Brett Rierson is currently the Managing Director of Africa Harvest Ventures and for several years prior to that was Head of the World Food Programme’s Global Post-Harvest Knowledge & Operations Centre (KNOC), responsible for bringing WFP’s success in eradicating post-harvest losses to smallholder farmers around the world. WFP’s works alongside smallholder farmers at both the household and farmer group level to enable them to move from ‘Subsistence to Surplus’, then connect them to markets. The Post-Harvest KNOC ensures that world’s best methodologies and approaches to scalable post-harvest implementation (with a strong emphasis on private sector participation) are strategically leveraged not only in WFP’s operations, but with the development community and governments. Prior to this role, he served as WFP’s Representative to China, responsible for WFP’s relations with the Chinese Government.

Dr. Tignegre leads the Allium Breeding Program at World Vegetable Center in Mali. He works on the development of short-day onion with adaptation to humid and dry seasons. He focuses on the development of adapted open pollinated onion lines with high yield potential, early maturity, long ambient storability, and resistance to pests and diseases to boost farmer productivity and competitiveness. Prior to joining World Vegetable Center in 2014, he worked for 26 years at the Environmental and Agricultural Research Institute (INERA) in Burkina Faso as grain legume and molecular breeder. He led the genetic introgression program of the transgenic Bt-cowpea gene into Burkina Faso. He holds a PhD in Plant Breeding from the African Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Within the Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation, Jean-Baptiste is contributing to a study on irrigated seed production and seed market development in Mali.

Ms. Lefore is the Director for the Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation, at the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture Development at Texas A & M University. She leads a global interdisciplinary research team to identify ways to scale to agricultural water management and small scale irrigation to strengthen nutrition and improve livelihoods. Her research interests focus on gender and social inclusion, policy and institutions, finance for smallholder irrigators, and approaches to community engagement to improve natural resource management. Nicole has over 25 years of experience in Africa managing projects related to agricultural development, water and land resources, policy and institutional reform, and capacity development.

Dr. Bishop has over 25 years experience in development and emergency response relating to livestock and livelihoods, including 17 years working in the Horn and East Africa, focussing on areas affected by drought and complex emergencies. Since 2010 she has been involved with the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) for which she is the Project and Technical Officer. Suzan has operational, management and advisory experience in development programming with a range of NGOs. She has a particular interest in primary animal health systems and community based-animal health services, and she is also experienced in sustainable welfare and health of working equids from her time leading the Brooke’s Ethiopia country programme, and after that as a freelance consultant.