LISTEN TO THE Keynote Speakers
Dr. Ildephonse Musafiri
Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda
H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko
Commissioner for the Department of Agriculture AUC
H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko
Commissioner for the Department of Agriculture AUC
H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko is the Commissioner fo the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Econobilingualtainable Development (AUC-DARBE)., an Angola national; Mrs. Sacko was previously the special adviser to the Minister of agriculture, assigned with the responsibility of advising on issues related to international cooperation, Climate Change, food Security, Eradication of Hunger, and Poverty Reduction. She was also the former Secretary General of the Inter African Coffee Organization (IACO) for 13 years in Cote D’Ivoire where she oversaw the coffee economy of 25 African Coffee producing countries. During her tenure, she successfully advocated for the empowerment of small-scale coffee farmers across the continent by setting up Regional Centres of Excellence for Capacity Building of Member States, on Genetic Material Conservation, Coffee Quality Improvement, and Cup Tasting Liquor in Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Cameroon, and Zambia. adam Sacko has built up her international profile and reputation by either consulting or working with several Regional, and Global Institutional on Agriculture including the World Trade Organization (WTO), African Union (AU), International Coffee Organization (ICO), African Development Bank (AfDB), African Eexport-ImportBank (AFREXIMBANK), (FAO), UNECA, NEPAD ,etc
Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka
Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Sierra Leone
Dr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel
Assistant Director General (ADG) of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Africa
Dr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel
Assistant Director General (ADG) of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Africa
Abebe Haile-Gabriel is the Assistant Director General (ADG) of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Africa. The ADG holds a Doctorate and a Master of Arts degree in Agricultural and Rural Development from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) at The Hague, the Netherlands. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the Alemaya (now Haramaya University) the University of Agriculture in Ethiopia where he taught between 1986 till 2005.
He worked as a senior manager at the African Union Commission (AUC), he engaged with crucial stakeholders and partners ranging from government officials to civil society organizations, the private sector, farmers, etc. He served as Director of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture based at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Haile-Gabriel joined FAO in 2015 as Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and Representative to Ghana. He was also the Regional Program Leader for Africa since 2017.
Dr. Simeon Ehui
Regional Director, Continental Africa, CGIAR, and Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Dr. Simeon Ehui
Regional Director, Continental Africa, CGIAR, and Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Bongiwe Njobe
Chairperson of the FARA Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZERS
Bongiwe Njobe
Chairperson of the FARA Board of Directors
Dr. Aggrey Agumya
Executive Director - FARA
Dr. Aggrey Agumya
Executive Director - FARA
is the Executive Director at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). He holds a BSc in Surveying and Photogrammetry, plus MSc (ITC, The Netherlands) and Ph.D. degrees in Geomatics specializing in GIS and Remote Sensing (University of Melbourne, Australia). Dr. Agumya has 25 years professional experience, His work at the World Agroforestry Centre and at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa spans the entire African continent. Over the past years, Dr. Agumya’ s interest has been focused on the deployment of spatial tools in development work towards improving food security, incomes, and resilience to climate change-induced shocks.
LEAP4FNSSA SPEAKERS
Dr. Kwesi Atta Krah
Dr. Kwesi Atta‑Krah, a citizen of Ghana, has worked within the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) since 1984. His most recent position was with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), as Director, Country and Regional Engagement, from which he retired in December 2021. In the period 2013 to December 2016, Dr. Atta-Krah was Executive Director of the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the humid tropics (Humidtropics). Prior to that he was Deputy Director General of Bioversity International, a CGIAR Centre based in Rome. He has held senior research and management positions with other international organizations such as the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI); International Livestock Center for Africa (ILCA, now ILRI): International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF); and the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT). Dr Atta-Krah holds a BSc. degree in Crop Science from the University of Ghana, Legon, and PhD in Natural Resources Management and Agroforestry, from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. His professional interests and expertise span Agricultural Systems Research, Natural Resources Management, and Institutional Leadership, and Research Management. He is currently involved as Advisor, Global and Regional Engagement for West and Central Africa Region, in the One CGIAR reform. He has several publications to his credit and contributed to books in the domain of Agriculture Research and Development.
