Speakers

The Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a farmer, a former public servant and a banker. Born in Kano State, Nanono identified agriculture as the panacea to rural poverty, high unemployment in cities and a viable sector for achieving economic diversification. After his retirement from active service in the public and private sectors, as an investment and financial analyst; investment banker and a seasoned administrator, he ventures fully into agricultural activities where he experimented with many commodities. His farm, based in his home town, Tofai, is one of the largest horticulture farms serving as a model for agribusiness entrepreneurs. Nanono obtained his Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. He also attended an Advanced Management Course at Harvard Business School, Boston Massachusetts in 1994. He was a lecturer at his alma Mata in Nigeria before joining the civil service.

Alysson Paolinelli is an agricultural engineer graduated from the Federal University of Lavras (MG). He specializes in studies of the potential of the Cerrado region for agricultural production. He was Minister of Agriculture between 1974 and 1979 and was responsible for the creation of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the development of Proálcool. He was Secretary of Agriculture for three times in Minas Gerais and, for over 40 years, has been using science and innovation to foster Brazil's agronomy. Currently is President of the Brazilian Corn Producers Association and is on the administrative board of the companies Verde Fertilizantes and CAMPO.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cameroun Republic, Ananga Messina is an agronomist with a postgraduate degree in Economic Policy Management. She has spent 23 years at the Ministry of Agriculture in various positions of responsibility, from Head of Department to Technical Advisor. She held the position of Director of Agricultural Research and Statistics at the time she was appointed Minister of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on June 30, 2009. Since then she has held a special position as Minister responsible for Rural Development.

Head of Communications of Brazil Africa Forum. Brazilian journalist currently based in Portugal, covering economics, politics and international affairs. Caroline has 9 years of experience working as a news reporter, mostly for television channels like Rede Globo, the main tv chain in Brazil, and international news agencies.

Cezar Rizzi is the Technical Superintendent of the Agricultural Promotion Company (CAMPO). He has an MBA in Strategic Planning from FGV and a degree in hydrology from Tottori University, Japan. He has over 25 years of experience in agricultural development projects in Brazil and in African and South American countries. He has coordinated projects in Angola and Mozambique where he lives and in Ghana and Zambia.

Daniel Balaban is Economist, MBA in Finance, Specialist in Public Budget and Master in International Relations. Since August 2011 he is the Director of the World Food Program Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil. Balaban acted for over ten years in the areas of finance and planning in business consulting firms and foundations of welfare facilities. In 1994 he became Finance Analyst of the Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, having served as Economic Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury and National Coordinator for Economic Studies of the Secretariat of National Treasury. In 2003 he served as Special Adviser to the Secretary of the Economic and Social Development of the Brazil’s Presidency of the Republic.

Ambassador Demétrio Bueno de Carvalho holds a Bachelor of Law and Social Sciences from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. He began his diplomatic career in 1983. He has held various positions at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Permanent missions abroad include the mission to the United Nations and the work done at the embassies of Moscow, Bonn, Mexico, London, Paris and Astana. He is currently Deputy Director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency.

Dr. Ndiame, a Senegalese national, brings with him more than 25 years’ experience in agriculture and economic development policies and programs. He joined AGRA in February 2011. Prior, he was a Program Director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Southern Africa. Prior to that, he served as Executive Regional Director of the West Africa Rural Foundation (WARF), Program Coordinator at the Local Organization Support Program (LOSP), and a Program Coordinator in the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on Rural Development from Wageningen Agricultural University and an MSc degree in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University.

Fayçal Benameur works for OCP Group for 20 years now. Currently as Group Senior Vice President for East Africa, based in Addis Ababa – Ethiopia. He is a graduate of the Executive Program from MIT Sloan School (USA) and from the Mining Engineering School of Rabat (Morocco). He joined the OCP Group in 1999, as Operation Manager at Khouribga mining facilities, before being appointed as Project Director for the new phosphate ore beneficiation plants (MEA then EL HALASSA). Thereafter, he has joined the team assigned to setup a joint venture between “Jacobs Engineering” and “OCP Group” in 2009. JESA became a global provider of technical, professional, and scientific services, including engineering, architecture, construction, operations and maintenance. In 2012, Mr. Benameur rejoined OCP to setup a new division as Director of “New Products Development” within the executive commercial department. In 2015, he has been appointed as Vice President – PMO for the Group Industrial Investment program, then in 2016, Vice-President of Innovation and Technology within OCP Group.

