Saharah Moon Chapotin is currently acting Division Chief for Agricultural Research at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She joined USAID in 2006 as a Biotechnology Advisor, managing international partnerships... more to promote the adoption of conservation agriculture practices in South Asia, develop bioengineered crops for small-holder farmers, and strengthen biosafety regulatory capacity in Africa & Asia. Prior to working at USAID, Chapotin worked at the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products (BIGMAP) at Iowa State University, where her work focused on resolving regulatory issues for genetically engineered crops, especially those intended for small and niche-markets. Chapotin holds a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Harvard University, and has completed the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program. less

Muni Muniappan is a world-renowned specialist in tropical economic entomology, biological control of insect pests and weeds, and integrated pest management. He received his doctorate from Oklahoma State University and has worked... more in the tropics for over 35 years. Muniappan is a member of the Entomological Society of America, the Royal Entomological Society, and an emeritus member of the International Organization for Biological Control. He currently serves as director of the Integrated Pest Management Innovation Lab (IPM IL), a USAID-funded program dedicated to raising the standard of living in developing countries through sustainable agricultural practices. The program, managed by Virginia Tech, operates in six regions of the tropical world: West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The venture has a presence in 12 Feed the Future countries. The IPM IL concentrates on the development of IPM packages for high value vegetable crops, coffee, cocoa, potato, naranjilla, tree tomato, and passion fruit, and to a lesser extent millet, rice, and wheat. Initially, Muniappan was involved in regionalizing IPM; currently he is concentrating on globalizing IPM by conducting national, regional and international workshops, conferences, and symposia.The Lab has generated over a billion dollars in benefits by introducing several technologies to participating countries and their neighbors. less

Dr. Irvin Widders. Ph.D. in plant physiology from the University of California, Davis. Joined the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University in 1982 and currently holds the rank of Professor. The focus of his... more research program has been on vegetable crop physiology, the regulation of ion transport, and plant responses to abiotic stresses. Dr. Widders has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Environmental Physiology, Vegetable Crop Production, and Plant Mineral Nutrition. He also coordinated semester-long study abroad programs in Peru and Costa Rica (1996-2010). Dr. Widders has been actively engaged in international programs at Michigan State University, having worked in such diverse countries as Honduras, Uruguay, Zimbabwe and Vietnam. He has served as Director for the Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) (2000-2007), the Dry Grain Pulses CRSP (2007-2012), and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Grain Legumes (2013-2017). MSU is the Management Entity of this Title XII research and institutional capacity strengthening program funded by the USAID’s Bureau for Food Security in partnership with U.S. universities and agriculture research institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Under Dr. Widders’ leadership, the program has expanded in technical scope to include research on human nutrition, has developed ties with the CG’s Grain Legume program, and has improved the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially those which produce, market and consume grain legumes in developing countries. less