Directors General of the CGIAR Research Centers

Africa Rice Center / Centre du riz pour l'Afrique
Papa Abdoulaye Seck has been Director General of the Africa Rice Center since October 2006. He has wide-ranging experience in agricultural R&D planning, implementation, evaluation and management and is particularly noted for his in-depth knowledge of the needs and aspirations of the national agricultural R&D systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining the Africa Rice Center, Dr Seck was the Director General of the Senegal Agricultural Research Institute (ISRA) and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Senegal. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Academy of Science and Technology of Senegal. Dr Seck was the Chair of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) from 2003 to 2005. He is a member of Executive Committee of the West and Central African Council for Research and Development (WECARD/CORAF) and of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). Dr Seck has strong connections with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), having been a member of its Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Trustees of WARDA. He earned his PhD in policy and analysis relating to agricultural economics from the Université de Dijon, France, in 1989. In 2005, he was conferred with the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Lion by the Government of Senegal for his services to the country.

Bioversity International
Emile Frison took over as Director General of Bioversity International on 1 August 2003, but he is no stranger to Bioversity or its work. As a Senior Scientist with Bioversity International's predecessor organization he had special responsibility for the health of samples of crop diversity. He was then Director of Bioversity International's regional office for Europe, and until his appointment to the top position at Bioversity International was Director of the organization's International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain in Montpellier, France. He has done much to promote research on bananas and plantains, the developing world's fourth most important staple crop. Bananas and plantains play a very large part in the lives of poor people in the tropics, but the crop is attacked by many pests and diseases. In 2002 Dr Frison launched a global consortium of 27 members from 14 countries to decode the genetic information of the banana. This information will help to improve the varieties available to smallholder farmers. "Although we work with plants," Dr Frison says, "people are the centre of our interests. We will continue to work with our partners to help poor farmers achieve a better standard of living." Dr Frison is a Belgian citizen and has more than 120 scientific publications to his name.

CIAT
Ruben G. Echeverría , a citizen from Uruguay, has worked on agricultural and rural development issues for 30 years. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Agriculture from the University of Uruguay and a M.Sc. and a PhD in Agriculture and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, before studying in Minnesota, Dr. Echeverría worked for the Uruguayan Land Reform Institute, heading its extension service. In the mid 1980s, as part of his Ph.D. thesis, he conducted field research in Mexico and Guatemala, based at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. He then worked on agricultural research policy issues and strengthening national research capacities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, based at the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) in The Netherlands. In 1992 he joined the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington DC where he worked in the preparation of several agricultural and rural development projects in Latin America. From 2000 to 2004 he was Director of agriculture and rural development at the IDB from where he promoted the development of a regional rural development strategy for LAC; the creation of the Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology [(FONTAGRO), an endowment that funds competitively regional research programs]; and the creation of the Inter-Agency Group for Rural Development in LAC. From 2004 to early 2009 he was the Executive Director of the Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), based at FAO in Rome. Since 2007 he is the President of the International Board of the Center for Rural Development in Latin America (RIMISP). Since April 2009 Dr. Echeverría is the Director General of CIAT in Colombia.

CIFOR
Frances Seymour became CIFOR’s Director General on August 20, 2006. Prior to CIFOR, Ms. Seymour was the founder and Director of the Institutions and Governance Program at the World Resources Institute ( WRI), where she guided the launch of The Access Initiative, a global civil society coalition promoting citizen involvement in environment-related decisions. She has authored and contributed to several WRI publications critically examining the role of public and private international financial institutions in promoting sustainable development. She previously served as Director of Development Assistance Policy at World Wildlife Fund, and spent five years in Indonesia with the Ford Foundation, where her grant-making focused on community forestry and human rights. She has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including those of World Neighbors, the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, the African Centre for Technology Studies, and the Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge in China. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a masters degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and a B.S. in Zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

CIMMYT
Thomas A. Lumpkin has served as Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, by its Spanish acronym) since 15 March 2008. CIMMYT is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Lumpkin grew up on a small farm in eastern Washington State USA, located on the boundary between the irrigated desert and the rainfed wheat production area. As a young man, he served in the Peace Corps in the Konkan region of India, teaching rice production along with wheat and horticultural crops. He has a BSc from Washington State University in agronomy, and MSc and PhD degrees in agronomy from the University of Hawaii. He carried out his doctoral research in mainland China and served as a Research Scholar at IRRI for six months. Lumpkin worked at Washington State University as a professor and later as Chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. Prior to taking up his appointment at CIMMYT, he served for five years as Director General of AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center in Taiwan.

