Dr. Namanga Ngongi
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Until April 2012, he was the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a job he took after decades of service to the United Nations. Namanga joined the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in 1984 as head of the East and Southern Africa service. He rose through the ranks and later served the WFP as deputy executive director (1994-2001). He was appointed undersecretary-general and special representative of the Secretary General of the UN to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001-2003) to manage the peacekeeping operations, oversee the ceasefire, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Namanga is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and member of the Programme Committee of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).
Namanga started his career as an agricultural extension officer in Cameroon, where he owns a farm. He earned his undergraduate degree in Agriculture from the California State Polytechnic University (1968) and graduate degrees in Agronomy from Cornell University (1973 and 1976).
Dr. Namanga Ngongi is an Officer of the National Order of Valour of Cameroon.
Jason Scarpone
Executive Board Member
Jason Scarpone, formerly the President and founding CEO of The African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), is now an Executive Member of the AFAP Board. He is a leading International Development Specialist with 22 years’ experience in designing, implementing and managing economic recovery and development programs for Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the United States. He has specialized in public-private partnerships that link production, policy and marketing, with special attention to post-conflict, post-crisis environments.
Jason has successfully implemented large-scale agricultural and rural development programs with long-lasting positive effects. Scarpone is thoroughly familiar with industry institutions, regulations and compliance. Has managed the proposal development, implementation and reporting of programs funded by donors such as AGRA, BPRM, CIDA, CORDAID, DFID, EAR, ECHO, FAO, IFAD, OFDA, OTI, SV, TACIS/PHARE, UNDP, UNHCR, USAID, USDA, WFP, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, numerous commercial banks and private donor sources, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and urban studies from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in labor relations from New York University.
Rhoda Peace Tumusiime
The African Union’s Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture
Her Excellency Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, until early 2017 has been the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission (AUC).
Prior to holding this post, she held various senior positions in the Government of the Republic of Uganda that included Commissioner of Agricultural Planning, and Commissioner for Women in Development.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, a Masters degree in Economics, Planning and Managing Rural Development, and a Diploma in Women and Development.
Throughout her career, she has demonstrated leadership and championed causes such as Women’s empowerment, poverty eradication, sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, strategic planning and partnership building, among others.
Her portfolio at the African Union covered multiple ministerial sectors ranging from crop agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, land and water, environment , climate change, disaster risk reduction to rural development.
She did mobilize and closely worked with other Pan African Institutions and Development Partner Agencies in the above areas to secure and provide support to the AU member states.
Her efforts have yielded increased responses in the framework of the comprehensive Africa Agriculture Programme (CAADP) and other AU flagship programmes for priority setting for Agriculture.
Further, she spearheaded the coordination of Africa’s preparations for global climate change negotiations and the formulation of a continent wide climate change strategy in addition to steering Africa’s preparation of the Disaster Reduction Action Plan in line with the global Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 – 2015.
Her expertise and experience as well as commitment have won her a number of key positions on regional and international organizations, such as membership of the high level Advisory Panel of UNISDR, Advisory Board of EXPO 2015 dedicated to the theme: Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, Governing Board of the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), Chair of the Governing Council of the African Fertiliser Financing Mechanism (AFFM), Board member of GAIN, member of the Global Panel on Nutrition, among others.
In April 2017, Rhoda Tumusiime was named as the New African Woman in Agriculture.
Dr Agnes Kalibata
President at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
As President of 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.
Prior to joining AGRA in September 2014, Dr. Kalibata was Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI). In this role, she was widely considered to be one of the most successful Agriculture Ministers in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Kalibata has held several other leadership positions, including Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Deputy Vice Chancellor of University of Rwanda. She also worked for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Uganda, and various other agricultural development organizations. She sits on various boards including the International Fertilizer Development Corporation (IFDC), Bioversity International, Africa Risk Capacity, the Malabo-Montpellier Panel, and is a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum.
Dr. Kalibata has a distinguished track record as an agricultural scientist, policy maker and thought leader. She holds a doctorate in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Patrick Heffer
Senior Director, Agriculture Service, International Fertilizer Association (IFA)
Patrick Heffer joined the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) in Paris in 2002, where he is Senior Director of the Agriculture Service. In this capacity, he coordinates IFA’s global activities relating to fertilizer consumption. In addition, at the regional level, Patrick leads IFA’s Africa programme. More specifically, his duties focus on agronomic, market and policy issues that relate to fertilizer and nutrient management in a global context.
Before joining IFA, Patrick spent 15 years with the seed industry, including five years in Switzerland at the joint secretariat of the International Seed Trade Federation and International Association of Plant Breeders (FIS/ASSINSEL), advancing to the position of Deputy Secretary General before his departure, and two years in Rome with the Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He has also worked at GNIS (French parastatal seed organization) in Poitiers, France and at the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute in Rabat, Morocco.
Patrick earned his Master Degree in genetics and plant breeding at Paris XI – Orsay University, and earlier graduated in agronomy from the French École nationale supérieure d’horticulture.
Patrick is currently on the Board of Trustees of the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) and on the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership on Nutrient Management (GPNM).
Dr. Chiji Ojukwu
Director, Agriculture and Agro-industry Department, AFDB
Dr Chiji Ojukwu is the Director, Agriculture and Agro-industry Department of the African Development Bank.
From January 2011 to October 2013, he was Regional Director, at the Bank with responsibilities for policy and programming in six countries: Angola, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe and Zambia.
Earlier, he was Manager, North, East and South Regions in the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department (2007 – 2010). He also held positions of senior, principal and chief agricultural economist from 1997 to 2007. He has taught and written many papers in the area of project analysis.
Dr Chiji Ojukwu is from Nigeria and holds and holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s Degree in Development Economics and Project Planning from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom.
He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture (agricultural economics) from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Dinnah Kapiza
Owner and Managing Director, Tisaiwale Trading, Malawi
Mrs Dinnah Kapiza owner and managing director of Tisaiwale K. Agro Trading is an enterprising agro-dealer managing her own business in the rural parts of Malawi. Provides farm inputs and new technologies to small holder farmers. She has vast experience in project designing and monitoring. Won the 2011 African Agribusiness Entrepreneur of the Year Award for outstanding business achievement in Agricultural Input and value added Industries serving food and fiber production in AFRICA by Market Matters Inc. in Cape town RSA and many Awards in Malawi as an outstanding agro-dealer. Board member of RUMARK . Mponela Aids Information and Counselling Center MAICC, member of the Women in Agribusiness(WAGB) for Southern Africa, Grain Traders Association of Malawi, the Agro – dealer Association of Malawi Commercial Agriculture Support Services Technical Working Group in Malawi(CASS) retired primary school teacher.
Dr. Amit H. Roy
IFDC’s Second President and CEO (1992-2015)
Dr. Amitava H. Roy was named president and chief executive officer of IFDC in 1992. He served in this position till the end of 2015. Roy joined IFDC as a chemical engineer in 1978. He immediately started expanding the company’s chemical research of specialty products capabilities and began to improve existing processes to ensure economic viability. He also led several appraisal missions to build new fertilizer plants in developing countries, establishing an international footprint. Since being named CEO, Roy helped IFDC achieve high levels of success and expanded its mission to address not only food security, but also trade, equity and environmental issues. He has traveled to more than 110 countries. Roy has been featured and interviewed in numerous international publications and appeared on television networks and programs. His lists of publications are extensive that includes chapters editors of books.
Roy conceived and created IFDC’s Virtual Fertilizer Research Center (VFRC) in 2010. The VFRC looks to be the cutting-edge global research initiative coordinating the creation of the next generation of fertilizers and production technologies. Roy has received worldwide attention for his research and development of new fertilizer materials from indigenous sources, especially phosphate rock. This work culminated in a 2010 study released under his supervision – World Phosphate Rock Reserves and Resources. He was invited by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH) to co-lead the Global TraPs initiative (Global Transdisciplinary Processes for Sustainable Phosphorous Management), a multiple case study research project. In 2014, Roy co-edited Sustainable Phosphorus Management: A Global Transdisciplinary Roadmap, published by Springer.
Over the course of his career, Roy has been highly influential in shaping policy decisions, speaking before heads of state and ministers of agriculture. In 2008, he addressed the Hunger Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives and offered long-term strategies to ensuring global food security. He appeared on a roundtable at the FAO’s World Summit on Food Security in 2009 with the executive director of the World Food Programme, the president of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers and the director-general of the EuropeAid Cooperation Office. Roy played the pivotal role in the 2006 Africa Fertilizer Summit in Abuja, Nigera. The summit, organized by IFDC on behalf of the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), led to the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for an African Green Revolution, a crucial first step in solving the continent’s hunger problems. In April, 2016, at the 29th FAO Regional Conference for Africa, Roy addressed the Ministers of Agriculture regarding the progress towards implementation of Africa Fertilizer Summit resolutions and the vital role of fertilizer and improved soil fertility for Africa’s food security.
In Albania, Roy led IFDC in developing a working and vibrant market for agricultural supplies and products where none existed previously. He contributed to efforts to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh by reinventing the country’s agricultural sector. Since then, he successfully directed the expansion of IFDC’s fertilizer deep placement (FDP) technology. In Bangladesh and Sub-Saharan Africa, FDP technology has helped smallholder farmers increase their productivity dramatically and efficiently while preventing the negative effects of environmental pollution.
Roy received his B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur, India and his M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Madam Maimouna Coulibaly
Founder, Faso Kaba Seed Company
Madame Maimouna Coulibaly is an accountant who in 2003 retired from an American NGO, CLUSA-Mali sponsored by USAID, which worked with Farmers organizations in Mali. Maimouna developed interest in seed business during the period when her spouse was pursuing post graduate studies at IOWA State University in US, she got a part time job to work for a seed company. It is the knowledge gained from her US seed company experience and her 15 years of experience in NGO work that allowed her to start and manage Faso Kaba Seed Company in Mali. The company started with a production of only 28.5 MT of seed in 2007, with a bank loan of $10000 guaranteed for 50% (paid back) by the NGO SG2000 in Mali. Today Faso Kaba is producing over 1,500 MT. From a humble beginning, the company now has in place modern facilities to process, distribution network and producing a range of crops from hybrid maize, sorghum, rice, cowpea, peanut and vegetable seeds, with AGRA technical and financial support. Maimouna has participated in several national and international seed panels including one in Senegal where she represented seed companies in West Africa to meet Barrack Obama when he was US president. Maimouna has equally attended several trainings in seed in Africa and other continents and it is this experience she has used to grow Faso Kaba Seed Company to the biggest company in Mali.
She has received support from donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA), INJARO, PACEPEP/CNPM and USAID. She works with national and international research institutes – for instance, Mali’s Rural Economy Institute (IER), ICRISAT, IITA, CIMMYT, Africa Rice, CORAF, AVRDC– specializing in agricultural research to improve smallholder farmer productivity in Mali and Africa and She is the one of the two ladies laureates of African Food Prize 2017 AGRF 2017 Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire.
Adam Mostert
Adam Mostert was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Fertilizer Society of South Africa (FSSA) in September 2012. Under his leadership the FSSA was restructured and became known as Fertasa (the Fertilizer Association of Southern Africa) in 2014. He was instrumental in the revision of the fertilizer regulations and the formulation of the Fertilizer Bill for South Africa. He retired at the end of January 2017.
Adam studied agronomy and soil science and obtained BSc Agric, Hons BSc Agric and MSc Agric degrees from the University of the Free State. He also obtained honours and master’s degrees in business administration from the North West University in South Africa. He completed the Advanced Management Programme at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania in the USA in 1998.
He started his career at the University of the Free State in 1974, lectured at the Fort Hare University and served the Senekal Agricultural Co-op as an agricultural advisor before he joined Sasol in 1982 where he held various positions in the Fertilizer Division. He moved through the ranks and served as general manager of the fertiliser business till the end of 1999. He served as director on the boards of ten Sasol companies during his career.
He joined the Solvents Division of Sasol in 2000 and was based in Hamburg, Germany for three years as general manager with global responsibility for sales and logistics. Thereafter he spent two and a half years in Dubai as the Managing Director of Sasol Gulf and Sasol Middle East.
Adam returned to South Africa in July 2006 to lead Sasol’s biodiesel project as well as other capital projects in Southern Africa and abroad. He retired from Sasol at the end of August 2010. He joined AFGRI in Centurion as General Manager: Farm Inputs for a short stint to assist them with the development of their retail fertilizer business.
He has a keen interest in training and development. He coached a number of business leaders from a variety of backgrounds while he was officially retired.
Adam was recognised by the Soil Science Society of South Africa in 2016 and was awarded honorary membership of Fertasa for his outstanding contribution to agriculture in May 2017.