Fernanda Leite is a manager at the International Trade Centre (ITC), the joint development agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, since 2012. She is a Brazilian national, with extensive knowledge in international trade issues in Africa. She is responsible for managing the portfolio of projects and resource mobilisation for Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. She also leads the implementation of trade related projects in West and East Africa to support the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises.

George Buahen Oduro is 54 years old. He is a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations and Project Management. He furthered his education at the Anhalt University, Germany, where he obtained an MBA in International Trade. He starting off work as a marketing manager for a trading firm but soon established his own businesses in various industries including construction, logistics and goods supply. Over a period of 24 years, he has employed more than a hundred people. He is also a keen farmer and has cocoa, maize, soybean, plantain and cassava farms. In 2016, he entered the political limelight when he successfully won a seat as the Member of Parliament for New Edubease constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It was the first time that the party he stood for had ever taken that seat. He was appointed Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture in 2017 and continues to play a key role supporting the Government in the implementation of its flagship programme “Planting for Food and Jobs” to transform the agricultural landscape of Ghana. He is married with 7 children.

Dr. Hamady Diop is currently working as Supervisor of the Technical Cooperation and Advisory Services of African Union Development (AUDA-NEPAD), South Africa. He was previously the head of the Programme Natural Resource Governance Food Security and Nutrition of NEPAD. He completed his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University (USA) in 1999. Dr. Diop was a faculty at Louisiana State University, Southern University, both universities in Louisiana, USA. Dr. Diop holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Louisiana State University. He also earned a Masters of Science in Economics and Agricultural Economics from Louisiana State University. Dr. Diop has been a recipient of many grants and his research has been published widely in many scientific journals. He has also been a guest speaker at many international conferences. His areas of interest are natural resource economics, seafood production and marketing. Dr. Diop was also a recipient of one-year training, coaching and mentorship in leadership through the Duke University Center for Effective Leadership Training (CETL).

Born August 15, 1953, in Porto Alegre, son of General ANTÔNIO HAMILTON MOURÃO and Ms. WANDA CORONEL MARTINS MOURÃO. VP Mourão joined the Brazilian Army in February 26th, 1972, at the “Agulhas Negras” military Academy, in the city of Resende, and graduated on December 12th, 1975. He graduated in the following specialization courses: Advanced Military Studies at the Staff and Command Army School; Army Strategy, Politics and Advanced Administration; Master Parachuter; and Jungle Warfare. During his military career, General Mourão was Instructor at the “Agulhas Negras” military Academy, participated in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Angola (UNAVEM III), commanded the 27th Field Artillery Battalion in Ijuí and acted as Military Attaché at the Brazilian Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela (2002-4). As an Army General, he commanded the 2nd Jungle Infantry Brigade in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, and the 6th Army Division in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. General Mourão also headed the Southern Military Command and was the Army Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs. Finally, he presided the Military Association in the city of Rio de Janeiro. General Hamilton Mourão was elected Vice-President of Brazil in October 2018 and took office on January 1st, 2019.

Dr. Hippolyte Fofack is the Chief Economist and Director of Research and International Cooperation Department at the African Export-Import Bank. In that capacity, he directs theoretical and applied economic research activities and advises the President and Executive Vice Presidents on matters relating to research, policy development and strategic directions. Prior to joining the African Export-Import Bank, he was with the World Bank Group, where he served in several capacities, including as Senior Economist and Cluster Leader and Head of the Macroeconomic and Growth Program at the World Bank Institute. Dr. Fofack has published extensively and is a member of several leading professional and scientific organizations, including the American Economic Association, the African Finance and Economic Association. He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, member of the Board of Trustees of the African Academy of Sciences, Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary Issues in African Trade and Trade Finance, Associate Editor of the Journal of African Development and member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of African Trade.

Igor Macedo de Lucena is Research Economist at Brazil Africa Institute. Member of Chatham House - The Royal Institute of International Affairs (London, UK) and IFRI - Institut Français des Relations Internationales (Paris, France). Currently Member of the Brazilian Chamber of Foreign Trade of the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC) and the Academy of Political Science (NY, USA).

With a degree in Anthropology from the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP), Technical University of Lisbon and with a specialization in Ethno-Cultural Relations, Isabel Rosa is a journalist at RTP (Radio and Television of Portugal). She started the career as an imaging reporter for more than 25 years old, having been the first “camerawoman” in Portugal to make information. He has worked in various areas of journalism, daily and non-daily. For 4 years, she has been part of the RTP Africa information team, where he has already worked as a coordinator, monitoring daily all the information concerning the African continent, especially the Lusophone countries, where RTP has delegations producing reports to feed the 3 daily newspapers.

Jess de Boer is a farmer and Kenyan Citizen of Dutch descent born and raised in Nairobi. Since graduating from the University of Cape Town with a degree in Environmental Management in 2008 she has spent the last decade working across the East and Horn of Africa in the Regenerative Agriculture sector. She retains a focus on facilitating the mainstream adoption of integrated and sustainable land-use practices across both tropical and dry-land (ASAL) landscapes through medium to large scale practical demonstration, public outreach (targeting the youth especially) and others. In 2018 Jess co-founded L.E.A.F Africa as the first hybrid company in East Africa to offer complete support services for all phases of agribusiness development. In partnership with Brazafric Enterprises amongst other Kenyan and international stakeholders, we have the proven capacity to analyze, design, develop, deliver and manage progressive agro-enterprises across a diversity of tropical value chains.

Founder and current President of Brazil Africa Institute, he holds a PhD in Education from the Federal University of Ceará and Postdoctoral studies from the University of Brasilia (UNB), with the object of research on the integration of the African continent. He is a visiting professor of important Brazilian and African Universities and he is a Senior International Associate of African, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center - CALACs of Jindal Global University (India). Prof. João Bosco is author of books and publications related to the relations between the various international actors, focusing on the South South Cooperation. He act as an international consultant of Brazilian and foreign organizations and as a columnist and commentator of important media in Brazil.

José Graziano da Silva has worked on food security, rural development, and agriculture issues for over 30 years, most notably as the architect of Brazil’s Zero Hunger (Fome Zero) programme and as the Director-General of FAO. Graziano da Silva led the team that designed the Zero Hunger programme, and, in 2003, was charged by then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to implement the programme as Special Minister of Food Security and the Fight against Hunger. He headed the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean from 2006 to 2011. Elected Director-General of FAO, he took up office on 1 January 2012. After his first term from 1 January 2012 to 31 July 2015, Graziano da Silva was re-elected for a second 4 year-term (1 August 2015 to 31 July 2019) with the votes of 177 countries during FAO's 39th Conference. At the helm of FAO, Graziano da Silva has sharpened the Organization’s strategic focus; and is strengthening its field presence. He is also working to instill a best value-for-money culture. At the international level, he is working to build consensus on food security-related issues. He has also encouraged closer cooperation with development partners, supports South-South cooperation, and has increased collaboration with civil society and private sector entities, including farmer organizations and cooperatives for smallholder producers. Graziano da Silva holds a Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy and a Master's Degree in Rural Economics and Sociology from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). He also has post-Doctorate Degrees in Latin American Studies (University College of London) and Environmental Studies (University of California, Santa Cruz). A Brazilian and Italian by nationality, he is married to Paola Ligasacchi and has two children and four grandchildren.

Livio was born in Rome, on Oct 13th 1960. He has a law degree from Universita’ di Roma La Sapienza, and worked as a journalist for almost ten years, covering in the Middle East and Iraq, then shifted to international and domestic political and economic affairs. Livio joined the private sector in 1998 in Philip Morris, then he moved to Lottomatica, the market leader in payment services, with the position of Vice President for Marketing and Communication. He returned to Philip Morris Italy as General Director in 2005, accountable for Sales Distribution. From 2007 until 2009, Livio was General Manager for Philip Morris in the Slovak Republic. From February 2009 up until March 2014, Livio has headed Corporate Affairs for Philip Morris for the European Union Region. And from 2014 to 2017 he lead the Corporate Affairs department as Vice President Corporate Affairs for Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Duty Free, where he was also accountable for the business in Israel. Since March this year, he has been appointed Vice President for Global Partnerships and Cooperation, fully focusing on the transformation of the business with the new purpose of designing a smoke free future, replacing cigarettes with reduced risk products.

Dr. Luana Ozemela is the Founder and CEO of Development Impact Managers and Advisors (DIMA), an international management consulting firm established in Doha (Qatar) which specializes in bilateral cooperation, investment promotion, and economic research and training. DIMA consult is a culmination of 20+ years of experience working in consulting for clients such as Hewlett-Packard and the Angolan Ministry of Finance. As a former senior staff of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington (DC), she led country dialogue, sovereign guaranteed operations, grants and research to promote development with impact, particularly for the most disadvantaged groups such as women, African descendants, and Indigenous Peoples. She has published widely and is actively involved in non-profit boards in Qatar, Brazil, and Nigeria.