CIP
Pamela Anderson - has been Director General of the International Potato Center (CIP) since May 2005. CIP is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Prior to becoming Director General, she served as the Deputy Director General of Research at CIP (2002-2005) and as Senior Entomologist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Cali, Colombia (1997-2002). She received a M.Sc. in Entomology from the University of Illinois; a M.Sc in Human Ecology from Harvard University; and a D.Sc. in Populations Sciences/Vector Entomology from the Harvard School of Public Health. A leading expert on emerging plant diseases, her research has also included extensive work in agricultural entomology and plant virus epidemiology related to food security and income generation for resource-poor populations. She has worked in Latin America for 30 years and spent two decades working within national agricultural research systems before joining the CGIAR.

ICARDA
Mahmoud Solh assumed office of the Director General of International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in May 2006. ICARDA is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Dr Solh returns to ICARDA after serving as Director of Plant Production and Protection Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for four years. Prior to that he had served ICARDA with distinction for nearly 16 years in various capacities – as Lentil Breeder, Regional Food Legume Breeder in North Africa, Regional Coordinator of the Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program, and Assistant Director General for International Cooperation. Dr Solh holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of California, Davis, USA, and has an impressive record of scientific publications. He has rich experience in donor relations and fund raising, and an in-depth knowledge of needs and aspirations of the national agricultural research and development systems in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region and beyond. Throughout his career his activities have focused on contributing to food security, alleviating poverty, and developing sustainable agricultural systems; planning, implementation, and evaluation of agricultural research for development; capacity building and human resource development in national agricultural systems; and promoting north-south and south-south cooperation.

ICRISAT
William D. Dar, a native of the Philippines, took the helm at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in January 2000. ICRISAT is one of the fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). He intensively advocated a Grey to Green Revolution in the dry tropics of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa through Science with a Human Face. He his well-known in the international agricultural research community. He served as Chair of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) and the Coarse Grains, Pulses Research and Training (CGPRT) Center basedin Indonesia, and represented that region in the establishment of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). Dr. Dar received his BSc and MSc degrees in Agricultural Education and Agronomy, respectively from Benguet State University in the Philippines. He achieved his PhD in Horticulture from the University of the Philippines, Los Banos. He served as Vice President at Beguet State University and then was appointed to manage the Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Philippine Department of Agriculture. In 1994, he became Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), and in 1998, he was appointed as the Acting Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. In 1999, he was appointed as Presidential Advisor on Rural Development in the Philippines, a capacity he served until joining ICRISAT.

  IFPRI
Shenggen Fan was appointed Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in December 2009. He joined IFPRI in 1995 as a Research Fellow and led IFPRI's program on public investment before becoming the Director of IFPRI’s Development Strategy and Governance Division. Prior to working at IFPRI, he held positions at the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) in the Netherlands and the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Arkansas. He received his PhD in applied economics from the University of Minnesota, and his bachelor's and master's degrees from Nanjing Agricultural University in China. Dr. Fan's research, which has been widely published, has centered on pro-poor development strategy, pro-poor investment, and rural-urban linkages in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He has served in editorial board of various academic journals and is currently an Executive Committee member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists. He has also received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Alumni Award in Applied Economics and the Distinguished Leadership Award for International (both from the University of Minnesota) as well as the Outstanding Young Scholar award from the National Science Foundation of China.

IITA
Hartmann has been Director General of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria since November 2001. IITA is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). He was born and spent his early years in Tanzania. His international experience includes work in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. His most recent appointments were Professor and Director of International Programs at the University of Florida and Private Sector Advisor for USAID in Tanzania. While at the University of Florida, he worked with the faculty on institutional linkages with universities and research institutions in Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, Nicaragua, the Netherlands, and Honduras.

ILRI
Carlos Seré, a citizen of Uruguay, became Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in January 2002. ILRI is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Prior to joining ILRI, Dr. Seré worked for the Latin America and Caribbean office of the International Development Research Centre (Canada), first managing a portfolio of agricultural and natural resource management projects and, since 1996, serving as regional director. From 1990 to 1994 he was an independent consultant, reviewing research and development activities such as the dairy sector in Ecuadorean Sierra, farmer development in Uruguay, soil conservation in eastern Paraguay and global livestock production systems for a major study of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Dr. Seré's expertise is broad, including tropical livestock production systems, foot-and-mouth disease, smallholder dairy farming, tropical pastures and quantification of the costs and benefits of research. Dr. Seré has a doctorate in agricultural economics from the University of Hohenheim, Germany.

IRRI
Robert (Bob) Zeigler became Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in April 2005 . IRRI is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). He is an internationally respected plant pathologist with more than 20 years experience in agricultural research in the developing world. Dr. Zeigler worked at IRRI from 1992 to 1998 as a plant pathologist. During this period, he led the Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Program (1992-96) and the Irrigated Rice Research Program (1996-98). He earned his Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cornell University in 1982, his Masters in botany (forest ecology) from Oregon State University in 1978, and his B.Sc. in biological sciences from the University of Illinois in 1972.

IWMI

Colin Chartres assumed the post of Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) on October 15, 2007. IWMI is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Dr Chartres, who comes from Australia, has 30 years experience in driving research and policy reform across the area of natural resources management with a focus on water and soils. He has spent a considerable part of his career working on international development issues with organizations such as CSIRO and the Global Research Alliance. He was previously Chief Science Advisor to Australia’s National Water Commission where his role included developing improved national water data and information systems, the development of a national groundwater action plan and advising on the role of science in a range of more general water reform issues. Previously he held senior research and research management positions with CSIRO, the Bureau of Rural Science and Geoscience Australia. Dr Chartres, who has worked closely with the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, believes that most of today’s water issues cannot be solved without a truly integrated triple bottom line approach involving environmental, social and economic inputs.

World Agroforestry Centre - (ICRAF)
Dennis Garrity has been Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya since October 2001. ICRAF is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Dr. Garrity's work on developing agroforestry alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture is widely recognized, as are his efforts to develop institutional innovations related to farmer-led organizations in sustainable agriculture and natural resources management. He has also actively promoted the landcare movement in Southeast Asia. Dr. Garrity received a B.Sc. in agriculture from Ohio State University, and M.Sc. in agronomy from the University of Philippines at Los Banos, and a Ph.D. in crop physiology from the University of Nebraska.

WorldFish Center
Stephen Hall became Director General of the World Fish Center in Penang, Malaysia, (formerly the International Center for Living Aquatic Resource Management - ICLARM), on March 1, 2004. The World Fish Center is one of fifteen international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Dr Stephen Hall was Head of Fish Biology at the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Dept Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, before taking up a position as Professor of Marine Biology at Flinders University, South Australia and Director of the Lincoln Marine Science Centre. In 2000 he became Director/CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, before moving to Penang in 2004 to take up his position as Director General of the WorldFish Center. He has published extensively on the structure and functioning of marine ecological systems, focussing especially on the effects of natural and human disturbance. This work has recently culminated in a book on the global effects of fishing on marine communties and ecosytems. Dr Hall has served on numerous national and international committees and is a past chairman of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) Working Group on the Ecosystem Effects of Fishing Activities - a group that provides advice to ICES and the European Commision on fishing effects and other aspects of coastal zone management. He was also a member of a US National Research Council Panel on the Effects of Trawling. In addition to these activities, he has acted as a consultant to the United Arab Emirates and the European Commission and is a recent recipient of a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation.