Dr. Michael Ayamga is senior lecturer, head of the Department of Applied Economics, and coordinator of the West African Center for Sustainable Rural Transformation in Tamale, Ghana. He holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Ghanaian-German Center for Development Studies at the University of Ghana, an M.phil. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University for Development Studies. The focus of his research is on agricultural commercialization, the land question and African smallholders. Dr. Ayamga is a Fellow of the Volkswagen Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York. He has taught in Doctoral Support Programs at the University of Bonn, Germany and at Universidad Nacional De Colombia and has been a visiting scholar to the Universities of Bonn and Guelph.