“Chief Economist at Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB); Editor-in-Chief of the Economic Journal of the Northeast; Coordinator of the Studies and Research Commission of the Brazilian Development Association (ABDE); Advisory Member of the OAB / EC Competition Study and Defense Commission; Professor of the Department of Economics of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR); He was Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Applied Economic Research, IPEA (2005-2006); He was Special Advisor to the Municipal Planning Department of Curitiba; He was Chief Economist of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense of the Ministry of Justice (CADE / MJ); He was Deputy Head of Economic Advisory (ASSEC) of the Ministry of Planning. Ph.D. in Economics from the Università Degli Studi di Siena, Italy. Has experience in Economics (Macro and Micro), Statistics and Applied Econometrics. Academic production with more than 50 scientific articles and book chapters published in national and international journals and collections. ”

Marcela Brant is the Commercial and Product Director of the Minas Gerais Development Bank (BDMG). She holds a degree in Business Administration from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and an MBA in Organizational Management from IBMEC. She worked in the private sector and also in the public sector, in agencies such as the State Planning Secretariat and IEPHA / MG. At BDMG, she began her career in Internal Audit, then was Chief of Staff, General Manager of Communication, People Management and Credit Support, and later Director of Risk and Corporate Management.

Marcos Brandalise is the founder and CEO of Brazafric Group of Companies (BGC). After several carrier paths in Brazil, Europe (Germany) and Lastly in Africa (Angola), Brandalise started Brazafric Enterprises Ltd in 1996.

Mr. Skwatsha is the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform of the Republic of South Africa, since 26 May 2014. He is a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress. He is also a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC). Mr. Skwatsha has occupied various leadership positions in many liberation organizations in pursuit of restoring the dignity of the previously disenfranchised majority and to bring about the country's liberation.

Miguel joined Citigroup in 2010 as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Portugal. In mid-2012, he was appointed Head of Investment Banking Africa (exc. SA & Egypt). In November 2017 Miguel was appointed Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East and Africa (ex SA). Prior to working at Citigroup, Miguel was a Senior Country Advisor for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and an Executive Director in Goldman Sachs.  Miguel has an MBA in Finance from City University (Cass) Business School and an Economics degree from Nova School of Business and Economics. In the M&A space, Miguel has been extremely active with his Citi colleagues in advising on reference transactions for clients such as Helios (on several transactions across Africa), Brookside (Kenya), Lafarge Africa (South Africa and Nigeria),  AMCON (Nigeria), Kansai (Japan and East Africa), TGI (sale of CHI to the Coca-Cola Company) and more recently in the merger of Access Bank with Diamond Bank (creating largest bank in Africa by number of clients). In the capital markets space, Citi and Miguel have been the clear leaders in the African space leading more IPO’s than any other institution. Most recently those include IPOs for VIVO and ASA international in 2018 and Network International, Jumia and Airtel Africa in 2019. Miguel is a regular contributor to CNBC Europe, CNBC Africa and BloombergTV as well as a regular speaker in Africa focused events, including World Economic Forum - Africa and Middle East, Milken Institute (USA, UK and the Middle East), New York Forum Africa and Africa Investment Summit. He is a member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council since 2018.

With 25 years of international investment banking, having focused on African markets for the past 8 years, Natália Dias is CEO of Standard Bank Brazil since 2018 and Head of Power & Infra-structure for LATAM since 2012. Prior to Standard Bank, she has occupied different senior positions in leading global financial institutions including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America Merril Lynch and ING Bank. Has an extensive track record in local and international Debt Capital Markets & Syndications, having coordinated for 5 years the Real Estate Mortgages Securities Committee at the Brazilian National Association of Investment Banks. Natalia holds an Honors Degree in Public Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas and specialization in Finance by the Amsterdam Institute of Finance.

Omar is the Group Publisher and Managing Director of one of Africa’s leading media and communications groups, IC Publications. IC Publications is committed to serving the interests of Africa, and that is the ethos that drives all of the group's activities. The group publishes amongst other New African and African Business magazines. It also organizes a number of Africa focused events. Omar's work and personal interests include media, development economics, leadership, and education. He sits on the board of the Africa Media Initiative and Brand Africa. Omar studied Economics and Modern Languages at Durham University and has qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant.

Paolo Silveri is Lead Regional Economist for the Latin American and the Caribbean Division (LAC) along with being the Country Program Manager (CPM) for Brazil within the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He provides analytical advice to LAC staff to enhance the quality, relevance, effectiveness, scale of operations and impact on rural poverty reduction in the region of the division's work. As CPM, Silveri is responsible for the development of IFAD's strategy, investment projects, grant programmes and strategic alliances in Brazil. Before his current position at IFAD, Silveri managed a number of different country programmes from 2006 to 2014. He was also an Evaluation Officer between 1994 and 2004. Before joining IFAD, he was Country Director for the Italian NGO LVIA (1989-91), and Research Assistant at the EU Commission in Brussels, Belgium (1987-88). Silveri holds a master’s degree in Agricultural and Rural Development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands, and a BA in Economics at the LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, Italy. He holds diplomas in Management and Leadership from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University, USA, and INSEAD, France.

Graduated in Law from the University of São Paulo; President of the Brazilian Association of Producers Exporting Fruit and Vegetables (Abrafrutas); Founding partner and Director of Agrícola Famosa; President of the Sectoral Chamber of the Productive Chain of Fruit Growing of the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Supply of Brazil and President of COEX - Executive Committee for Monitoring Fruit Fly.

Born in Cairo on 01.12.1972, he is graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the Federal University of Cairo and then specialized in Foreign Trade at the University of Marseille in France. He has lived in Brazil for 15 years. He was an executive at Lorea'l in France, Al Islami in the United Arab Emirates, and in Brazil, he held executive positions at Fambras Halal and JBS. He currently holds the position of Secretary General at the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce where he has been working since 2011.

Mr. Tang, a national of the People's Republic of China, holds a Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a Master of Science degree from the Imperial College, UK, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Southeastern University of Agriculture, the People's Republic of China. Mr. Shengyao Tang serves as Director of the Office of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (OSS) of FAO since 1 March 2019. He started his career in 1984 as Programme and Project Officer at the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, and was deputy director of the Department from 1994 to 1997. In 1998, he joined the Chinese Permanent Mission to the Rome-based United Nations Agencies as Alternate Permanent Representative to FAO, WFP and IFAD. In 2001, he became Deputy Director and, in 2003, Director of the Division of International Organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture. From January 2006 to August 2012, he served as Director of the Division of Asia and Africa of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture. Since September 2012, he served as Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China

Dr. Ulrich Sabel-Koschella heads the Value Chains Agriculture section in the Africa Department of GIZ (German International Cooperation). Prior to that, he coordinated agriculture programs in the International Foundations team at GTZ (German Technical Cooperation). He joined GTZ in 1987 and undertook short-term missions to over 50 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia and 15 years of longterm assignments. His first work experience in Development Cooperation dates back to 1978 in Ruanda. During 5 years (2004 to 2009) he led the “rural development program“ in Laos and established the German Development Cooperation Office (Lao-German House) in Vientiane. For 10 years (1994 to 2004) he served as senior advisor agriculture at GTZ headquarters (Eschborn, Germany) where he directed several sectoral and regional projects and established the Public-Private Partnership Program in agriculture. For 7 years he worked for GTZ in Malawi (1987), Zimbabwe (1987-1989), and Ruanda (1990-1994), where he supervised various Rural Development Programs and established the GTZ-office in Kigali. For 3 years he worked as a Research Fellow at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria (1982-1985) and 2 years as Research Assistant at Technical University of Munich (1986-87). He is fluent in German, English, French, and Spanish holds an M.Sc. in agriculture from Georg-August University (Göttingen) and a Ph.D. in agricultural science from Technical University Munich.

Wandiswa Ntengento is an experienced South African business journalist who has worked across Africa, parts of the US as well as India for BBC World News. Ntengento uses her expertise in international media and in-depth knowledge of doing business in Africa as a tool to advise potential investors on Africa’s investment landscape. Her passion is promoting Africa's potential and telling a new African narrative. She boasts a successful 10 years in journalism and media where she has worked across the board in the industry.

Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo is the Executive Director of FARA. A Nigerian national, has spent the past 35 years of his career in Africa and Europe working in International Agriculture, food security and Rural Development domains. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director of FARA, he was the Head of Division of the Agriculture and Food Security at the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Before then, he served as the Director of the AU Inter-African Phytosanitary Council based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, as well as the Chief Animal Resource Officer at the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Akinbamijo is a member of the ICRISAT Smart Food Governing Council, the BecA-ILRI Advisory Board, co-leader of the Platform for African-European partnership for Agricultural Research for Development (PAEPARD) and Chairperson of the African Agri-Ndaba Council. He sits on many other governing bodies of research institutions and programmes. He has published several scientific papers and articles in various disciplines and subject matter. He holds a PhD in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences with specialization on Tropical Animal production from Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands.