College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Bio-Info

• Kelly M. Harrison CV.

Professor Harrison has worked in international agricultural development, pioneering innovative work related to marketing system development, agribusiness competitiveness and export promotion for over 40 years.  In 1966, after joining the faculty as Assistant Professor in The Department of Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University, he served as Chief of Party on agricultural marketing projects in Northeast, Brazil and Colombia.  He was also Director at MSU of the Latin American Marketing Project, advised graduate students and then for two years served as advisor to the Colombian Minister of Agriculture.  He moved from MSU to USDA in 1977.

Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself as an authority on European and American horticultural marketing systems and as an expert in export development programs in Latin America and the Middle East.  He has brought agribusiness experience as Chief of Party on several USAID projects, as manager of USA funded export development programs, agricultural association executive, agribusiness corporate executive, professor, and researcher.

 From 1977 to 81 he served as General Sales Manager and Foreign Agricultural Service Associate Administrator.  He supervised commercial export credit programs, directed international commodity sales of the Commodity Credit Corporation and managed USDA export promotion programs.  As President of Kelly Harrison Associates from 1984 to 2001, he organized and managed consulting assignments in over 25 countries; including marketing, value chain and transportation studies, business planning, export market development, franchise business analysis, and business management training for the private sector and international donors.

While Chief of Party for a USAID value chain project in Jordan, he assisted the national marketing organization, conducting policy studies, competitive analysis and export marketing plan development.  He also completed research studies in Egypt providing background for the USAID value chain development project (ATUT) and then served as Chief of Party, providing overall leadership and oversight.  He was an advisor to Egyptian grower/exporters in the creation of the Horticulture Export Improvement Association and continued to serve as an advisor until 2001.  As a direct result of the ATUT project, exports of green beans, strawberries, grapes and fresh melons increased from less than $10 million at the beginning of the ATUT project to $325 million in 2012, creating thousands of jobs. Through Kelly Harrison Associates he supervised USAID/Egypt contracts in business management training and development.

 For eight years he co-owned and served as Managing Director of the Egyptian Sun Company, the first large –scale Egyptian flower export business, overseeing the exports of several million stems of cut flowers to Europe each year.  Simultaneously he carried out several short-term consulting assignments, in Egypt and Middle Eastern Countries.  Since relinquishing day-to-day management of Egyptian Sun, he has carried out numerous short term consulting assignments related to value chain management with Carana Corporation and other companies in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kenya and Serbia.

Students

Students

• View list of advisees and respective theses/dissertations topics 

Teaching

• Professor Harrison taught in agricultural marketing area - AEC 841

Pubs-Online

• Publication Listings (with many downloadable)
  • MSU Library
  • USAID Development Experience Clearing House (DEC)  
  • Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA) Cornell University Library
  • Books World Cat

• MSU and Related Publication Series Which Professor Harrison Helped Develop at MSU

  • Marketing in Developing Communities Series - MSU Latin American Studies Center Series

Notable-Pubs/Pres

• Evaluation of the Economic Benefits of Horticultural Exports to Europe. 1991. by Harrison, Kelly M., and Amer Jabarin. Sigma One Report to USAID
• Design Analysis for the Central Wholesale Market in Amman. 1991. by Cardoso,Hernan and Kelly M. Harrison. Sigma One Report to USAID Misson - Jordan.
• Performance Evaluation of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Markets in Jordan. by Harrison, Kelly M., et. al.  Sigma One Corporation Report to USAID Jordan.
• Mejoramiento de los Sistemas de Comercializacion de Alimentos en los Paises en Desarrollo: Experiencias en América Latina. 1976. por Harrison, Kelly M., Donald Henely, Harold Riley and James D. Shaffer.  San José, Costa Rica: Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agrícolas.
• Marketing as a First Generation Problem of Small Farmers: A Costa Rican Case.  1976. By Kelly M. Harrison and Kenneth Shwedel
• Grupo de Mercadeo Mercadeo Agropecuario en Colombia - Diagnostico General Del Sistema y Propuestas para su Mejoramiento.  1976. By Kelly M. Harrison and other team members.
• Improving Food Marketing Systems in Developing Countries: Experiences from Latin America. 1974. By Kelly M. Harrison, Donald Henry, Harold Riley and James Shaffer. Research Report no. 6. Latin American Studies Center, Michigan State University.
• Observations on Agricultural and Food Marketing in the Dominican Republic With Some Implications for Development Planning and Research. 1974. By James D. Shaffer and Kelly M. Harrison
• Institutionalizing Marketing Improvement Programs. 1973.  By Kelly Harrison and Harold M. Riley.  A paper presented at the ADC/IICA Marketing Workshop, San Jose, Costa Rica.
• Vertical Coordination of Food Systems Serving Large Urban Centers in Latin America. 1973.  By Harold M. Riley and Kelly M. Harrison. Paper presented at FAO Conference on The Development of Food Marketing Systems for the Large Urban Areas in Latin America. Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 8 – 17.
• Development, Unemployment, and Marketing in Latin America. 1972. By Kelly M. Harrison. Occasional Paper No 2. Latin American Studies Center, MSU
• Marketing: One Answer to Poverty; Food Marketing and Economic Development in Puerto Rico, 1950-1965.  1969. By Wish, John R. and Kelly M. Harrison

Projects

• National Marketing Program for Agricultural Products in Colombia - LAMP Country Study. [1975 - 1976]
• Costa Rica Agricultural Marketing – LAMP Country Study. [1972 - 1976]
• Assistance to the USAID Mission in Colombia – LAMP Follow-Up. [1970 – 1972]
• Market Coordination in the Development of the Cauca Valley Region of Colombia – LAMP Country Study.  [1968 - 1970]
• Market Processes in La Paz, Bolivia - LAMP Country Study. [1966 - 1967]
• Food Marketing in the Economic Development of Puerto Rico - LAMP Country Study.  [1965 - 1966]
• Latin American Market Planning Program (LAMP) - Summary. [1965 - 1974]