Africa Agricultural Policy Leadership Dialogue

Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, recipient of the Africa Food Prize in 2015 and member of the World Academy of Sciences, is the founder and Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063. He has over 30 years of experience as an academic and a practitioner in international development. As the Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), he was instrumental in developing and guiding the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). As Lead Specialist for Food and Agricultural Policy at the World Bank, he served as advisor to the Vice President for Africa and originated projects with funding ranging from $5 million to $150 million. Between research and development finance, Dr. Badiane taught Economics of Development in Africa at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies for many years.

Sriram Bharatam, a leading serial and social entrepreneur, is the Founder and Chief Mentor at KUZA. He is committed to supporting youth, women, and micro-entrepreneurs from the low-middle-income countries (LMIC) by helping them to learn-connect-grow at scale on-their-own-terms and pace, using digital technologies.  To mobilize public, private & philanthropy sectors as a system, address complex challenges and opportunities across sectors (health, agriculture, WASH), Sri uses digital platforms and exponential technologies that facilitate economic activities and accelerate problem-solving. His initiatives have impacted over 5million youth and created 150,331 new jobs across Africa and South Asia. Sri is an alumnus of MIT, a nominee of Ernst & Young ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’, a winner of ‘Kauffman award for Social Entrepreneurship’ and ‘EO Global Citizen of the year award’.

Mamadou, a seasoned agricultural economist and development expert, is the Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). He joined ACBF from VISA, where he served as Vice-President, Global Head of Inclusive Growth and before that as Regional Head of Social Impact for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa Region. He also worked as Managing Director Africa for the Rockefeller Foundation, overseeing the organization’s work across Africa. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Foundation, Mamadou served as Oxfam’s Regional Director for West Africa. He is a strong believer in everyone getting access to clean water and decent toilets.

Phil Hogan is a former Member of European Commission. He served in the portfolios of Agriculture & Trade from 2014 to 2020 respectively. During that time, he was involved in managing the Common Agriculture Policy and its Budget (410 Billion Euro), opening new market opportunities for food exporters arising from the Russian Embargo, assisting in the negotiations of several trade deals with various countries including China, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Mexico, Mercusor. Phil forged a new relationship with the United States of America in respect of trade and technology. For 27 years, Phil Hogan was a Member of the National Parliament of Ireland and Minister for Environment & Local Government from 2011 to 2014. He was born in Kilkenny, Ireland and is a graduate of University College, Cork (BA, Econs). Presently he is Managing Director of a business consultancy firm.

Dr. Kalibata joined AGRA as its President in September 2014. She leads the organization’s efforts with public and private partners to ensure a food secure and prosperous Africa through rapid, inclusive, sustainable agricultural growth, improving the productivity and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa. Under Dr. Kalibata’s leadership, AGRA is working to increase the incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021. Prior to joining AGRA, Dr. Kalibata was Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) from 2008 to 2014, where she drove programs that moved her country to food security helping to lift more than a million Rwandans out of poverty. She has a distinguished record of accomplishment as an agricultural scientist, policy maker and thought leader.  She served as the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, accelerating action to transform food systems around the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Victoria Kwakwa, a Ghanaian national, is the Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa. An economist and development expert with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Kwakwa leads the Bank’s engagement with 26 countries. She oversees an active portfolio of 313 operations totaling $58 billion and an extensive program of cutting-edge analytic work, technical assistance, and policy advice. At the core of Ms. Kwakwa’s vision is a stable, integrated, and resilient region with dynamic economies and prosperous societies in which all citizens, notably women, children and youth enjoy equality of opportunity. Prior to her appointment on July 1, 2022, Dr. Kwakwa served as the Vice President for Corporate Strategic Initiatives, working closely with the World Bank Managing Director of Operations and other operational and corporate units on select high priority initiatives to enhance the World Bank’s operational delivery and impact. She also served as the Vice President for East Asia Pacific from April 2016 to August 2021, where she led the Bank’s engagement with 23 diverse clients ranging from countries on the cusp of high income, established middle income, to lower middle-income countries.

Faith Mukutu is a Chartered Certified Accountant and Finance professional having experience of over 15 years, most of it being spent in leadership positions. She not only has a solid educational background, but also an illustrious career leading national and multi-national organisations. Her technical expertise not only in finance but also in leadership has made her well sought after by leading organisations. Faith has held senior finance positions at major corporates in Zambia, Lesotho, and Malawi, having served as Finance Director for Zambia Sugar Plc (part of Illovo Sugar Limited), National Breweries, and Zambian Breweries (part of SABMiller Group). Faith served as the first indigenous Zambian female Finance Director of Zambia Sugar Plc; as well as the first indigenous Zambian female Chief Financial Officer and now Chief Executive Officer of Zambeef Products Plc. Her external appointments on board directorships include Bayport Financial Services Ltd, Good Nature Agro Ltd and Zayohub Zambia Ltd. Faith is passionate about giving back to underprivileged people in the community and championing collaborative leadership through mentorship, coaching and building people.

H.E. Ambassador Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, an Angolan national, is a leading African Agronomist. She is the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment of the African Union Commission. Prior to her election, she was Special Adviser to two Ministers in Angola: The Angolan Minister of Environment where she also served as Ambassador responsible for Climate Change. As advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Ambassador Sacko oversaw Food Security, Eradication of Hunger and Poverty Reduction.

Claudia Sadoff is a globally recognized leader in water management for international development. She most recently served as the Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Center headquartered in Sri Lanka working globally to find water solutions for sustainable, climate-resilient development. She also served as a member of the CGIAR System Management Board, acting as CGIAR Gender Champion. Prior to joining IWMI, she spent over 20 years at the World Bank where she worked across Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, holding multiple positions, including Lead Economist and Global Lead for Water Security and Integrated Water Resource Management. She currently serves as a Member of the Scientific Group of the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit and was recently named an Honorary Member of the International Water Resources Association.

Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture. ”  He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand. Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2022), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018.  He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).  Sihlobo is a columnist for Business Day, The Herald and Farmers Weekly magazine.

Jai Shroff is the Global CEO of UPL Limited. He is a well-recognized global leader in sustainable agricultural development and across agribusiness, with over 30 years’ experience in India and internationally. UPL is the fifth largest agricultural solutions company worldwide and is focused on strengthening food security in over 130 countries by offering world class technologies and solutions for sustainable agriculture production. Under Jai's leadership, UPL has been one of the fastest growing agri-input companies in the world with strong presence in the Seeds, Plant Nutrition, Crop protection, BioSolutions, and Post-harvest food preservation value chains. Jai's vision for UPL is to endeavor to continually provide smart, affordable, and profitable solutions to the global farming community with a strong focus on Innovation,

Johan Swinnen is director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and managing director of Systems Transformation at CGIAR. Prior to joining IFPRI, he was professor of economics & director of the LICOS Centre for Institutions & Economic Performance at KU Leuven (Belgium) and senior research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. Earlier he was lead economist at the World Bank and economic adviser to the European Commission. He has been a visiting professor at various universities and a frequent adviser to international institutions. Dr. Swinnen has a PhD from Cornell University and two honorary doctorates. He has published extensively on agricultural policies, food security, international development, political economy, institutional reforms, trade, & global value chains.

Juergen Voegele, Ph.D., assumed the position of Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank on April 1, 2020. In this role, he oversees the work of Global Practices and thematic groups that bring together the best expertise from across the World Bank Group and from partners, to help countries tackle their most complex challenges in the area of sustainable development. The practices and groups under his responsibility include Agriculture and Food; Climate Change; Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy; Environmental and Social Framework Implementation Unit; Social Development; Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land; and Water. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Voegele was Global Director of the World Bank's Climate Change Group and Senior Director of the World Bank's Agriculture and Food Global Practice. Dr. Voegele is chair of the CGIAR System Council Board, which oversees agricultural research programs tackling poverty, food, and nutrition security, and improved natural resource management around the world.