Announcements

Guido Gryseels takes up new position as ICARDA Board Chair. Dr. Guido Gryseels is the new Chair of the ICARDA Board of Trustees, announced Dr. Margaret Catley-Carlson, outgoing Board Chair, at the Annual Presentation Day of the Center on May 7. More……

Frances Seymour to be the next Director General of CIFOR.The Board of Trustees of the Center for International Forestry Research is delighted to announce the appointment of Frances Seymour as the Center’s next Director General. Ms Seymour is currently Director of the influential Institutions and Governance Program of the World Resources Institute. She will replace David Kaimowitz who will soon step down after five years as Director General. She will be responsible for leading CIFOR’s global activities and their focus on the sustainable use of forest resources to fight poverty and protect the environment in tropical Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Ms Seymour has had a highly successful career in forestry and development issues with the World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund, Ford Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development. She has worked in a variety of tropical countries and is particularly noted for her ability to make research relevant to policymakers and practitioners.

Commenting on her appointment, Ms Seymour said she was excited by the prospect of leading one of the world’s most highly regarded forestry research institutes. She said ‘CIFOR's talented staff, committed Board, and impressive network of partners combine to provide an extraordinary opportunity to influence how forests are managed for people around the world. I am deeply honored by this appointment, and am eager to contribute my energies toward realizing CIFOR's important mission.’

Angela Cropper, Chair of CIFOR’s Board of Trustees, in announcing the appointment, said ‘Frances Seymour’s skills and experience make her admirably suited to the task of leading CIFOR at a time of change. The world’s forests are under pressure but must play their role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the challenges set out in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’.

Frances Seymour was identified through an extensive international search which attracted 80 candidates from 36 countries.

John Ryan , ICARDA, wins IFA Award for his lifetime contributions to soil science and crop nutrition. More….

Unni Venemoe appointed CGIAR Director for the Strategic Advisory Service for Human Resources (SAS HR). Ms. Unni Vennemoe comes to the CGIAR following a career spanning work experience in public and private sectors, multinational corporations, academic work, as well as senior management posts in international organizations. More than 20 years of work in the field of Human Resources Management has rendered her valuable mix of experience relevant for the CGIAR. Unni is joining the CGIAR from the IAEA – the International Atomic Energy Agency, where she started in 2002 as Director, Division of Personnel. Her scope of work has also included responsibility for the medical services, project development and funding, and she has been a member of the UN Chief Executive Board of Human Resources. Unni will be based at the WorldFish Center, Penang, commencing August 7, and is expected to meet regularly with the Centers to optimize personal interaction. Together with the Centers she will identify major topics and issues, in order to contribute effectively through leading the Strategic Advisory Service for Human Resources. The CGIAR is pleased to welcome Unni Vennemoe and her family, and looks forward to working together.

Catherine Mgendi has joined the CGIAR to spearhead the establishment of the Media Unit. Catherine Mgendi has joined the CGIAR to spearhead establishment of the Media Unit. Based at ILRI, Nairobi, Catherine will work with several centres to highlight and profile the CGIAR’s research-for-development activities using key media outlets, particularly in Africa. She will also strengthen on-going efforts at building the CG’s media skills, and well as provide engaging learning opportunities for journalists about the CGIAR’s work. A World Bank Scholar in Globalisation and Development, Catherine is an experienced science and development writer having worked with the mainstream media for six years in Nairobi. She worked as WWF Eastern Africa’s Office as Communication Manager prior to joining the CGIAR. Her interests include media, development, Rotary, French, squash and traveling.

World Food Prize 2006

The recipients of the 2006 World Food Prize were announced June 15 at a ceremony at the U.S. State Department featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug and hosted by the Hon. Josette Sheeran Shiner, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs.

World Food Prize Foundation President Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn announced that the three men who will share the 2006 World Food Prize are: former Brazil Minister of Agriculture H.E. Alysson Paolinelli and former Technical Director of EMBRAPA Cerrado Research Center Mr. Edson Lobato, both of Brazil; and Washington Representative of the International Research Institute , Dr. A. Colin McClung of the United States.

The 2006 recipients each played a vital role in transforming the Cerrado – a region of vast, once infertile tropical high plains stretching across Brazil – into highly productive cropland. Though they worked independently of one another, in different decades and in different fields, their collective efforts over the past 50 years have unlocked Brazil’s tremendous potential for food production. Their advancements in soil science and policy leadership made agricultural development possible in the Cerrado, a region named from Portuguese words meaning “closed, inaccessible land.”

The World Food Prize will be formally presented at a ceremony on October 19, 2006 at the Iowa State Capitol Building in Des Moines. The ceremony will be held as part of the World Food Prize International Symposium, entitled “The Green Revolution Redux: Can We Replicate the Single Greatest Period of Food Production in All Human History?”

For more information please visit the World Food Prize web site.