International Advisory Board Member

Mary Ann Sayoc

Dr. Mary Ann Sayoc represents East-West Seed (EWS) Group globally in various policy-influencing platforms and industry associations that are relevant to the company in this role. She was an Executive Board member of the Global Crop Diversity Trust for six years.

Rafael Flor

Rafael Flor has 20 years of progressive work experience in international development. He has worked with development institutions, in academia, the private sector, and philanthropy; including the Rockefeller Foundation, Earth Institute at Columbia University, MDG Centre | West & Central Africa, the United Nations Development Programme, and Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Zamorano.

Collaborators

Ana Lucía Juárez

Ana Lucía Juárez has 6 years of experience in the production of vegetables and non-tropical fruit crops. Working directly with smallholders, her aim is to increase yield and improve crop quality while seeking access to better markets.

Augusto João Bock

Augusto João Bock (PhD), of Guinean nationality, is an Agricultural Engineer in Food Security and Nutrition, who specializes in community development in environmental terms and quality of life for populations. He is a professor and senior researcher for the Department of Medical Science (Higher Nursing) at Amílcar Cabra University (UAC)l and Lusófona University of Guinea (ULG) in Guinea-Bissau, leading Center for Environmental Studies and Applied Technologies (CEATA) programs at the Institute National Institute of Studies and Research (INEP), with special focus on the issues of climate change, food security and nutrition, ensuring the quality of life of populations.

Charles Tortoe

Charles Tortoe is an Associate Professor of the CSIR-College of Science and Technology affiliated with the University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana. He is a Director and Chief Research Scientist of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Food Research Institute. He completed his Ph.D in Food Science and Technology at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom, and obtained his BSc with honors and MPhil Botany in Microbiology, from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Duarte Mansoa

Duarte Mansoa is a technical agent specialized in community engagement and gender and has taken on the coordination of projects at local level. He has a degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Pinar del Río, having spent most of his academic career in Cuba. He also attended international training courses specialized in Entrepreneurship and International Trade.

Jaime Torres

Jaime Torres graduated in Agronomic Engineering, with a specialty in Plant Protection at the Zamorano University (Honduras) in 1990, and has over three decades of experience working for institutions dedicated to research, crop production, capacity building, technological transfer, and commercialization.

John Nzungize

Dr. John Nzungize, originally from Rwanda, is the Vegetable Systems Scientist and Country Representative for Mali at Worldveg. With over 20 years of experience in leadership and management across various levels of Research for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Nzungize possesses a proven track record in establishing and managing partnerships with international institutions.

Richard Adu Amoah

Dr. Richard Adu Amoah is a Plant Breeder with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Plant Genetic Resources Institute (CSIR-PGRRI) who has expertise in crop germplasm collection, assessment of plant genetic diversity as well as application of conventional breeding techniques and advanced molecular tools to improve the performance and productivity of crops.

Principal investigators

Atanda Oladejo

Dr Atanda S. Oladejo is a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Crop Production and Protection, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile–Ife, Nigeria; and a former research fellow at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan – Nigeria.