World Bank-IMF African Society Honored him as a as sole recipient) with the prestigious title of Chairman Emeritus World Bank-IMF African Society in recognition of pioneering work and legacy on African staffing and the Diversity and Inclusion Program of the World Bank Group
He was also awarded a trophy in recognition of “Outstanding contributions to the career of staff of African origin in the International Monetary Fund and The Constituency for Africa (CFA)-–Leading pro-Africa advocacy NGO in USA: 09/2003—honored him with a trophy in recognition of “Exemplary contributions to US-Africa Relations”
PUBLICATIONS:
Dr. Jammeh, also an author, writes several publications, including his November 1984 paper, Non-Market Constraints on Agricultural Price Policymaking in Senegal (1960-1986). Dakar: USAID and Princeton;Evolution of Agricultural Marketing and Pricing Policies of Senegal–World Bank/MADIA Research Draft Report in September 1985 ;Agricultural Pricing in Senegal: Analysis of Groundnut Supply Response–World Bank/MADIA Research Draft in January 1986;State Intervention in Agricultural Pricing and Marketing in Senegal [The Politics of Budgetary Reallocation]-PhD Thesis, NS Johns Hopkins University] in May 1987 among other interesting publications.
