FARA SECRETARIAT STAFF

Executive Director

Prof Monty Patrick Jones is the Executive Director of FARA and Co-winner of the p restigious 2004 World Food Prize, awarded for his discovery of the genetic process to create the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) which gives higher yields, shorter growth cycles and more protein content than its Asian and African parents. Prof Jones, a Sierra Leonean, has spent the past 23 years of his career in Africa working in international agricultural research for development institutions. His work on NERICA increased rice production in West, East and Central Africa and created savings for many African countries. He has published more than 70 scientific papers and articles. In September 2001, he received the National Order of Merit of Côte d’Ivoire from the Ivorian president. In 2004, he also received the Insignia of the Grand Officer of the order of the Rokel from the President of Sierra Leone for his work on NERICA. In 2002, he joined the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) as Executive Director, where he mobilised key decision makers such as the African Union, NEPAD and other major investors in African agricultural development to work together towards the achievement of Africa’s vision. In 2007, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. He has received four honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the UK, Belgium, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Prof Jones was awarded the Niigata International Food Award in 2010. He was elected Chairman of the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR) for 2010-2013.

Technical Advisor to the ED

Dr Aggrey Agumya is Technical Advisor to the Executive Director. Dr Agumya earned a PhD in Geomatics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the University of Melbourne, Australia, in 1999, and an MSc in GIS for Cadastral Applications from the International Center for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences, Enschede, the Netherlands, in 1993. Dr Agumya’s core competencies include management of agricultural/natural resource management research and the use of GIS resources to diagnose the extent and severity of livelihood problems. He joined FARA as Programme Officer for the Sub-Saharan Challenge Programme (SSA CP) in 2006. His responsibilities included facilitating all programme management processes and serving as the link between the Coordination Unit and lead institution coordinators. In 2008, he transferred to his present position. Before his recruitment by FARA, Dr Agumya, who hails from Uganda, worked as GIS Analyst for the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Harare, Zimbabwe. Earlier posts in Uganda included a teaching position in the Department of Surveying at Makerere University and digital mapping and computer-aided design with Syscorp International Limited. Dr Agumya’s stellar academic performance led to scholarships in the Netherlands, Australia and the US. In 1989, he won the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) Award for Best Final Year Student in the Department of Surveying and Photogrammetry at the University of Nairobi.

Legal Affairs Officer

Ms Brenda Semevo obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) in 1998 from the University of Ghana and was called to the Ghana Bar in 2000 as a barrister and solicitor. In 2003 she obtained her Master of Laws (LLM merit) from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is currently at the final level (Professional Part II) of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA-UK) qualifying certificate course. She has 10 years experience as a lawyer. This experience ranges from court room practice and solicitor’s work, teaching at the university level and working as in-house solicitor for corporate institutions such as Standard Chartered Bank. Ms Semevo joined FARA in January 2008 as the Legal Affairs Officer. She works closely with the Executive Director on corporate governance and compliance with company regulations in various jurisdictions, internal policy and procedural issues. She liaises with all other FARA units as well as external partners on contractual, legal advisory and other matters. Her role cuts across the spectrum of the institution by providing support for the effective and efficient implementation of activities within the scope of the mandate approved by its constituents and permitted by law.

Procurement Manager

Thomas Anang Siaw, a Ghanaian national, holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana (1984), Post-graduate Diploma in the Management from the Reinisch Wesfalische Techniche Hochscule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany (1996), and MBA in Strategic and Project Management from the Paris Graduate School of Management, Paris (2006). He also has several post-graduate certificates in Procurement from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI). He has been a procurement practitioner over the past 13 years and has held the positions of Regional and National Roads Engineer of Ghana’s Department of Feeder Roads (DFR) of the Ministry of Roads and Highways (1984-1998). As head of the Road Maintenance Unit of DFR, he overhauled the Road Maintenance and Budgeting Manuals and developed a very robust, effective and user-friendly program in 1997 which is still in use under the name ‘Management Performance and Budgeting System Wizard (MPBS Wizard).’ Thomas Siaw worked as Zonal Engineer and Coordinator/Procurement and Contracts Manager for Western and Central Regions of Ghana (2003-2005), Zonal Coordinator/ Procurement and Contracts Manager for the Community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) for Grater Accra, Eastern and the Volta Regions of Ghana. Thomas joined the World Bank as a Procurement Specialist and was posted to the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) and Nigeria from 2008 to 2011.  Thomas received an award from the World Bank’s Vice President of the Africa Region in 2010 for his outstanding performance and contribution in the preparation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) of Nigeria’s Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA). He joined FARA in March 2011 as Procurement Manager and his duties include fiduciary compliance and the provision of procurement support to FARA.

Gender Equality Specialist

Ann Dela Apekey is FARA’s Gender Equality Specialist. Over the past 18 years, she has served as a gender equality advisor with various international organisations, most recently as Programme Manager with the International Labour Organisation’s Gender Mainstreaming Programme for African trade unions. From between 1994 to 2004, she worked with the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity as Coordinator, Women Workers Questions, where she convened the annual Pan African Conference on Gender Issues around different thematic areas, especially those relating to labour rights and employment and livelihood. She also served as advisor to her organization’s delegation and constituents during the annual International Labour Conference. Ms Apekey has also worked as the African Regional Facilitator for Rights and Resources Initiatives; an organisation that promotes indigenous peoples’ rights on land tenure issues. She also served as the West Africa Regional Programme Coordinator for the Danish Trade Union Council for International Development Cooperation. Previously, Ms Apekey was a part-time lecturer in Gender and Industrial Relations at the Centre for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She holds a BA (Hons) degree in Modern Languages and an EMBA in Business Administration from the University of Ghana, Legon. She also obtained a Diploma in gender mainstreaming from the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy.

Deputy Executive Director

Dr Ramadjita Tabo has been FARA’s Deputy Executive Director since September 2009. Prior to that he was Assistant Director of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in West and Central Africa and a cropping systems agronomist based at Niamey, Niger. Dr Tabo, a Chadian national, worked for ICRISAT for a total of 23 years at various ICRISAT locations including Hyderabad, India (1986-1988); Kano, Nigeria (1988-1998); Bamako, Mali (1998-2002); and Niamey, Niger (2002-2009). He obtained his PhD in Agronomy and Plant Genetics from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, in 1985; and both his MSc and BSc in Range Management at the same university. Dr Tabo is a member of the Pan-African START Regional Committee (PACOM) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has received several awards including the prestigious 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the IPCC. He coordinated the Desert Margins Program, a project on arresting land degradation and conserving biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Challenge Program on Water and Food in the Volta Basin. He has published over 70 papers in scientific journals and co-supervised more than 20 MSc and PhD students. Dr Tabo’s current responsibilities include raising FARA’s profile and influence in the African agricultural development community, supporting FARA’s contribution to the CAADP Partnership Platform, strengthening FARA’s linkages with partner institutions, and overseeing the design and operation of an M&E system.

Technical Assistant to the DED

Maurice Lorka is currently the Technical Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director. He obtained an MSc in Agricultural Sciences and Resources Management in the Tropics and the Sub-Tropics at the University of Bonn in Germany. Prior to that, he earned a degree in Agricultural Engineering, specialising in agro-processing, at the National Polytechnic Institute Houphouet Boigny of Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire. Mr Lorka, an Ivoirian national, worked as research assistant at the Institute for Food and Resource Economics of the University of Bonn within the research project IMPETUS West Africa, which involved universities and research institutes in Germany, Benin and Morocco, before joining FARA. He also worked in Côte d’Ivoire in PALMCI, Palm Oil Industry Company and Deming Conseil, a quality management consultancy agency, as intern. His previous activities and education familiarised him with development policy, natural resources management, food security, food economics, agro-processing, data management, and quality management. Mr Lorka’s current role  and responsibilities consist mainly of assisting the DED in consolidating progress reports, annual work plans and project proposals, assisting the DED in resource mobilisation, assisting the ED, DED and other leaders to track progress in the adoption and implementation of FAAP principles across Africa, assisting the DED to contribute to emerging issues, and assisting the Advocacy and Policy unit with CAADP-related activities at national, sub-regional and regional levels. Previously he was FARA's Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation Officer.

Director, Advocacy and Policy (NSF 1/3)

Dr Emmanuel Tambi, a Cameroonian national, is Director of NSF 1/3. Prior to joining FARA, he was the Acting Head of Rural Economy Division at the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, from 2006 to 2008. Before that, he worked for the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR) in Nairobi as a Senior Economist and Head of the Economics Unit. He also worked for the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, as an Economist from 1996 to 2000. Dr Tambi has also worked at the national level with the Cameroon Ministry of Scientific and Technical Research as a Senior Research Officer and the Deputy Chief of Centre, Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD). Dr Tambi coordinates activities that promote and facilitate policy and market analyses for evidence-based policy formulation and decision making to enhance agricultural production and trade in Africa. He coordinates the African Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy Platform (ABBPP) as well as a project on capacity strengthening called Safe Management of Biotechnology in sub-Saharan Africa (SABIMA). Dr Tambi obtained a PhD in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1984, an MSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, in 1982, and a BA in Economics from Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in 1979. He has written extensively on agricultural development and trade issues, including policy and institutional analyses.

Policy and Markets Analyst, NSF 1/3

Dr Gbadebo Odularu, a Nigerian national, started his career as a graduate/research assistant at the Trade Policy Research and Training Programme (TPRTP), Department of Economics, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan. He was also a field supervisor for the USAID/WARDA/NISER collaborative rice production, processing and consumption study. From 2003 to 2008, he was a lecturer at the Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Nigeria. He holds a PhD in Economics (with focus on Trade) from Covenant University and an MSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He was a 2008 visiting scholar at the Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD), WTO, Switzerland, and in 2009 was a visiting Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic Studies (CRES), Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), South Korea. He is a member of the National Resources, Agricultural Development and Food Security International Research Network (NAF-IRN) and the African Economic Research Consortium Network (AERC). He has published about 30 papers in international journals. His responsibilities at FARA include contributing to the Ministerial Policy Brief Series, the FARA e-newsletter, the monthly FARA Regional Policies and Markets Info Intelligence (RPMII) Series, and FARA Policy Seminar Series. Dr Odularu works closely with regional and national partners to promote information sharing on policy instruments for dissemination across the African continent. As Coordinator of the Young Professionals’ Platform for Agricultural Research for Development at FARA, he facilitates exchange of information and knowledge among young African professionals across disciplines, nations and sub-regions.

CAADP Pillar IV Technical Assistant, NSF 1/3

Ms Idowu Okheren Ejere is the CAADP Pillar IV Technical Assistant working with NSF1/3 on advocacy and policy. Her tasks include tracking the progress of CAADP Pillar IV implementation at the sub-regional and national levels, maintaining up-to-date agriculture donor intelligence, including identifying donor priorities, policies and opportunities, and maintaining contact with key FARA and CAADP Pillar IV stakeholders at the regional, sub-regional and national levels. Ms Ejere holds an M.A in Globalization and Development from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, United Kingdom and a B.S in International Relations from Igbinedion University, Nigeria. She is also trained on expanding legitimacy, accountability and impacts for non-profit organizations. Ms Ejere has worked as Investor Relations Officer with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and as Welfare Assistant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Gombe regional Office. Ms Ejere has served as Country Youth Representative to the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2005 and is a member of the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF), Association of Third World Scholars(ATWS), Development Studies Association (DSA) and Chatham House. Her research areas include international security and conflict, democracy and good governance, Afro Asian trade relations, development policies, agrarian change, resource management and rural development. Ms Ejere is Nigerian.

Consultant, SABIMA Project, NSF 1/3

Prof Walter Alhassan, a Ghanaian national, holds a PhD in Animal and Poultry Science from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and an MSc in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. He also holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Biosafety and Plant Genetic Resources Management from the University of Geneva. Prof Alhassan, a former Director-General of the Ghana Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), currently coordinates the project on Strengthening capacity for Safe Biotechnology Management in Sub-Saharan Africa (SABIMA) as a consultant, as well as advising on biotechnology policy issues. For many years, he was Coordinator of the FARA-based Programme on Biosafety Systems (PBS) for Ghana and Mali. He is a member of the Global Access Advisory Committee (GAAC) of the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed). Prof Alhassan is a member of the Ghana National Biosafety Committee, Chairman of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) Board, and Chairman of the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC). The SABIMA Project is committed to strengthening capacity of African NARS and producers of genetically modified crops in biotechnology stewardship, awareness creation and information dissemination on biotechnology.

Director, Access to Knowledge and Technologies (NSF 2)

Ms Myra Wopereis is the Director of NSF2 (Access to Knowledge and Technologies). Her main task is to leads FARA’s efforts to build the FARA Secretariat as a learning institution and knowledge hub in agricultural research for development. One of the pioneers of the FARA Secretariat, she is a trained agricultural engineer with a Master’s degree in Business Management from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines. Ms Wopereis, a Philippines national, has 15 years of experience in technology dissemination and knowledge management in Africa. Before coming to FARA, she worked with the West Africa Rice Development Association (now AfricaRice) in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire coordinating the dissemination of New Rice for Africa (NERICA) in 17 West and Central African countries. In 2002, she became Special Assistant to the Executive Director of FARA, where she focused more on institutional building, programme management, external relations and communications. In 2007, she was appointed Director of NSF2. She helped develop two major FARA projects: Regional Agricultural Information and Learning Systems (RAILS) and Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa (DONATA). She wrote proposals for most of FARA’s initial projects, including the support of the African Development Bank for RAILS and DONATA. Ms Wopereis was the focal point in coordinating the Platform for African-European Partnership in Agricultural Research Development (PAEPARD).

RAILS Programme Officer, NSF2

Mr Dady Demby is Programme Officer for Regional Agricultural Information and Learning Systems (RAILS) within NSF2. His main tasks include supporting the creation of an African platform for exchange of best practices and success stories, providing assistance in coordinating stakeholder meetings to explore ways to use existing agricultural information within NARS, and implementing open and distance learning. His responsibilities include building information and communication management communities and networks of information specialists. Before joining FARA in 2007, he worked for 10 years with CORAF/WECARD as Information and Communication Manager and led the establishment of a network of agricultural information specialists in CORAF/WECARD member countries. He holds Master of Advanced Studies in Information and Communication Sciences and a Professional Degree in Information and Library Sciences from the University Jean Moulin in Lyon, France. Since 2006, Mr Demby has been the Vice-President of the African Chapter of the International Association of the Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD-Africa). Mr Demby hails from the Republic of Congo.

Communications and Public Awareness Specialist, NSF2

Mr Eric McGaw, Communications and Public Awareness Specialist, has lived and worked in the developing world for over 40 years. His work has dealt primarily with the challenges of communicating issues related to agriculture, health and the environment to donors, NGOs and the public at large. His longest assignments have been in El Salvador, Colombia, the Philippines, India, Dubai, Kenya and Ghana. He joined FARA in April 2010. Before coming to FARA, Mr McGaw was the Head of Communications with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in Nairobi. From 2005 to 2008, Mr McGaw served as Communications Specialist and Donor Relations Specialist with the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai, UAE. Prior to that, Mr McGaw was an international communications consultant based in India. From 1989 to 1997, he worked as Research Editor and Public Awareness Officer for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India. From 1980 to 1989, Mr McGaw worked as a deep sea diving supervisor, a garment factory manager and a freelance editor. During the 1970s, Mr McGaw served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador and taught English at the University of El Salvador and at an international school in Cartagena, Colombia. Mr McGaw has an MSc in Education from Boston State College and a BA from Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois, in Theatre Arts. He is a citizen of the USA.

PSTAD Project Manager, NSF2

Mr Ifidon Ohiomoba is Project Manager of the FARA project Promotion of Science and Technology for Agricultural Development in Africa (PSTAD). PSTAD contributes to agricultural research for development through building capacity in the SROs and NARS and supporting the adoption and dissemination of proven agricultural technologies. Before joining FARA in June 2009, Mr Ohiomoba served in various capacities in the National Food Reserve Agency of Nigeria where he was involved in several agricultural projects, providing coordination and technical support to adaptive research and extension services and liaising with credit support agencies to boost adoption of technologies and increase farm productivity. Mr Ohiomoba also served as Project Officer of the Farm Radio Network Project, coordinating linkages between research and extension. Earlier in his career, he worked as Agriculture Extension Officer in the Federal Agricultural Coordinating Unit in southern Nigeria, and later as Assistant Chief Agriculture Officer / Regional Coordinator – Extension in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Mr Ohiomoba, a Nigerian citizen, holds an MSc degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Ibadan. He is a life member of the Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria.

Knowledge Sharing Officer, AfricaAdapt, NSF2

Ms Jacqueline Nnam, Knowledge Sharing Officer, was recruited by the AfricaAdapt project and assigned to work at the FARA Secretariat. Ms Nnam, a Ugandan national, graduated from Makerere University with a degree in Library and Information Science in 2003. Her responsibilities include strengthening communication between those who use climate change information and those who produce it. She develops partnerships with similar initiatives throughout Africa to build on existing resources and deepen sharing experiences. She also manages the AfricaAdapt website and offers space for scientists and practitioners to share knowledge and experience about climate change adaptation. Before coming to FARA with AfricaAdapt, Ms Nnam was a Capacity Building Consultant with the Northern Uganda Data Centre, where she designed and implemented a field study to assess status of information management and capacity needs of local government in the Karamoja Region. She also developed the concept for the Bellanet Africa website and coordinated the Harambee Project for AITEC Development. Prior to her involvement with AITEC, Ms Nnam worked as an intern with both the Uganda Management Institute and the Water Resources Management Department of the Ministry of Water.

Director, Capacity Strengthening (NSF4)

Dr Irene Frempong, as Director of NSF4, is responsible for developing and implementing FARA’s capacity strengthening strategy. A Ghanaian by birth, Dr Frempong holds a PhD from the University of Bristol, UK, and an MSc in Animal Production Science from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She worked as a graduate research assistant at the Reckenholz Research Station in Zurich, Switzerland, and as a lecturer at the College of Education, Benue State, Nigeria. In 1988, she joined the Meat Quality Group at the Animal Research Institute in Zeist, the Netherlands. In 1989, she was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast and was later promoted to senior lecturer. In 2004, as head of the Department of Animal Science in 2004, she pioneered development-oriented curricula and facilitated the new post-graduate program in Livestock Systems Management. She developed the first prototype of the local-closed meat kiln in Ghana in collaboration with Food Research Institute. In 2005, she joined the National University of Lesotho as a senior lecturer and was also tasked with coordinating training of research supervisors in the use of the Genstat statistical package. She has supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate research work. Dr Frempong is a Technical Committee member of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and a member of a number of professional bodies. She has authored several refereed papers. After joining FARA in 2008, Dr Frempong oversaw the development and implementation of Strengthening the Capacity of Agricultural Research and Development for Africa (SCARDA).

UniBRAIN Facility Coordinator, NSF4

Mr Ralph von Kaufmann was educated at the Duke of York School, Nairobi, and at the University of Leeds, England. He conducted research into alternative forms of rangeland development at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, and managed the Ranch Division of the Agricultural Finance Corporation from 1971 to 1975. He led the Livestock Project Preparation Team at the Ministry of Agriculture in Botswana on secondment from the World Bank from 1976 to 1977, when he joined the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) as Country Representative while also serving as the founding manager of the Agricultural Credit Division of the Botswana National Development Bank. He moved to Nigeria as Team Leader of ILCA’s Subhumid Zone Programme at Kaduna, Nigeria, in 1978, and coordinated ILCA’s Animal Traction Thrust from 1989. In 1991 he moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as Director of ILCA’s Donor and Board Secretariat. From 1995 to 2003 he was the Director for External Relations at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Since February 2003 he has worked for the Forum of Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), first as Senior Resource Person and Chair of the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme Task Force and then as Director for Capacity Strengthening. Currently he is the Coordinator of the Universities, Business and Research in Agricultural INovation (UniBRAIN) project which is establishing agribusiness incubators and improving agribusiness teaching and learning at African universities. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States; Executive Committee of the African Livestock Programme (Alive); and the Secretariat of the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD).

Programme Officer, Capacity Strengthening, NSF4

Prof Nelson Kennedy Olang’o Ojijo is the Programme Officer of SCARDA (Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development in Africa). Prof Ojijo, a Kenyan national, graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1987 at the top of his class. He was recruited by the Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, as a Graduate Research Assistant. On completion of his MSc in 1991, he was employed by the Coffee Research Foundation in Ruiru as Head of the Coffee Bean Quality Unit. In 1995, he moved to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) as a lecturer. In 1996, he was awarded a Monbusho Scholarship by the Japanese Government to pursue his PhD in Agricultural Science (Food Process Engineering) at the Department of Bio-systems Engineering, Institute of Forestry and Agricultural Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Upon graduation in 2000, Dr Ojijo returned to JKUAT where he attained Senior Lectureship in 2002. In the same year, he served as a Visiting Lecturer in Food Engineering at the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Namibia, and later proceeded on a UNESCO/Israel postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Israel Institute of Technology. Dr Ojijo became involved in research on oilseeds for biodiesel, and in value-chain processing of indigenous African leafy vegetables for food security and poverty reduction. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, and is a member of numerous professional bodies, notably the International Society of Food Engineering (ISFE). Following his appointment as Associate Professor in JKUAT’s Department of Food Science and Technology in 2007, Prof Ojijo served in various administrative capacities, including Chairman of the Performance Contracting Steering Committee and Director of JKUAT’s Directorate of Performance Contracting and Appraisal.

UniBRAIN Programme Officer

Dr Pia M Chuzu, a Zambian national, has over 20 years work experience as an economist, researcher, trainer and M&E specialist. She began her career in 1985 with Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. In 2002, she became an independent consultant, taking on such clients as CARE International, the World Wildlife Fund, the World Food Programme and the European Commission. In 2006, Dr Chuzu started working with the Finnish consulting firm NIRAS, which she served in South Africa and Zambia over the next 5 years, setting up M&E systems for micro-enterprises, designing policy frameworks and training extension staff. She co-led tender preparation for a World Bank assignment to design an Environmental and Social Management Framework and a Resettlement Policy framework for the Irrigation Development and Support Program. In January 2011, she returned to independent consultancy work, and prior to joining FARA in July, she undertook assignments with NIRAS for Zambia’s Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, as well as the FAO. Dr Chuzu earned her MSc from Michigan State University and her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 2002.

Director, Partnerships and Strategic Alliances (NSF5)

Dr Wale Adekunle, Director for Partnerships and Strategic Alliances, is also as the Coordinator for the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA CP). He started his career in agricultural research and development on a World Bank Project in Nigeria in 1985. He later coordinated this program before joining the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in 1988. Over the ensuing 20 years, Dr Adekunle worked in various areas of agricultural research for development. He started with farming systems agronomic research with commodities like maize and cassava and alley farming as the focus. In the later years of his tenure with IITA, his primary focus was in the area of the innovation systems approach for R&D. His work in this area resulted in the coinage of the term innovation platforms, whichis now used across the world. Dr Adekunle developed models for bringing ICT to rural communities, including a platform for commodity exchange among farmers that became the first farmer- directed commodity exchange board in Africa. These efforts were recognised by the Walt Disney Partners in Excellence Award during his fellowship as a World Bank Distinguished Young Scientist (1996) and the Stockholm Challenge Award (2005). Since 2007, when Dr Adekunle arrived at FARA, he has directed NSF5 with special focus on the coordination of SSA CP, which has been tasked to prove the concept of international agricultural research for development (IAR4D). This validation is currently being conducted through a network of researchers working in eight different countries across Africa. Dr Adekunle, a Nigerian national, also coordinates nine multi-stakeholder projects on themes that range from productivity improvement to natural resource management, policies and markets. He has a PhD in Agronomy and has undertaken postgraduate studies in a number of correlated areas. He is widely published in refereed journals and has contributed to a number of chapters in books. He has supervised a number of students from across the globe and worked as an Adjunct Professor of Agriculture and Rural Development at Bowen University in Nigeria.

Programme Officer, Partnerships and Strategic Alliances, NSF5

Dr Fatunbi A Oluwole is a research and development scientist with progressive experience in  Agronomy (farming systems, soil fertility), technology transfer and research management. His professional work has focused largely on resource and crop management towards sustainable agricultural production and on the improvement of livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Dr Oluwole, a Nigerian national, earned his PhD in Agronomy from the University of Ibadan, and obtained a South African-rated P5 qualification in project management from the University of South Africa in 2008. In addition to his responsibilities as Programme Officer, SSA CP, he provides technical support to the Director of NSF5 by providing scientific leadership in developing, leading, implementing, monitoring and evaluating research programs in the Pilot Learning Sites of SSA CP. Prior to joining FARA, Dr Fatunbi worked at the Agricultural and Rural Development Research Institute, University of Fort Hare, South Africa, as both researcher and lecturer; at the Total Development International Foundation (TODEV) as a Program Manager; at ARATI Environmental Limited as a soil fertility management consultant; at the African Child Care Foundation as program manager; at the Savannah Sugar Company Limited as field agronomist; and at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan as a Research Fellow. Dr Fatunbi has over 15 years of experience in agricultural research and management. He is accomplished in a broad range of issues related to food security in sub-Saharan Africa, including skills in field and laboratory research methodologies in agronomy, farming systems, soil fertility, renewable resources and technology transfer. He has over 45 scientific publications to his credit and has co-supervised the research work of 10 post graduate students.

Co-Manager for Africa, PAEPARD, NSF5

Dr Jonas Musabwa Mugabe earned his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the Facultee Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux (Belgium), his Msc in Agricultural Economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a second Msc in Environment Management from the Université Senghor d’Alexandrie (Egypt). He is currently the Programme Officer of PAEPARD, the Platform for African-European Partnerships on Agricultural Research for Development. Dr Mugabe, who is from Rwanda, served as Deputy Director General of the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR) in charge of research, where his responsibilities included planning and M&E. He also coordinated some regional projects. During that period he was involved in negotiating funding for research and raised significant funds for ISAR. Prior to joining ISAR in 2005, Dr Mugabe was Lecturer at the National University of Rwanda (NUR) and Visiting Lecturer at Kigali Independent University. He served the Faculty of Agriculture of NUR as Academic Secretary in charge of organizing teaching and as Deputy Dean. Before coming to NUR, Dr Mugabe was recruited by Groupe Milima, an NGO operating in South Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as Head of the Agriculture and Environment Programme in charge of evaluating new varieties of maize (with CIMMYT), beans (with CIAT), potatoes (with CIP) and vegetables.

Resource Person, Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme, NSF5

Mr Solomon Bangali has 14 years of experience as a development policy planner in building capacities of government institutions and local communities. Mr Solomon holds am MSc in Agricultural Economics and Rural Development from the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. He is currently Resource Person for the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP). Prior to his relocation to this NSF5, he was FARA’s Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation Programme Officer, advocating to governments to perceive agriculture as an engine for growth and development and to increase investments in the sector to achieve Millennium Development Goals 1 and 7. Mr Solomon gained hands-on experience in development, policy making, government budget management and supervision while serving as a Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone. He has served as a Regional Coordinator and Program Officer at the National Commission for Social Action of Sierra Leone, providing technical support in programming and coordination in conflict and post-conflict settings, re-integrating and giving livelihood support to refugees and ex-combatants during the 10-year civil conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia. He has a wealth of experience as a technical resource for skill development for employment schemes, programming and coordination, monitoring and evaluation and project management. He is an expert in partnerships and strategic alliances.

French Technical Advisor, NSF5

Dr Alain Ange is a farming systems agronomist with particular interest in land use development, plant nutrition management and fertilizer development. His professional work has encompassed a number of R&D projects, with primary interest on rural development, natural resource management and intensification of farming systems in developing countries. With governments and private stakeholders, he developed fertilizer strategies and procurement and distribution systems for inputs. He contributed for many years to emergency and relief operations with FAO and France. Dr Ange earned an MSc in Agronomy from the High School for Agriculture of Paris in 1972, another MSc in Soil Science from University Paris 7 in 1972, and a PhD in Agronomy and Applied Geology from University Paris 7 in 1983. He joined FARA as French Technical Adviser in October 2009. He currently advises on activities developed by the Director of NSF5, in particular for project formulation and the development of new cooperative initiatives. Dr Ange also assists the Director of NSF3 on specific policy matters. He is responsible for all matters involving FARA that relate to climate change and energy in rural areas. Prior to joining FARA, Dr Ange worked for CIRAD, the French Agricultural Tropical Research Institute for Development. For 30 years, he has worked in both private and public sector in various positions in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. His assignments have included directing the FAO Fertilizer Program, coordinating the Soil Fertility Initiative for Africa for French-speaking Countries with the World Bank, leading the resettlement of refugees and illegal migrants in farming in French Guyana, preparing the Global Environment Facility program for collecting obsolete pesticides stocks in Africa (AFRICASTOCKPILE) with the World Bank, and advising agricultural research and training for the SADC Secretariat.

Director, Finance

Dr Kaj Bjork is currently Director of Finance. He holds Master of Business Economics degree and has more than 30 years of experience in finance and development programme management. During his career, he has expanded his area of competence gradually to include development and obtained his PhD in Development Studies in 2009. He has worked in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, especially in Finland, his home country. In Africa, he has worked for 15 years in six countries on long-term basis and travelled professionally to more than half of the countries on the continent. These duties and his recent academic doctoral research have combined to make him an expert on development-related financial issues, particularly in Africa. Dr Bjork has in-depth knowledge of the procedures of the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, regional development banks, international NGOs and bilateral partner countries. His areas of specialisation are private and public sector financial management and fiduciary risk management, different modes of funding, development policy, planning and management of development cooperation, programmes and projects. At FARA his duties and responsibilities are twofold.

Financial Controller

Mr Johnson Ukpong, a Nigerian, is FARA’s Financial Controller. He is a chartered accountant by profession and was became an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1999. Mr Ukpong also holds a Diploma in Accountancy from the Calabar Polytechnic, Nigeria, obtained in 1987. He completed his course work for an MBA from the Finance of University of Ghana Business School, Legon, in November 2010. Mr. Ukpong has over 22 years of experience in financial accounting, management and reporting as well as project financial management. Prior to joining FARA in May 2005, he worked in various capacities with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria for over 17 years. These positions included Assistant Accountant (Treasury), Assistant Accountant (General Accounting), Special Project Officer (managing over 200 restricted and non-core projects) and Management Information System (MIS) Financial Analyst. Mr Ukpong was also a member of the Oracle Implementation Team and a member of the team that successfully implemented a Project Management Software (ProMIS) in IITA. Before becoming the Financial Controller of FARA in January 2008, he served as Accountant – Funding and Financial Analysis, and Accountant (Internal Audit). Mr Ukpong also worked with the Internal Audit team at the Post and Telecommunications Department, Calabar, Nigeria, from 1983 to 1985.

Head, Human Resources

Ms Ama Pokuah Asenso, FARA’s Head of Human Resources holds a BSc in Human Resources Managements obtained from the Central University College and a post-graduate diploma in Administration from GIMPA. She is currently pursuing an Executive Masters in Human Resource Management at the University of Ghana and has reached the final year. Ms Asenso has over eight years experience, mainly in office management, administration and human resources obtained from public and private sector organisations. She took up her present position in 2007. Her major tasks include contributing to ensuring the hiring and retention of the best personnel to achieve FARA’s objectives. Before taking up her current position, Ms Asenso served as Personal Assistant to the Executive Director for two years.