Batamaka Somé

Consultant, Africa

Batamaka Soméis an anthropologist, a farm entrepreneur and research consultant based in Burkina Faso. He conducted extensive mixed-methods research on food systems transformation, particularly focusing on agriculture and gender, rural livelihoods, food and nutrition security, local governance, and climate change adaptation among pastoralist communities. He previously worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he provided strategic advice on sociocultural barriers to gender mainstreaming and technology adoption. He subsequently joined the World Food Programme as a Gender Advisor and Programme Policy Officer focusing on agriculture and gender. He has also undertaken consultancy assignments for leading international organizations, including the USAID, the UNDP, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), Sankofa Consulting, Parenting for Lifelong Health and the KIT Royal Tropical Institute. He currently serves as the West Africa Regional Representative for the McKnight Foundation’s Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS) program, leading regional action research efforts in agroecology and food systems. Before transitioning into international development, Dr Somé spent fifteen years teaching at secondary and tertiary levels in Burkina Faso and the United States. He earned a BA in English, a Master’s degree in African literature, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teacher Education from University of Ouagadougou. He further obtained a postgraduate degree in Gender Relations in International Development, along with an MA and a PhD in Anthropology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.