Prof George Rothschild

Prof George Rothschild, Board Chair
Independent Consultant

George Rothschild, a British/ Australian citizen, is Emeritus Professor at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK, and an independent consultant. Current roles include: Chair, Board of CGIAR Challenge Program on Water & Food; Adviser, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Chair, UK Forum on Agricultural Research for Development, and Chair of Support Committee for UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Food & Agriculture in Development. His former positions include: Director-General, CGIAR International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); Director, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR); Foundation Director, Australian Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) Scientific adviser to Minister of Primary Industries, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Overseas Development of the Australian Federal Government; Chief Research Scientist and Assistant Chief, CSIRO Division of  Entomology, and Government Entomologist, Sarawak, Malaysia. He has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Entomological Society and Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences, and is member of the editorial boards of several international journals. He obtained his BSc from University of Nottingham in 1959 and a PhD from Imperial College of Science, London in 1962.

Hon. Prof Ruth Oniang’o

Hon. Prof Ruth Oniang’o, Founder and Chair of Board
Rural Outreach Programme

Ruth is founder and leader of the Rural Outreach Programme, a Kenya-based NGO that supports resource-poor farmer groups. A former member of Kenya’s Parliament (2003-2007), she worked to alleviate poverty and hunger, with special focus on science and technology, agricultural research and productivity, food security, nutrition, bio-safety legislation, fertilizer and other input use, HIV/AIDS and gender issues. She also served as Shadow Minister for Education for 5 years. Oniang’o served as a lecturer and professor of food science and nutrition at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a doctorate in food science and nutrition from the University of Nairobi, and received her first and second degrees from Washington State University. She has served on a number of national and international boards such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Agriculture Strategy Advisory Committee, IFDC, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Recognised as Africa’s “voice” on food and nutrition issues at international fora, she is currently a member of the Board of Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), advisor to the University of Leeds Africa College Initiative, and chairs Kenya’s Food Security Programmes and Nutrition Thematic Group. Ruth is a strong advocate of capacity building, mentorship and good governance for effective development of Africa.

Y. Bhg. Datuk Dr Abd Shukor Abd Rahman

Y. Bhg. Datuk Dr Abd Shukor Abd Rahman, Director General
Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI)

Datuk Dr Abd Shukor Abd Rahman is a plant postharvest physiologist with more than 30 years experience in agriculture research and development. He is currently the Director General of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). Dr. Shukor holds a B. Agr. Sc. from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, in postharvest physiology of fruits and vegetables. Dr. Shukor has contributed considerably to the development of various storage techniques and commercial ripening techniques of tropical fruits and vegetables, and to the handling and transportation systems of fresh fruits and vegetables for local and export markets. He also contributed to the physiology and biochemistry of the residual effect of low oxygen storage in Capsicum. Apart from his various capacities as a scientist, manager and administrator, Dr. Shukor has also served as chairman of APAARI (Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions) (2008-2010), and he is a board member of the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA), the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), and the Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB). Dr. Shukor received recognitions and awards from many quarters such as the MARDI Research Team Award, the American Society for Horticultural Science Award, the IAEA Fellowship Award, and royal national awards from the Malaysian King and State Sultans.

Dr. Leocadio Sebastian

Dr Leocadio Sebastian, Regional Director, Asia, the Pacific and Oceania
Bioversity International

Dr. Leocadio Sebastian has been the Regional Director, Asia the Pacific and Oceania, of Bioversity International since 2008. Prior to this Leo worked with the Philippines government for 25 years, rising from the ranks to become the Executive Director (2000-2008) of the Philippines Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). He was a recipient of various national and international awards such as the Pantas (Sage) Award for Research Management, JICA Presidential Award, Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) 2001, and Outstanding Young Scientist in Plant Breeding. He was also conferred the rank of Career Executive Officer 1 (CESO 1- highest career rank in the Philippines civil service) in 2003 by President Gloria Arroyo. As an accomplished rice breeder with a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Leo was instrumental in breeding varieties such as the NSIC 142 and “Matatag” lines to overcome tungro incidence. He was also instrumental in breeding the first Philippine biotech (MAS) rice variety released in 2006.

Prof. Sayed Azam-Ali

Prof Sayed Azam-Ali, Vice-Provost for Research & Knowledge Transfer
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Professor Azam-Ali’s background is in plant physiology and environmental physics. He has co-ordinated research in three continents that applies scientific principles to agricultural development, particularly in the tropics. In 1988, he established the Tropical Crops Research Unit (TCRU), which integrated transdisciplinary research at Nottingham University with field studies in Africa and Asia. This encompassed studies of climate change impacts on tropical crops, assessments of underutilised species, nitrogen fixation in non-legumes, molecular and participatory approaches for breeding objectives, the measurement of water and nitrogen use efficiencies and the modelling rainwater harvesting technologies as well as other research on crops growing in hostile environments and for which factors limiting growth are least understood. The best example of this research approach is the work he has co-ordinated on bambara groundnut since 1988, through EU-funded projects and involving eleven international institutions. Achievements of this work include: the first ever hybrid between a landrace and a wild accession, a core collection of germplasm, the first genetic linkage map of the species, progress in the agronomy, physiology and nutritional biochemistry of bambara seeds, as well as modelling and GIS techniques to identify ideotypes and the global potential of the species. Until recently, Professor Azam-Ali has been holding a position of Vice-Provost (Research and Internationalisation) and Professor of Tropical Agronomy at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. In July 2011, he has been appointed as CEO of the Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) in Semenyih, Malaysia.

Dr. Michael Hermann

Dr Michael Hermann (ex officio Board Member and Secretary), Global Coordinator
Crops for the Future

A native of Munich, and aficionado of Bavaro-Austrian potato dumplings, Michael began his career as a lecturer at the Faculty of International Agricultural Development at the Technical University Berlin, where he taught undergraduate courses and obtained his doctoral degree in crop ecophysiology with a thesis (1988) on the reproductive biology of the Andean fruit crop Solanum muricatum. Posted with IBPGR at the Agrarian University in Lima from 1988 to 1990, and later attached to the International Potato Center, Bioversity International and the CBD, Michael has worked and lived for 22 years in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Canada prior to assuming in 2010 his current post. His work has evolved from an initial focus on collecting, genebank management and diversity assessment to use strategies, especially for Andean root and tuber crops. His recent work focuses on market approaches to enhance the use of biodiversity, through product innovation, attribute discovery and market research, with the ultimate goal of linking poor farmers to markets for income generation. He has also extensive experience with the genetic resources and economic botany of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) and the high-value differentiation of fine-flavored cacao using native Latin American cultivars.