James Oduor has worked with the Kenya government as a Civil Servant, for more than 38 years. Until February 2022, he worked for the National Drought Management Authority, where he was responsible for overall management and control of the Authority’s operations, with a staff of 500 in 27 locations in Kenya and an annual budget of Kshs 5 billion ($5 million). Prior to that, from 2004 to 2010, he…
Type: Expert
Mr. Raouf Mazou took up his appointment as Assistant High Commissioner for Operations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on 1 February 2020. Prior to this appointment, he was the Director of the Africa Bureau in 2019 and the UNHCR Representative in Kenya for over five years. In the four years immediately preceding this assignment, he was a Deputy Director in…
Type: Expert
At the age of 23, Talash started off the journey of InsectiPro, with a vision to reinforce food security in Kenya and Africa at large through alternative protein sources. Three years later, she persisted with her vision, currently leading a team of over 60 employees into a large scale production of black soldier fly larvae and crickets for feed and food respectively. Born in Kenya, Talash grew up…
Type: Expert
Simon is lead producer, and occasionally host, of the multi-award-winning BBC World Service podcast and radio show ‘The Food Chain’ – a weekly documentary exploring our world through the prism of food. From the role food plays in grief or the way it can fight crime, to the dangers faced by food delivery drivers or the mental health crisis in farming, The Food Chain shows that what we eat and…
Type: Expert
Martien van Nieuwkoop, a Dutch national, was appointed Global Director for the Agriculture and Food Global Practice in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Practice Group on July 1, 2019. As Global Director, Martien provides leadership to the formulation and implementation of the Bank’s strategy and knowledge in agriculture and food, oversees the operationalization of the Bank’s vision on…
Type: Expert
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury is the chairman and chief executive officer of PRAN RFL Group— the largest food and beverage brand in Bangladesh. The business conglomerate, established in 1981, pioneered agribusiness in Bangladesh by providing farmers with guaranteed prices. In 2008, the company announced plans to open a production facility in Tripura, India, after the Indian government lifted the ban on…
Type: Expert
Dr Lefulesele Lebesa is the Director of Agricultural Research in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Lesotho. She had her academic trainings at National University of Lesotho, the University of Pretoria, and the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). Her research focuses on biodiversity and pest management for Food and Nutrition Security. She serves as the…
Type: Expert
Andrew Jarvis, Associate Director General of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. Andy is a renowned scientist in the field of climate change and agriculture. He provides leadership support for the CGIAR center. Previously, he was Flagship Leader on the CGIAR Research Program for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), based in Cali, Colombia. Andy has over 20 years…
Type: Expert
Hon. Minister Dr. Anxious Jongwe Masuka holds a BSc Agric (Hons) and a DPhil from the University of Zimbabwe/Oslo. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement in August 2020. A technocrat with a very strong industrial and agricultural background, having been a forestry and agricultural researcher for 13 years with over 100 science publications and more than 15 books and…
Type: Expert