Panel Members
Chair
Former UK Chief Scientific Adviser
Sir John Beddington is the Senior Adviser to the Oxford Martin School and Professor of Natural Resource Management at Oxford University.
Panel Members
President of the African Development Bank
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is the President of the African Development Bank. He was also Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Nigeria. He is the eighth President of the African Development Bank, and the first Nigerian to hold the post.
Chair, Africa Rural Development Committee, Ireland 2024
Tom Arnold is the Chair of the Ireland Africa Rural Development Committee. He was the Irish Government’s Special Envoy for Food Systems in 2021/22 and Chair of the European Commission High-level Expert Group (HLEG) to assess the need for an International Platform for Food System Science (IPFSS) in 2018.
Immediate Past President, Research and Development, EMBRAPA - Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
Celso Moretti is the Immediate Past President for the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). Dr. Moretti has dedicated the last ten years to public administration.
Chair Professor of China Agricultural University
Shenggen Fan (樊胜根) is Chair Professor of China Agricultural University. Before this, he was Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2009.
President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Dr. Kalibata leads the organization’s efforts with public and private partners to ensure a food secure and prosperous Africa through rapid, sustainable agricultural growth, improving the productivity and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.
Professor of Practice in Climate Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford. Dean emerita of the Fletcher School, Tufts University.
Rachel Kyte is the Professor of Practice in Climate Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and Dean emerita of The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Former President, Public Health Foundation of India
Prof. K. Srinath Reddy is presently President, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and formerly headed the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Senior Adviser, Non-resident, to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Global Food Security Project
Emmy Simmons is currently an independent consultant on international development issues with a focus on food, agriculture, and Africa.
Former Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission
Until January 2017, her Excellency Tumusiime Rhoda Peace was the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission (AUC).
Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Dr Qu Dongyu has been Director-General of FAO since 2019. Prior to this role, Dr Dongyu worked as the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in China.
President, EMBRAPA - Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
Silvia Massruhá is the President of Embrapa and serves on its Board of Directors. Before being named as the first female President of Embrapa, Silvia was Director General of Embrapa´s Research Centre on Digital Agriculture.