Dr Victor Afari-Sefa Joins Esteemed World Agriculture Forum Council
Institutional News
Dr Victor Afari-Sefa, Global Research Program Director for Enabling Systems Transformation at ICRISAT, has been nominated to join the prestigious World Agriculture Forum (WAF) Council, a global platform dedicated to advancing agricultural development.
A seasoned Agricultural Economist and Research for Development Practitioner, Dr Afari-Sefa holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany. With over 22 years of experience, he excels in research management, program design, monitoring, learning evaluation and impact evaluation (MELIA), and resource allocation.
Since March 2022, Dr Afari-Sefa has been leading ICRISAT’s Enabling Systems Transformation program, overseeing six R&D clusters that focus on Technology Adoption, Markets, Agribusiness, Nutrition, Gender, and Knowledge Management. From December 2023 to June 2024, he was assigned additional responsibilities as Deputy Director General – Research at ICRISAT.
His previous roles include Regional Director for West and Central Africa at the World Vegetable Center (2017–2022) based in Benin Republic and Global Theme Leader for Consumption, also at the World Vegetable Center based in Tanzania (2011–2017). His work emphasizes enhancing smallholder livelihoods through agricultural value chain analysis and policy research in an interdisciplinary research context in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
This nomination recognizes Dr Afari-Sefa's expertise and contributions to the sector, positioning him to play a key role in addressing global challenges like food and nutrition security and sustainable agricultural practices.
"I am deeply honored to contribute to this important global agenda on agri-food systems. I will do my utmost to serve the Council to the best of my abilities and look forward to collaborating with the WAF Board and fellow Council members on this initiative," shared Dr Afari-Sefa upon accepting the nomination.
Dr Afari-Sefa attended his first WAF Council Meeting virtually on 18 September 2024 on the occasion of 2nd World Agriculture Prize presentation held in Mumbai.
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