Dr. Shadrack R. Moephuli Shadrack
Research fellow at the University of South Africa (UNISA)
Dr. Shadrack R. Moephuli Shadrack
Research fellow at the University of South Africa (UNISA)Dr. Shadrack R. Moephuli Shadrack is currently a research fellow at the University of South Africa (UNISA) attached to the Department of Agriculture & Animal Health as well as the TM African School of Public and International Affairs. He also serves as the Chair of South Africa’s National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI). In addition, he’s an independent agriscience consultant. Recently he served as the chair of an expert team, called Task Force convened by the AU-EU LEAP4FNSSA. The aim was to conduct an analysis of the LEAP4FNSSA coordination and support action project with the outcome of developing a roadmap for setting up an International Research Consortium between Africa and the EU. Subsequently, he was appointed by the Minister of Agriculture in South Africa as chair of an expert Task Team on Animal Health Biosecurity to investigate and advise disease outbreaks. Previously, Dr. Shadrack Moephuli was the President and CEO of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) South Africa, a responsibility he assumed in 2006. In this function he served as a member of the AU – EU High Level Policy Dialogue Working Group (HLPD – WG). During his tenure Dr. Moephuli coordinated the ARC’s research and development partnerships on various projects within the AU-EU platform, such as ProIntenseAfrica, InnovAfrica, Soils4Africa and the LEAP4FNSSA. He has served as a member of the LEAP4FNSSA Steering Committee. In his role as the CEO of the ARC he convened the third Global Conference for Agriculture Research and Development. In addition, Dr. Moephuli has engaged in discussions about food systems and agricultural research through various means, including through presentations in many conferences/webinars or workshops. Before joining the ARC he served at various positions of responsibility with the Agriculture Department of South Africa, including responsibility for the National Agriculture Research Forum (NARF) – a multistakeholder forum for agriculture research. At international level Dr. Moephuli also served as the country’s representative on science and technology in agriculture in a number of organizations; specifically, the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), Cartagena Protocol for Biosafety (CPB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He served as a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, with scientific publications to his name. He obtained his doctoral degree in Biochemistry from the University of Connecticut, USA
Mr. Emmanuel Okalany
Technical Specialist for Development and Partnerships
Mr. Emmanuel Okalany
Technical Specialist for Development and Partnerships
Mr. Emmanuel Okalany is a Technical Specialist for Development and Partnership at the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM). He coordinates partnership and networking among the 157 RUFORUM member universities in 40 African countries. He also manages the partnerships between RUFORUM network and the African and global partners in Agriculture, Research & Development and Higher Education space.
He also directly supports programmes and projects development for advancement of the RUFORUM Network Strategy and Mission. Emmanuel is LEAP4FNSSA Project contact person at the RUFORUM Network, co-leads Task 3.1 in Work Package 3 and co-leads the Working Group 4 – functions and services of the International Research Consortium. Prior to joining RUFORUM, Emmanuel worked as a Climate Change Policy Analysis Consultant at International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Kampala, Uganda
Prof. Nkuo-Akenji
Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda, Cameroon
Prof. Nkuo-Akenji
Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda, CameroonProf. Nkuo-Akenji is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda, Cameroon and the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM). She served as the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Vice Dean and Head of Department all at the University of Buea, Cameroon. Prof. Nkuo-Akenji is the Vice President of the Association of African Universities (AAU) and the founder of the Cameroon Interdisciplinary Research Consultancy (CIRECON). She is a product of Our Lady of Lourdes College, Mankon-Bamenda, Saint Mary of Woods College, Indiana, the State University of New York and the School of Tropical Medicine, Ouisiana State University - all in the United States - where she received a PhD in Parasitology and Immunology.
Dr. Vincenzo Lorusso
Policy Officer at European Commission
Dr. Vincenzo Lorusso
Policy Officer at European Commission
Dr. Vincenzo Lorusso, European Commission, works as a Policy Officer at the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD), where he is in charge of Research and Innovation cooperation with Africa and, bilaterally, with ASEAN countries. Vincenzo joined the European Commission in 2022. Prior to that, he worked for eight years in the pharmaceutical industry as Head of Research and Innovation for infectious parasitic diseases, while also co-supervising MSc and PhD projects focused on Public Health and rural development in Africa, through an Honorary Research Fellowship at the University of Salford, UK. Vincenzo holds a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (University of Bari, Italy), a Master in International Development and African Studies (Sciences Po, Paris), a PhD in Public Health with a focus on infectious diseases in Africa (University of Edinburgh, UK), and a High-Level Executive Diploma in Diplomacy & Health (The Graduate Institute, Geneva).
Stéphanie Truillé-Baurens
Delegate for European Affairs
Stéphanie Truillé-Baurens
Delegate for European AffairsStéphanie Truillé-Baurens is the Delegate for European Affairs at CIRAD (France) since September 2021.
Prior to this, she worked for more than 15 years at the European Commission. She was posted in EU Delegations in third countries, respectively in Mali, Djibouti, Algeria and Zambia and worked for 7 years as International Cooperation Officer within the European Commission (DG DEVCO then INTPA) where she followed the Africa-EU partnership in the areas of higher education and digitalisation and managed an extensive portfolio of projects in those sectors.
Ms Truillé-Baurens holds an MA in International Relations from Staffordshire University (UK), an MA in European Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium) and an MPhil degree in African Studies from Sciences Po Bordeaux (France).
Dr. Ousmane NDOYE
Program Manager at CORAF/WECARD
Dr. Ousmane NDOYE
Program Manager at CORAF/WECARD
Dr. Ousmane NDOYE Program Manager at CORAF/WECARD
Area of expertise: Plant breeding, Management of development projects, monitoring and evaluation of projects
Dr. Ousmane NDOYE holds a PhD degree in Plant Breeding, in 2001, from Texas A&M University. He was awarded, in 1999, a Certificate on International Agriculture and a Masters Degree (MSc) in 1988 at the same University.
He also holds a master’s degree in Natural Sciences from the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Senegal with a major in Cytophysiology.
In his professional experience Dr. Ndoye has worked at the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA) which is the national agricultural research institute for Senegal where he has been the Peanut program coordinator for about 18 years. Then he moved up on to managerial duties and became Director of the Centre National de Recherches Agronomiques (CNRA) at Bambey, Senegal for 7 years. He headed the Centre d’Etude Régional pour l’Amélioration de l’Adaptation de la Sécheresse (CERAAS) at Thiès, Senegal for 2 years before joining CORAF in 2011 as a Program Manager.
During his time in ISRA, Dr. Ndoye and his team released 9 peanut varieties which are now widely grown in Senegal and beyond.
He has served in various committees as board member (Board member of the Bean Cowpea CRSP du Michigan, USA Bean Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program(CRSP), financed by USAID, 2005-2007); member of steering committees (Member of the Steering Committee of the Groundnut Seed Project (GSP) for West Africa, financed by the CFC, 2003-2007); coordinator of projects (Coordinator at ISRA, of the Project « Capacity strengthening of ISRA for sustainable production of groundnut breeder seed » a project financed by the European Union, 2007-2009).
Dr. Ndoye also has served in various task forces on behalf of the Government of Senegal and has chaired a mission of experts in Brazil, China and Ukraine
Patricia Wagenmakers
Policy advisor at Wageningen University and Research on international partnerships
Patricia Wagenmakers
Policy advisor at Wageningen University and Research on international partnerships
Dr. Patricia Wagenmakers is a policy advisor at Wageningen University and Research on international partnerships, in particular with CGIAR and EU-Africa. A biologist by training, she is the WUR representative in LEAP4FNSSA. She represents WUR in the Agrinatura Association. Previously she has worked as policy officer in the Dutch ministry of agriculture on research and international cooperation. For many years, she has been involved in EU-international initiatives such as ERAnet projects and policies on agricultural research for global development.
E-mail: patricia.wagenmakers@wur.nl
Dr. Stephen Onakuse
Senior lecturer in the Department of Food Business and Development
Dr. Stephen Onakuse
Senior lecturer in the Department of Food Business and DevelopmentDr. Stephen Onakuse is a senior lecturer in the Department of Food Business and Development and Deputy Director - the Centre for Sustainable Livelihoods, Cork University Business School, University College Cork, and the President of the European Alliance on Agricultural Knowledge for Development – (AGRINATURA). Steering Committee Member of the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) Food and Agriculture (FAO) of the United Nations. He holds a Diploma in General Agriculture, B.Agric Degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNNAB), a MSc in Environmental Biology (Entomology) from the University of Ibadan, a PGD in Cooperative Organisation Food Marketing and Rural Development, a PhD in Food Business and Development and a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning and an MA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the University College Cork, Ireland.
Dr Onakuse is the UCC PI on the European Union DeSIRA funded project on Climate Smart Agriculture Research and Innovation Support for Dairy Value Chains in Eritrea and the PI on the EPA project on Sustainable production and Consumption – the impact of social norms (SPAC).
Ioannis Dimitriou
Associate Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
Ioannis Dimitriou
Associate Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)Ioannis Dimitriou is Associate Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and a Senior Research Advisor at SLU’s Vice-Chancellor’s office, responsible for the international programmes with low and middle income countries.
He has been involved in several EU and nationally-funded agriculture for development projects, with most recent examples being LEAP4FNSSA and DeSIRA-LIFT. He was recently appointed Vice-President at the European Alliance on Agricultural knowledge for Development (Agrinatura) EEIG (Agrinatura’s business unit).
His research focuses on designing productive systems with food and biomass crops while achieving minimal environmental impact, including recycling of different nutrient-rich wastes. He has been working with the science-policy interface to support the implementation of smart innovation in agriculture contributing to the sustainable transformation of food systems.
Dimitriou is author of more than a 100 peer-reviewed articles, member of several PhD examination committees, and organiser of PhD courses at SLU and partner universities.
Henning Knipschild
Biologist by training with expertise on funding
Henning Knipschild
Biologist by training with expertise on fundingHenning Knipschild, biologist by training with expertise on funding, research management, international policies, knowledge management and development cooperation. He works in the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), an institution directly subordinated to the German Government and empowered to conduct business on behalf of the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
Henning Knipschild has been working in international cooperation most of his work life. He worked as a Project Manager in Knowledge Management within the field of food security and currently works as a funding manager for international agricultural research programmes, as well as a programme manager in digital transformation within the digitisation programme of the German governmental institutions. He has been working in different European-African networks/projects, such as ERA-ARD, LEAP-Agri, LEAP4FNSSA and also in development cooperation in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Henning Knipschild regularly represents the Ministry BMEL in the FNSSA Working Group.
Plans for the near future: invite FNSSA funders at regular basis to stay in contact keep updated.
Email: Henning.Knipschild@ble.de
https://www.ble.de/EN/Topics/Agriculture/Global-Food-Security/global-food-security_node.html
Mr. Stefan A. Haffner
Senior Scientific Officer
Mr. Stefan A. Haffner
Senior Scientific Officer
Mr. Stefan A. Haffner is a Senior Scientific Officer in the Department for European and International Cooperation in the Project Management Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR-PT) serving the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). He worked in several international institutions and multilateral projects towards the collaboration of Africa and Europe in the field of STI. At the moment he is involved in the EU-funded ERA-Net Cofund LEAP-Agri, the CSA LEAP4FNSSA and the RIA LEAP-RE. Based on his experiences with multilateral funding and collaboration processes, he is focussing currently on the development of a long-term strategic AU-EU Programme and Innovation Management Cycle (PIMC) model in STI. The PIMC Model facilitates the inclusive development of research and innovation agendas, and intends to improve coordination and network building, and the development of communication and learning mechanism in multilateral contexts. He graduated with a master in Geography and Sociology. Email: stefan.haffner@dlr.de
Magdalena Gajdzinska
Policy Officer in Food Systems
Magdalena Gajdzinska
Policy Officer in Food SystemsMagdalena Gajdzinska is a Policy Officer in Food Systems Transformation within the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission in Brussels responsible for microbiome for food systems transformation, EU-African Union and international cooperation. Prior to this assignment, she worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Moreover she has experience in working with veterinary administration and food safety in other EU institutions and Polish Veterinary Administration. She has received her degrees in veterinary medicine and bioengineering of food production from University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland and specialised in hygiene of food of animal origin.
Dr. Hans-Jörg Lutzeyer
Active SeniorSCAR Secretariat EU-African Union Food Systems R&I Horizon Europe Food Systems Partnership
Dr. Hans-Jörg Lutzeyer
Active SeniorSCAR Secretariat EU-African Union Food Systems R&I Horizon Europe Food Systems PartnershipDr. Hans-Jörg Lutzeyer, Active SeniorSCAR Secretariat EU-African Union Food Systems R&I Horizon Europe Food Systems Partnership. He was previously the senior policy officer at Directorate General Research and Innovation of the European Commission, based in Brussels, in the Bioeconomy and Food Systems unit (FOOD 2030). He was in charge of food systems Africa and co-chairing the EU-African Union (AU) Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) working group of the EU-AU Partnership on FNSSA. He is executive secretary of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research, which provides advice to the Commission, Member States and Associated Countries on strategic research and innovation in agriculture, food systems and the bioeconomy. He is also contact for the Horizon Europe candidate partnership on sustainable food systems for people, planet & climate.
Before joining the European Commission in 2001, he worked on short term assignments in Benin, Morocco, Brazil and Kenya and later co-ordinating for the German Research Ministry food systems related international research. He did his agronomy PhD at University of Hohenheim (Germany) with two year field studies in West Africa (Benin Republic) at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), one of the CGIAR Centres.
Guillermo Cardon
Policy Officer/Research Programme Officer
Guillermo Cardon
Policy Officer/Research Programme OfficerGuillermo Cardon works since January 2022 as Policy Officer/Research Programme Officer in Unit F2 Research and Innovation of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission. He works on EU-Africa cooperation in agricultural research and innovation, and is co-chair of the AU-EU Working Group on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) of the High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Science, Technology and Innovation. He is also member of the Secretariat of the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”. He studied agronomy and earned a doctoral degree in biology, with specialization in plant molecular genetics. He worked as a researcher in the public and private sector for over ten years before joining the European Commission in July 2001, to work initially as a Research Programme Officer for plant production systems, plant genetics, genomics and biotechnology at the Directorate General for Research and Innovation. Before joining DG AGRI he also worked for 13 years in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety as Policy Officer for plant health and for food safety.
Dr. Monica Idinoba
Principal Scientific Officer at the African Union Commission
Dr. Monica Idinoba
Principal Scientific Officer at the African Union Commission
Dr. Monica Idinoba is a Principal Scientific Officer at the African Union Commission
Monica Ebele Idinoba holds a PhD in Geography. She has previously worked with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the West Africa rice development association (WARDA) now AfricaRice center, in 2005 she moved on to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), first as a Senior Scientist and later as the West Africa coordinator for Tropical Forest and Climate change adaptation. Currently she works for the African Union Commission in the department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation as a Principal Scientific Officer and coordinating the EU funded project on Research grants.
KM4AgD SPEAKERS
Benjamin Abugri
Knowledge Management, Digitalization & Learning Cluster Lead Specialist, Facilitator
Benjamin Abugri
Knowledge Management, Digitalization & Learning Cluster Lead Specialist, Facilitator
Mr. Benjamin Abugri is a Certified Knowledge Manager and the Knowledge Management, Learning & Communications Lead Specialist at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), an apex continental organisation for the Africa Union Commission responsible for coordinating and advocating for Agricultural Research and Development. He is leading the observatory for Africa Agricultural initiative and a initiator of the Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development (KM4AgD) Challenge, and convener of the annual Africa Agricultural Knowledge Management Conference. He has vast experience in Knowledge Management, partnerships, outreach, networking, coordination, Project Management and Community Engagement. Before joining FARA in February 2017 he served as KM Manager for USAID Ghana Programmes implemented by the University Research Company and the John Snow Health Research Institute, and World Vision International. He has an academic background in Education, Accountant, M&E, Strategic & Project management and Knowledge Management. He is currently a PhD Candidate in Public Administration and Policy Management and has authored/co-authored several publications, including a Continental Data Capture Strategy for Africa, a practical guide for KM Practitioners. Benjamin is a member of several KM communities and serves on the board of the Knowledge for Development Partnership (K4DP) and the Ghana Council for Scientific Research (CSIR) Institute for Scientific and Technological Information of the Government of Ghana.
Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminabugri/
Peter Ballantyne
Consultant & Former Knowledge Management Expert, International Livestock Research Institute
Peter Ballantyne
Consultant & Former Knowledge Management Expert, International Livestock Research Institute
Andreas Brandner
Executive Director, Knowledge for Development Partnership
Andreas Brandner
Executive Director, Knowledge for Development Partnership
Executive Director, K4DP Knowledge for Development Partnership; Managing Director of Knowledge Management Austria and global Chairman of the knowledge.city network. Advisor to companies, governments, NGOs, and International Organisations in the development of KM Strategies; Initiator of the Knowledge for Development Challenges. Founder and Director of the School of Knowledge Sciences; Director at Joint Centre for Knowledge Sciences at International University of Management, Namibia; Director at Knowledge for Development Centre at Makerere University Business School, Uganda.
Bridget Kakuwa
Information & Knowledge Officer at CCARDESA
Bridget Kakuwa
Information & Knowledge Officer at CCARDESA
Information & Knowledge Management Officer at CCARDESA Secretariat (SADC)
Dr. Seth Manteaw
Director, CSIR-INSTI, Ghana
Dr. Seth Manteaw
Director, CSIR-INSTI, Ghana
Dr Seth Awuku Manteaw is a Principal Research Scientist and currently the Director of the CSIR-Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (CSIR-INSTI). CSIR-INSTI is one of the institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) with the mandate to manage knowledge generated by the 13 research institutes of the CSIR and ensure that the knowledge is mainstreamed in all sectors of the economy for national development. His area of specialty is Agricultural Extension. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Agricultural Extension; Postgraduate Diploma and Master of Arts Degree in Communication Studies and a Master of Science Degree in Agriculture (Agronomy). He has undertaken research and published in local and international journals in his research areas of interest including Agribusiness, Commodity Value Chain and Innovation Systems; Technology Transfer; Development Communication and National Agricultural Extension Policy. Until his appointment as Director of CSIR-INSTI in 2019, he was a Technical Specialist working on the World Bank-sponsored West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP). By virtue of his position as a Technical Specialist, he was the Desk Officer and Deputy National Coordinator of the Research-Extension-Farmer Linkage Committees (RELCs), which are operational in all the 15 regions of Ghana. During this period, he worked closely with the Directorate of Agricultural Extension Service at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ghana to ensure the transfer of agricultural technologies developed by the National Agricultural Research System to farmers and other actors along the value chain. Dr. Manteaw is a trained journalist, a member of the Ghana Journalists Association and also a Public Relations Practitioner, an accredited member of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana.
Dr Akuku Boniface
Director, ICT & KM, KALRO, Kenya
Dr Akuku Boniface
Director, ICT & KM, KALRO, Kenya
Dr. Boniface Akuku is the Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). Previously he worked as Chief of Information Technology (IT) at US Army Medical
Research Unit (USAMRU) and Kenya Medical Research Institute. He has more than 15 years of vast experience and in-depth knowledge in the Information Technology Industry that includes expertise in systems development, architecture, integration and telecommunication. Notable specific expertise includes management of research data, information and knowledge, he has undertaken several scientific
research assignment as a Principal Investigator (PI) and co-Principal Investigator (co-PI). His research interest includes research informatics, knowledge
management, open data, data science and big data. He was the climate information prize winner in 2016 for developing a platform that tackles climate change impacts on farmers in Kenya.
Benjamin Abugri
Knowledge Management, Digitalization & Learning Cluster Lead Specialist, Facilitator
Benjamin Abugri
Knowledge Management, Digitalization & Learning Cluster Lead Specialist, Facilitator
Mr. Benjamin Abugri is a Certified Knowledge Manager and the Knowledge Management, Learning & Communications Lead Specialist at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), an apex continental organisation for the Africa Union Commission responsible for coordinating and advocating for Agricultural Research and Development. He is leading the observatory for Africa Agricultural initiative and a initiator of the Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development (KM4AgD) Challenge, and convener of the annual Africa Agricultural Knowledge Management Conference. He has vast experience in Knowledge Management, partnerships, outreach, networking, coordination, Project Management and Community Engagement. Before joining FARA in February 2017 he served as KM Manager for USAID Ghana Programmes implemented by the University Research Company and the John Snow Health Research Institute, and World Vision International. He has an academic background in Education, Accountant, M&E, Strategic & Project management and Knowledge Management. He is currently a PhD Candidate in Public Administration and Policy Management and has authored/co-authored several publications, including a Continental Data Capture Strategy for Africa, a practical guide for KM Practitioners. Benjamin is a member of several KM communities and serves on the board of the Knowledge for Development Partnership (K4DP) and the Ghana Council for Scientific Research (CSIR) Institute for Scientific and Technological Information of the Government of Ghana.
Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminabugri/
Andrianjafy Rasoanindrainy MSc
ICTKM Coordinator at AFAAS AFRICA
Andrianjafy Rasoanindrainy MSc
ICTKM Coordinator at AFAAS AFRICA
Skills & experiences : Projet design & management / M&E / Facilitation / Networking / Information and knowledge management / Information systems / Web Design & Development / Web 2.0 Training / Databases / E-governance / Infographics and multimedia / Permaculture and écological design
Bridget Kakuwa
Information & Knowledge Officer at CCARDESA
Bridget Kakuwa
Information & Knowledge Officer at CCARDESA
Information & Knowledge Management Officer at CCARDESA Secretariat (SADC)
Ben Ilakut MSc
Knowledge Manager at ASARECA
Ben Ilakut MSc
Knowledge Manager at ASARECA
Knowledge Manager at ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa
