Dr. Faouzi Bekkaoui

Faouzi Bekkaoui is the director of the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA), Morocco and the scientific director of the Adaptation of African Agriculture initiative. He is president of the scientific council of MAScIR and a member of the Board of Trustees of ICARDA. He was previously director of the school of agriculture and coordinator of the AgroBioSciences research program at the University Mohammed 6 Polytechnic of Benguerir (2017-19). 

He also worked as Executive Director of National Research Council Canada (NRC) Flagship Wheat Improvement Program (2012-2017), at the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute in Molecular Biology and Genomics, ID Biomedical in the field of DNA diagnostics, at GenServe as laboratory manager and at Genome Prairie as project manager. During his career, he has co-published 45 scientific articles in the fields of DNA diagnostics, molecular biology, genomics and plant physiology. He holds three US patents in molecular diagnostics. Bekkaoui holds a master's degree in physiology from the University of Tours (1983) and a doctorate in plant physiology (1986) from the University of the Sorbonne (formerly Paris 6).

Dr. Harun Cicek

Harun Cicek is a cropping system agronomist specializing on CA, cover crops, forages and agroforestry. He has been leading large-scale research and innovation projects in West Africa and the Mediterranean region. He is based in Switzerland and working for Research Institute of Organic Agriculture.  

Dr. Johann Strauss

Dr Johann Strauss holds a PhD in Agronomy from the University of Stellenbosch (2000). In November 2007, he was appointed a senior researcher at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. His main research interests are sustainable dryland cropping systems based on conservation agriculture practices. The body of the research comes from two large long-term trials (Langgewens and Tygerhoek Research farms) and smaller on-farm trials with producers. 

Johann was determined to initiate a conservation agriculture forum for the Western Cape. Since its inception, the Western Cape Conservation Agriculture Association (CAWC) has held ten annual conferences. Johann has served as president of the South African Society of Crop Production board for two terms. He has also been the secretary of the CAWC since 2012. In 2017 he was honoured as Agricultural Writers South Africa’s Agriculturist of the year.

Dr. Kofi Boa

At age 12, my mother’s cocoa farm got burnt by bush fire. That got me to develop a strong hatred for fire on the farmland, so I vowed to fight the slash and burn method of land preparation for the rest of my life. This has been possible through a combination of knowledge acquired at school, practical experience from working on the farm and traditional knowledge offered by elderly farmers. 

I became aware of a system called “proka” (no-till with mulch), a practice that required clearing the forest and allowing it to stay for one year before planting cocoa seedlings. The one year waiting period seemed too long so I developed ways of managing the cut vegetation to immediately plant any of the traditional crops found on the slash and burn fields. This is what has brought me so far in championing the development and promotion of smallholder agro-ecological farming.

Dr. Rachid Mrabet

Dr Rachid Mrabet holds a PhD in Agronomy (Colorado State University, 1997) and MSc in Soil Physics (University of Minnesota/IAV Hassan II, 1989). Research Director (INRA Morocco). 33 years research, expertise and advisory in agronomy, soil science, environment quality, conservation agriculture, carbon farming and biophysical modelling. Authored 20 books, 66 book chapters and 89 peer-reviewed papers. UNEP-GEO-7, IPCC and MedECC Coordinating Lead Author (CLA). Deputy President of WASWAC. 

Panelist at International Conservation Agriculture Advisory Panel for Africa. Consultant FAO, GIZ, ICARDA, UNECA, CIHEAM, OADA, ACT, COP22. Distinguished Research Award from WASWAC, the King Hassan II National Prize, the 2020 North South Prize of the Council of Europe, and 2022 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity as CLA for MedECC and IPCC. Coordinator/participated in more than 60 national and international projects. Associate Editor JSWC, STR, ISWCR and Special Guest Editor for Several International Journals.

Dr. Robert B. Zougmore

Robert Zougmoré is a citizen of Burkina Faso. He works as Principal Scientist with the Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, and leads the West Africa cluster of AICCRA (Accelerating-Impacts-of-CGIAR-Climate-Research-for-Africa).  From 2010 to 2021, he was the Africa Program leader of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change-Agriculture-and-Food-Security (CCAFS), at ICRISAT Bamako, Mali. Agronomist and soil scientist with a PhD in Production Ecology & Resources Conservation - Wageningen University, he is Director of Research (equivalent to University Professor) under CAMES cadre. 

His areas of expertise include Agronomy and soil science, Land degradation and development, Climate change adaptation & mitigation, Integrated Water and Nutrient Management, Agroecology, Conservation Agriculture, Climate-smart policies, and institutions. Robert has published widely with more than 80 papers and book chapters on soil erosion, integrated soil, water and nutrient management options and their economic benefits, and climate-smart agriculture. 

Google Scholar, ResearchGate.

Dr. Sieg Snapp

Dr. Sieg Snapp is perhaps best known as the “mother” of the mother and baby trial design, used to engage farmers in development and co-learning about conservation agriculture and crop improvement around the globe.  Dr. Snapp is Program Director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems Program at CIMMYT, El Batan, Mexico, and adjunct Professor of Soils and Cropping Systems Ecology at MSU. She leads a team of >100 interdisciplinary scientists working with partners on sustainable intensification, with a $120M portfolio of programs serving smallholder farmers. 

Dr. Snapp pioneered discovery of crop functional diversity and management practices for soil carbon and nitrogen efficiency gains, for climate-resilient, environmentally friendly pathways out of food insecurity. She has published >170 articles, three books, and awarded International Service in Agronomy, Fellow in Agronomy & Soil Sci. Soc. America, MSU’s Beal Outstanding Professor, Academic Advancement Fellow, Hudzik Leader in International Studies & Fulbright Fellow. @Sieg_SAS

Dr. Theodor Friedrich

Theodor Friedrich, German national, born in Venezuela, graduated in Göttingen University/Germany with a MSc. in agriculture (Dipl.-Ing. agr.) and a PhD in agricultural engineering (Dr. sc. agr.). Since 1982, he worked in different positions in international agricultural development in the fields of agricultural extension, research and university lecture, as well as directing cooperation projects in Latin America, Europe and Asia. 

From 1994 to 2012, Friedrich served as Senior Officer of FAO/Rome in agricultural mechanization and sustainable crop production systems, as regulations for pesticide application technologies and sustainable intensification of agricultural production with Conservation Agriculture, with some 30 years of practical experience in this topic, working in more than 75 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia, with more than 190 publications. From 2012 to 2018, he was serving as FAO representative in Cuba, from 2018 until in 2020 in Bolivia. In 2020 he retired to Germany. 

Eng. Saidi Mkomwa

Eng. Saidi Mkomwa is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT), a pan-African not-for-profit organization promoting sustainable agriculture, based on Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (SAM). Saidi is also the coordinator of the AfricaMechanize Platform Secretariat, supporting knowledge management, capacity building and networking in operationalization of the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (F-SAMA). As the network CEO since 2008, Saidi has efficiently managed a score of regional agricultural development projects supporting smallholders especially in Eastern, Southern and Western Africa. He has worked with various national governments, development partners, private sector, CGIAR Centres, UN agencies, NGOs and rural communities. 

Saidi is an ex officio member of the Board of Directors of ACT, member of the International Conservation Agriculture Advisory Panel for Africa (ICAAP-Africa) and also member of several professional bodies including the Engineers Registration Board (Tanzania). He is the current Chair of the Conservation Agriculture Regional Working Group for Southern Africa (CARWG).

Prior to joining ACT, Saidi held various positions as Principal Agricultural Engineering Researcher, Deputy Principal and Tutor at several Ministry of Agriculture institutions in Tanzania. He holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Guelph, Canada, and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dar es salaam Tanzania. He has developed several knowledge products besides the over 30 scientific journal papers, book chapters and conference proceedings.

Prof. Amir Kassam

Prof. Amir Kassam OBE, FRSB, CBiol, PhD, is the Moderator of the Global Platform for Conservation Agriculture Community of Practice (CA-CoP), and Visiting Professor in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK. He is Chair of the International Conservation Agriculture Advisory Panel for Africa (ICAAP-Africa) and  Honorary Member of the European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF). In 2005, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours List for services to tropical agriculture and to rural development. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK). He has published widely.

Born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kassam received his BSc (Hons) in Agriculture and PhD in Agroecology from the University of Reading, and MSc in Irrigation from the University of California-Davis. Kassam’s research, education and development work is focussed on the dissemination of Conservation Agriculture as a basis for sustainable agricultural development and natural resource management. Kassam has worked worldwide with a number of national research and development institutions, and with several CGIAR Centres, UN agencies, NGOs and rural communities. In FAO, he worked for many years as a senior technical officer in the Land and Water Division, the Plant Production and Protection Division, and the Research Division.

Kassam served as Research Fellow at the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Northern Nigeria; as International Scientist at ICRISAT, India; as Deputy Director General at WARDA (the Africa Rice Centre), Cote d’Ivoire; and as Interim Executive Secretary of the CGIAR Science Council, FAO, Rome. He was the Chairman of the Aga Khan Foundation (UK); Chairman of the FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance Europe Foundation, and Chairman of the Tropical Agriculture Association, UK.

Prof. El Hassan Bourarach

Prof. El Hassan Bourarach is a former teacher and researcher at the Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II (Dr. Ing.)(1980-2019). Currently, independent consultant and technical adviser of African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT). 

Besides his research work on tillage in arid, semi-arid and tropical zones, he is active in several research and development groups on conservation agriculture and machinery development. He has conducted numerous expertise for the benefit of FAO (mechanization strategies, development projects), UNIDO and OADA and WB. 

He is honorary vice-president of the International Commission of Rural Engineering (CIGR), founding member of the Moroccan Association for Conservation Agriculture (AMAC) and the International Academy of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (IAABE).

Prof. Dr. Hafiz Muminjanov

Hafiz has more than 30 years’ experience in the fields of agriculture and rural development, with a focus on conducting research and supporting the extension, training agriculture specialists, and formulating, managing, implementing, and monitoring the development and emergency programs, policies, strategies and field projects. 

He is coordinating the FAO Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products: “One Country One Priority Product” (OCOP) and the Global Programme on Sustainable Dryland Agriculture. 

His Academic and Technical Areas of Expertise are: Sustainable Crop Production Intensification, Conservation Agriculture, Plant Health, Integrated Pest Management, Organic Farming, Seed Systems, Plant Breeding, Protected Cultivation, Smart Farming, etc.  

He supported several countries to promote Conservation Agriculture through demonstration, capacity development, policy formulation and implementation and the strengthening the institutional framework. 

Prof. Li Hongwen

Li Hongwen, Ph.D, Professor, Started conservation tillage research from 1992, he and his team have received 4 Awards of National second prize for scientific and technological progress, published more than 200 academic papers and achieved more than 100 patents, all on conservation tillage.

He is a distinguished professor , Changjiang Scholar, China Agricultural University; Director of Conservation Tillage Research Center (CTRC), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA), P.R.C; Director of China institute for Conservation Tillage in China Agricultural University. Chairman of Mechanical Soil Cultivation Professional Group, MOA, P.R.C; Leader of MOE (Ministry of Education) and MOA Innovative Research Team “Conservation Tillage Technology and Equipment”. Vice Chairman of Conservation Agriculture Alliance for Asia and Pacific (CAAAP).

Prof. Michele Pisante

Professor of Agronomy, Faculty of Biosciences and Agro -Food and Environmental Technology, University of Teramo and member at PhD Course in Crop Science, University of Padova, Italy. Research activity is focused on Sustainable Intensification of Agricultural Production, soil and water conservation, decision-making tools for digital agriculture for improving national and international cooperation for sustainable agriculture growth and natural resource management.  

Scientific Director of the Edagricole "University and Education" editorial book series. He is author/editor of books and publications, of which 65 on International Journals (Scopus: h-index 24; T-citations 2496); Guest editor of a Special issue of AIMS “Agriculture and Food” international Open Access journal on topic “Sustainable Crop Production Intensification”; "Conservation Agriculture for Ecosystem Services" of the journal Agriculture and Research Topic (article collection) “Digital imaging of plants” of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.  Co-inventor of European patent “Method for increasing the content of useful components in edible plants”.

Dr. Ademir Calegari

Dr. Ademir Calegari has worked since 1977 at IAPAR Londrina in the state of Paraná, Brazil with cover crops, crop rotation and the no-tillage system, in several national and international projects over the years. He has worked with more than 167 species and varieties of green manures (cover crops) over more than 45 years. He has provided more than 70 International Consultancies in several countries in Latin America, Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, having visited and provided work in 51 countries. He has published Nationally and Internationally: almost 200 Scientific Articles, Book Chapters, Reference Books, Articles in Magazines and Newspapers on Sustainable Agriculture: cover crops, crop rotation and direct planting for annual crops (soybeans, corn, wheat, rice, beans, sorghum, cotton, vegetables, etc.) and perennials including coffee and fruit trees.

He has given numerous lectures at Congresses, Producer Meetings, Seminars and Workshops in different Brazilian states and in different countries around the world. He is a Private Consultant on Soil/Fertility Management, Regenerative Agriculture (Agroecology). He has consulted widely for FAO, World Bank, European Union, German and Austrian Cooperation.

Ademir Calegari holds PhD in Agronomy (Soils) from the State University of Londrina, 2003-2006 under a sandwich Scholarship and Doctoral Complement at the University of Paris/Grignon (INAPG) – and INRA, Versailles - France; and Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas-USA. He also holds an MSc in Soil Science – University of Aberdeen, Scotland, 1994-1995; Agronomist Engineer from the UFPEL – Federal University of Pelotas – Pelotas – RS1980-1984; and Cândido Mota, SP Agricultural Technician.IAPAR, Researcher in Soils, CTAE – State Agricultural Technical College, Prof. Luís Pires Barbosa, 1972-1974.

Dr. Rebbie Harawa

Dr. Rebbie Harawa is an agricultural research and development expert and her areas of specialization include soil fertility, agronomy, and the development of climate change adaptation technologies. Rebbie has over 15 years of strategic leadership R4D in international organizations and currently, she works for ICRISAT as Regional Director for Eastern & Southern Africa.  

Before joining ICRISAT, she worked at AGRA as a Head of the Soil Fertility and Fertilizer Systems Program based in Nairobi, Kenya. Rebbie holds a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Cornell University, New York, USA. 

Dr. Riad Balaghi

Dr. Riad Balaghi, 59, is currently Project Director at the AAA Initiative Foundation. Previously, he held several positions (department head, regional center head, research unit head) at the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Morocco. He worked as an international scientist and consultant on various projects related to climate risk management, agricultural development, and climate change for Africa, Asia, and Europe. 

He was a member of the scientific committee of CoP22 and received the FAO Merit Medal in 2009 for his in-depth work on climate change. Riad Balaghi obtained his PhD in environmental sciences from the University of Liège (Belgium) and his Agronomist Engineer Diploma from the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute in Morocco.

Mr. Abdelhakim Mohsine

With a strong background in agricultural consultancy, I am an expert in approaches to supporting field crop producers. This expertise is the result of more than 12 years of work in the field as an agricultural advisor in rural areas. This has led me to my current position at the Office National de Conseil Agricole, where I am head of the agricultural advisory center in Had Kourt. 

I manage a team of agricultural advisors, and I ensure the orchestration of the different actors in agricultural advice to carry out our mission. Some of my current projects include the promotion of conservation agriculture as president of AMAC and the support of young agricultural entrepreneurs.

Mr. Josef Kienzle

Josef Kienzle, holds an M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from Hohenheim University and a post-graduate certificate for Advanced Training in Agricultural Development (CATAD) from Humboldt University, Berlin. He currently leads the sustainable agricultural mechanization group in the Rural and Urban Crop and Mechanization Systems team in the Plant Production and Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), based in Rome. 

Sustainable mechanization is embedded within one of FAO’s key programmes on ‘sustainable crop production and conservation agriculture’. Mr Kienzle’s work emphasizes the crucial role of farm power and of innovative and efficient mechanization solutions, and the importance of appropriating them to the context of smallholder farmers in developing countries. His work also highlights the important role that the public and private sectors play in mechanization input supply chains and capacity building for mechanization service providers. 

Prof. Ayub Gitau

Prof. Ayub Gitau is an Agricultural Engineer Registered with Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) as a Consulting Engineer with over 30 years of academic and practical experience in: Agricultural Mechanization, Power and Machinery Engineering and infrastructure (Water; Irrigation and In- built Environment) Development; Water Harvesting Technologies; Environment; Renewable Energies and Conservation Agriculture Technologies. Currently he is the Dean, Faculty of Engineering at The University of Nairobi. He has been a Head of Environmental and Biosystems Engineering for 6 years up to 2017 at the same University. 

He is a member of numerous professional bodies including: Kenya Conservation Tillage Initiative (KCTI); American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE); Africa Network of Scientific and Technological Institute (ANSTI; International Soil Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO); International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE); Pan African Society of Agricultural Engineering (PASAE); Kenyan Society of Environmental; Biological and Agricultural Engineers (KESEBAE); Institute of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) among others. 

He has Published widely with over 150 manuscripts and reviewed numerous papers in and for peer refereed journals from 2005 to date in; Agricultural Engineering International CIGR e-journal, Elsevier, Africa journal of science and technology, Taylor and Francis Energy series; Australian journal of Agricultural Engineering; Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and the Pacific (AMA- editor) among others. He has extensive training, research and consultancy experience and knowhow in his areas of expertise.

Dr. Abdellah Aboudrare

30 years experience in education, research, training and development in Agricultural Mechanization, Conservation Agriculture and Soil and water management for a sustainable crop production, mainly in dryland areas and mountainous areas.

Managing soil and water to achieve sustainable crop production in dryland and mountainous areas including technical, socioeconomic and extension aspects. This includes works on:

Agricultural Mechanization & Soil and water management.

- Settings, use and maintenance of agricultural machines and equipment & Digitalization in agricultural machinery.

- Testing the impact of soil tillage, weeding and mulching on soil water conservation, crop production and water use efficiency on cereals and oleaginous. 

Conservation agriculture.

Testing and promoting the conservation agriculture in several soil and climate conditions in Morocco

Modelling of crop production in water limited environment.

Using simulation models to explore growth, development and water use efficiency of some crops (mainly cereals and oleaginous) in water limited environment.

Sustainable crop production in mountainous areas.

Improving the production practices of some crops in mountainous areas of the south of Morocco for a sustainability of natural resources and production : The case of saffron and Perfume rose. 

Alternative crops for a sustainable production.

Introduction of new crops to achieve sustainability of production and natural resources : The case of stevia rebaudiana in the south of Morocco.

Argan oil market impact on households and forest.

Impact of the argan market boom on household living conditions and on the conservation of argan forest (Moroccan endemic tree).

Team Research :  

SPEC-trum : Accredited Team Research : 5 researchers, 1 doctoral student, several graduate students

1. Agronomist Engineer, Crop Productions (IAV Hassan II) : 1986-1992
2. PhD, Agricultural Mechanization, Water Management and Crop Productions in Rainfed Areas (IAV Hassan II) : 1994-1999
3. Teaching, Researcher, Training and Extension (ENA-Meknès): 1992-2022 (until this day)
4. Deputy Director of Research, Cooperation and Partnership (ENA-Meknès) : 2012-2021

Prof. Patrick Okori

Dr. Patrick Okori, the current Executive Secretary of RUFORUM, is a Ugandan national who received his PhD from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. He studied at Makerere University for BSc Agriculture and MSc Crop Science degrees. Patrick is an educator, research innovator and scientific leader. He has served in various roles in higher education and international research. 

He previously served as Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences at Makerere University and was until 2022, a Principal Scientist, Plant Breeding at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT). He was the Deputy Director of ICRISAT’s Global Research Programme on Accelerated Crop Improvement and Country Representative for Mozambique and Malawi. Patrick has wide knowledge on Africa’s agri-food systems and has commercialized over 30 varieties of legumes, that are widely grown in eastern and southern Africa. He is widely published on crop improvement. He is a thought leader on agricultural research for development who has contributed visioning of futures local to regional and international agencies.

Prof. Gottlieb Basch

Gottlieb Basch holds a Doctorate degree in Agricultural Sciences from Georg-August-University Göttingen/Germany. His PhD studies in Portugal in the area of alternative land use and soil management systems kicked off research and farm-based experimentation in this country. He was one of the founding members of the Portuguese Association on CA (APOSOLO), which became a foundation member of ECAF. 

As professor at the University of Évora/Portugal and researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, he has been working on many aspects related to the implementation of CA. Recently he has been involved in three EIP Focus Groups and also in three H2020 and ERAfrica projects. Gottlieb Basch has been president of the European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF) between 2002 and 2008, and is it again since 2011. He is also member of the International Conservation Agriculture Advisory Panel for Africa (ICAAP-Africa).

Ms. Juliana Albertengo

Juliana Albertengo belongs to a farming family. She holds an Agronomic Engineer degree from the National University of Rosario and an MSc in Agronomy from Iowa State University. She is an expert in Conservation Agriculture (CA) and sustainable certification schemes. She has worked for AAPRESID (Argentinean No-Till Farmers Association), as a consultant for FAO, Solidaridad, The Coca Cola Company, IFC, among others. 

She has also served as a facilitator during the implementation of many certification schemes in Argentinean farms. She led an ICCI´s project in Peru for small farmers to propose CA as an alternative to Open Burning and is now leading a similar one in Ecuador. She has also worked in Bolivia, Italy and Cuba. She speaks Spanish, Italian, English and French and lives in San Jorge, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Dr. Christian Thierfelder

Christian Thierfelder is a Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist and Strategic Leader, specializing in Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems research with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT). He is based in Harare, Zimbabwe and covers the whole southern African region. He trained as a Soil Scientist at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany and did his PhD-project with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) on soil conservation in Cali, Colombia. 

He received his PhD from the University of Hohenheim, Germany in 2003. Since 2004, he has implemented CA related projects in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. His main work is centred around applied and strategic research on-farm and on-station to adapt CA systems to the needs and environments of smallholder farmers. Since 2009, he has been Principal Investigator of several large projects advancing science on CA systems including smallholder mechanization, disease and pest management, sustainable intensification and climate-smart agriculture. 

He guided the research programs of 25 BSc, MSc and PhD students, and published more than 110 research articles in peer-reviewed high-impact journals and books (current Scopus H- factor 36). 

Ms. Sepo Marongwe

An agronomist by profession, currently an independent consultant in sustainable agriculture and rural development. I have worked  in the  public agricultural extension sector  in Zimbabwe between 2004 and 2020. As the focal person for conservation agriculture during this period, with support from the FAO, I led the coordination of a large group of stakeholders who have all played critical and complementary roles in the implementation and development  of CA practices in the country. The National CA network provided a platform for knowledge sharing and research reviews, which all contributed to improvement in CA research design and CA programming. The network members included networking  UN Agencies , CGIAR centres, civil society and private sector stakeholder who were all supporting government programmes in various ways.

At policy level, I have contributed to  the recognition of CA by the Ministry of Agriculture in Zimbabwe through continuous advocacy,policy engagement and coordination of  and contributing write-ups of policy documents(CA Upscaling Framework for Zimbabwe  :2010-2015, Zimbabwe CSA Framework : 2018-2028, Zimbabwe CSA Country Profile-2018).

At regional and global level, I have provided secretariat support to both the 1st and 2nd Africa congress on CA in partnership with the African Conservation Tillage network, as well as the 8th World Congress as session Chair. I have worked in collaboration with the AU-NEPAD Agency, COMESA  and the FAO regional offices on various projects.

Dr. Rachid Moussadek

Dr. Rachid Moussadek is Senior Scientist- Specialist in Soil and Sustainable Intensification, Joint Researcher at ICARDA/INRA and Chair of FAO-Global Soil Partnership/GSP-NENA in collaboration with a soil R/D consortium including ICARDA/INRA/GSP UM6P. He received his Ph.D. in Sustainable Land Management from Ghent University (Belgium) with a DES on Agro-climatology from Liege University (Belgium) and Master in Soil sciences from IAV HII. During his 23 years career, the main topics of his research were related to Soil-Climate-Cropping system (Conservation Agriculture, soil health and rehabilitation, soil fertility mapping and sustainable management, soil carbon sequestration in conservation farming systems in relation with climate change modeling). 

He published more than thirty papers in peer-referred journals and presented his research results at various congress and scientific meetings. He coordinates several international and national projects (EU projects, OCP, CRDI, ICARDA, OADA, …), expert for various funding institutions and private sector on (CSA) Climate Smart Agriculture (WB, GIZ, IFAD).

He advised MSc and PhD students from Moroccan and European universities. He is currently advising 7 MSc and 4 PhD students on Conservation Agriculture, Soil Health and Land Suitability. He is a reviewer for different journals in soil management and environment topics.

Mr Martin Bwalya

Mr Bwalya is a Machinery Design and Machine Management Engineer, with wide and intense experience working many years in the of development field through international organisations. This include over a decade working in the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). Specific interest and experience is in the broader food systems work with focus on agriculture mechanisation, agro-industry, nutrition and food safety, climate change, focusing on climate smart agriculture and conservation agriculture.

Over the years, career responsibilities include founding Coordinator for the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT; Head of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) – Africa’s continental framework for agricultural transformation; Director for the AUDA-NEPAD’s Knowledge Management and Programme Evaluation (KMPE) Directorate which included AUDA-NEPAD’s work on foresight analysis and management of the Agency’s five regional Centres of Excellence.

Have practical understanding of Africa’s diverse public policy fields across sub-national/national and regional-continental levels as well as global political-economy dynamics and trends. Continues to serve in varying responsibilities in international initiatives and programmes including Board chair for the Southern Africa Coalition on Climate Change (SACCC) and co-chair of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) community of experts.

Prof. Karim Houmy

Prof. Karim Houmy is an international consultant and has worked for over 30 years as a professor at the Department of Energy and Agro-Equipment of the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute in Rabat, Morocco. He has participated in several FAO projects, particularly in formulating agricultural mechanization strategies for African countries. 

He also participated in several events related to the operationalization of the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (F-SAMA) and the organization of the Global Conference on Sustainable Crop Production (2022) and the Global Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (2023), both organized by FAO. He has also published several books related to the theme of sustainable agricultural mechanization. He holds a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Belgium.

Mr. Mohamed Manssouri

Mohamed Manssouri is the Director of the FAO Investment Centre. He is an agricultural economist, expert in agricultural and rural development, food security and poverty reduction with a career in the Investment Centre as Service Chief and Senior Advisor. 

Prior to FAO, he was Country Director with IFAD, where he managed the development of various country investment strategies and programmes in West and Central Africa. He developed several regional strategies and policy initiatives in rural finance, community-driven development, conservation agriculture and the West Africa Rural Policy Hub. He also led the preparation of IFAD’s Knowledge Management Strategy and other organizational change initiatives. He lectured at the University Roma III’s Master’s on Human Development and Food Security. He holds a BSc and an MSc from the Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environment Sciences in France. Native speaker of Arabic and French, fluent in English, Spanish and Italian.

Ms. Beth Bechdol

Beth Bechdol is Deputy Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In this role, she continues her service to food and agriculture – now on a global scale.  

Motivated by building alliances and connecting people, Beth is responsible for FAO’s Partnership and Outreach work, including Partnerships and UN Collaboration, Resource Mobilization and Private Sector Partnerships, South-South and Triangular Cooperation. She also leads programmes in the area of Plant Production and Protection and oversees FAO’s main technical advisory committee on agriculture, the Committee on Agriculture 

(COAG) as well as the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat. 

Before joining FAO, Beth was President and CEO of AgriNovusIndiana, the Midwestern state’s economic development initiative focused on advancing the agribioscience sector and developing 21st century talent. 

Beth’s dedication to public service in agriculture and her extensive trade and farm policy experience started in  Washington, D.C. where she served in key roles as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as Economist on the Senate Agriculture Committee.  

Beth was raised on a multi-generation family grain farm in rural Indiana. She received her bachelor’s degree from  Georgetown University in international law and international affairs and her master’s degree from Purdue University in agricultural economics.