THE AFRICA HARVEST CAPABILITY STATEMENT

AFRICA HARVEST BIOTECH FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL CAPABILITY STATEMENT

By Florence Wambugu (Ph.D.) OVERVIEW OF AFRICA HARVEST AH Vision is an Africa free of hunger poverty and malnutrition.

Africa Harvest Biotech

Foundation International (AHBFI) or Africa Harvest is incorporated in Kenya, South Africa, Washington DC, USA and Toronto Canada. Nairobi office serves as the head office, mainly focusing on projects and technology deployment, while Johannesburg office leads the foundations communications efforts. The Washington DCs and Toronto offices serve as networking offices. The USA office is focused on resourcing patented Intellectual Property (IP) important for Africa and other relevant resource mobilization. The Toronto office is fairly new.

The organization is currently operating at an annual budget of US$ 4 million but has institution dynamic capacity, expertise, experience, skills mix and a governance board to drive operations at US$ 10 million annual budget in the next five years, as recommended by two recent Board of Directors (BOD) commissioned reviews.

The proposed changes will see us move from our flagship biotechnology space to agricultural development and environment. The institutional strategic plan is robust and is expected to deliver the institutional growth agenda. This growth is supported by five pillars that have resulted in Africa Harvest becoming a preferred partner in the African terrain. These are; 1.

Planned growth strategy and institutional structure

2. Strong Governance by an independent competent international Board of Directors 3. A well coordinated Pan Africa Network sharing Experience 4. Team of highly qualified professional staff who are committed to deliver impact 5. Africa Harvest as a Team Player and ready to provide scientific leadership in Africa as in the

case

of

Africa

Biofortified

Sorghum

(ABS)

project

consortium

(www.africaharvest.org)

PLANNED GROWTH STRATEGY & INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE Due to dynamic leadership, the foundation has experience demand driven growth in staff, project portfolio and scope. Africa Harvest now runs six programmes namely, Technical Programme, Bio-safety programme, Communication and Public Acceptance programme, Capacity Building Programme and Finance Administration and Business Development programme. The existing 1

institutional structure and strategic plan have effectively delivered the vision and mission of Africa Harvest in the last seven years. However in 2007, the Africa Harvest governing board of directors (BOD) recognized the great potential for institution growth, requiring anchorage in the proper organizational structure and strategic plan. The board commissioned two independent reviews; one headed by Prof Wallace Tyner from Purdue University to look into the institutional capacity and recommend a future growth plan. The second review was headed by Mr. Sam Ndlovu of Eagle People and Organization Development (EPOD) from South Africa, who is an expert in organization restructuring and was mandated to develop a new organizational structure and a framework for a new strategic plan for the next five yearsBoth reviews made fundamental recommendation on development of five year guided growth plan to unlock the potential of Africa Harvest, moving from an annual budget if US$ 4 million to 10 million in the next five years Also the review recommended the restructuring of the organization to accommodated increase in project portfolio and the broadening of geographical scope. The new growth plan is in the process of implementation and will be ready to accommodate new projects and project partnerships. The final board approval is expected in May 2009 during the annual face to face board meeting which will take place in Kenya. Africa Harvest proposes growth in the following areas a. Growth in project portfolio: A growth from the current portfolio of seven projects to a minimum of 14 projects. This growth will be achieved through, the following; i)

Up scaling and out-scaling the current projects. The TC banana project is a good example of such a project that will need to be up scaled and out scaled to new regions. So far, using the whole value chain strategy the project is estimated to have reached about 500,000 households in Kenya and there is every indication that shows greater impact will be achieved when the project moves to the Eastern Africa banana growing countries, such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The improved tree project also falls under this category and will also require up scaling and out scaling. Currently about 10 million Kenyans are experiencing hunger due to severe drought but most of our TC-banana farmer are not affected indicating that we have managed to establish sustainable rural development .

ii)

Projects that delivering improved crops/seeds to address the needs of the resource poor. Africa Harvest see itself as a vehicle to deliver improved plant germplasm or improved seeds to resource poor farmers using the whole value chain approach.

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The value chain approach enhances technology transfer and adoption for increased household food security and income generating with sustainable rural community development. This is our primary goal and is intended to increase essential food and nutrition for the farmers and their families; and, to generate surplus for the farmers’ immediate needs so that they can sell either locally or for export to generate income. We intend to deliver already existing crops that can bring about dramatic improvement in the livelihood and prospects of the poor.

Sorghum and Nerica Rice are good examples of such crops. Africa Harvest will seek partnerships that will enhance the delivery of these crops to the most needy in the continent. iii)

Development of new products that can have broad and long term impact targeting the poor rural communities in Africa. Africa Harvest sees itself as a catalyst for new high priority product development. A good example is the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) project which targets long term strategic research and development of a highly nutritious sorghum for arid and semi arid tropics of Africa. The project targets 300 million people in rural poor situations where AH part of a broad international consortium. The project seeks to biofortify sorghum with vitamins and micro nutrients.

Africa Harvest growth plan envisage a

situation where the foundation will be able to accommodate two other new projects of similar size and magnitude depending on progressive growth over the next five years.

b. Growth in Geographical Scope of Operation: Currently, Africa Harvest project implementation and staff are based in Kenya and South Africa. Although this arrangement has served the foundation well, the new growth plan will see Africa Harvest establish some physical presences in three new countries, namely Burkina FASO, Egypt and Nigeria. In all this countries the foundation will have personnel who will be involved in coordinating project implementation who may be positioned in partner organizations

c. Growth in Organizational Financial Resources and Structure: The growth in project portifoli and geographical scope will inevitably require commensurate growth in financial resources and organizational structure. The new growth strategy takes cognizance of the need to change the institutional structure in tandem with growth in other areas. The new 3

plan reorganization the foundation into three thematic areas of scientific R&D Operations, Finance and Administration and New Business Development. In the new structure each of this area is headed by a Deputy Chief Executive who is answerable to the Chief Executive Officer. The new structure positions Africa Harvest from the current annual budget of US $4.0 million to a US $10 million per year. The restructuring and the revision of the strategic plan is work in progress involving consultants, AH BOD and senior management staff. It is evident that Africa Harvest is currently operating at 50% of its projected capacity and has ample room for new additional projects.

In respect to compliance to meet the demands of the fast changing environment in the world of non profit organizations, the foundation was reviewed by KPMG at the behest of the Gates Foundation prior to making the ABS grant. The review was exhaustive and looked into details of the organizational structure, financial management, programme design and implementation as well as institutional capacity. The review observed that the foundation has made outstanding achievement in all areas and complied with host country requirements. Reflecting its sense of social responsibility, the reviews noted that Africa Harvest uses most of its funds for programme activities to empower rural communities. Most of the Foundation’s projects are community driven and managed, hence building local capacity. They also observed that Africa Harvest complies with international accounting standards and local laws in all countries in which it operates.

STRONG GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE The Foundation has a strong international board of directors, which includes prominent members from the US, Europe, Canada and 4 African nations with a mix of professions, nationalities, and experiences. This board takes responsibility for operational review, financial oversight, business ethics and fiduciary matters. The board participates in the development and approval of the foundations long-range strategic plans, policies, review annual program including projects, and budget. The BOD membership includes individuals from the science, business and public policy and community development. In order to maintain a sufficiently broad perspective in policy making, Africa Harvest Board strives for diversity and balance in its composition. Over 50% of the board members are drawn from developing countries-Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Nigeria while the balance from developed nations which include USA, Canada and Germany.

Gender is also an important aspect of diversity, and currently five out of the nine board members 4

are female members to ensure balance in its composition. Board members from developing countries bring an understanding of the cultural, sociopolitical, and institutional settings, and needs to which AHBFI technology transfer and research are directed. Those from developed countries bring knowledge of relevant advanced research institutions, technological innovations, programs, and management policies that will advance the work of the Foundation. The current BOD Chair Dr. Kanayo Nwanze is the Vice President of IFAD a UN institution based in Rome Italy. He was previously the DG of WARDA a CGIAR center in Western Africa.

Board membership operates with a two three year term limit, to enable the board to renew its membership and build a board responsive to the needs of the Organization. BOD meets three to four times a year, one face to face meeting and three meetings telephonically. To ensure that sufficient attention is given to critical board duties, the Board has three standing committees: Executive Committee; Audit Committee Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Details of the board members are provided under APPENDIX I.

PAN AFRICA NETWORK AND EXPERIENCE In the last seven years Africa Harvest has cultivated an international and pan-African network of public and private partners and a network of stakeholders at national and grassroots levels composed of organizations representing national agricultural research centres, universities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international agricultural research centres of the CGIAR, extension workers, Community Based Organizations (CBO) and farmers organization. Working with these organization has enable Africa Harvest to acquire a pan-African experience which has equiped the organization with indigenous knowledge, cultural understanding, and trusted relationships with African leaders, farmers’ associations and international organizations. We are currently working in Kenya, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Egypt. We are also implementing project in close collaboration with partners in seven other countries within the ASARECA region which include Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Congo DR., Ethiopia, Madagascar and Rwanda. The foundation has built enormous social capital with national organizations and downstream community based organization. Africa Harvest is now viewed as a sincere and trustworthy ally in the fight against poverty and hunger in Africa.

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TEAM OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL STAFF Africa Harvest’s team of professionals has unique expertise within the region in designing and implementing projects that link the entire agricultural value chain to enterprise development and rapid adoption of new technologies that deliver major socio-economic gains. The team is lead by Dr Florence Wambugu, a scientist with outstanding international credentials. She has over 30 years of experience of working in Africa having worked for the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), in Monsanto Life Science Company in St. Louis USA, and International Services for the Acquisition of Agri Biotech Applications (ISAAA), before founding the Africa Harvest. She has a track record of successfully managing agri-biotech transfer, research activities and resource mobilization. She has achieved substantial professional recognition in agricultural research and development and has demonstrated exceptional, managerial competence, a capacity for intellectual leadership and a high level of skill in working with colleagues, collaborator and donors.

The team has a total of 37 full time professional staff excluding consultants & subordinate. Four (4) hold PhDs; four (5) hold Masters Degree; 20 Bachelors, 5 diplomas, and three (3) hold certificates.

(see Appendix II). Their expertise can be categorized into five areas of

specialization which include Project Management, Product Development, Product Deployment; Communication for Development, Regulatory and Biosafety-

Project Management: Africa Harvest serves as the lead organization in the $21 million Africa Biofortified Sorghum Project funded by B&M Gates Foundation. We have been involved in all aspect of the project including idea generation project proposal development project design, planning, initiation, implementation, development, monitoring and evaluation. The foundation has been involved in the coordination of activities of the 11 key partners in the project in order to achieve the ultimate goal. We have also been involved in resource mobilization, financial administration, human resources administration, documentation, reporting, and legal compliance.

Enormous progress has been made in with all the senior management staff having direct involvement in providing leadership to different components of the project.

Product Development: Africa Harvest Technical Programme approach exemplifies the strength of AHBFI in Research and Development as well as consortium building as it comprises a systematic effort to focus Needs-driven initiatives on resolving some of the key problems that 6

resource-poor smallholder farmers face in Africa’s rural areas. We have a scientific mandate and role in development of new crops. Africa Harvest facilitates scientific consortiums of different public and private sector institutions focusing on solving a major problem through R & D to develop products that would impact the poor. Currently, under this programme Africa Harvest is the leader of an 11 member scientific consortium working on Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project to boost the nutritional value of Sorghum. The project has the potential to impact over 300 million people by reducing malnutrition in the semi-arid topics.

Product Deployment: It is documented that many excellent technologies exist but the challenges of delivering them and making the technology work for the poor in developing world remains enormous. Thus, a unique aspect of Africa Harvest skills mix is the ability to deliver improved products to the desired clients. Africa Harvest has a proven track record of delivering modern agricultural biotechnology including improved plant germplasm or rootstocks or improved seeds to resource-poor farmers. These are delivered together with information and management packages for sustainable agriculture development. The outcome of effort has consistently been invariably dramatic with households previously confined to food insecurity producing surplus for income generation. For instance, the Tissue Culture (TC) Banana Project is expediting the development and delivery of improved TC banana plants into farmers’ fields. The initiative has proved to be an effective technology in the fight against poverty and hunger. A comprehensive strategy has been developed to deploy the nutritionally enhanced Africa Biofortified Sorghum to the target communities in arid and semi arid tropic of Africa once a product is ready.

Communication for Development: Africa Harvest augments its technical initiatives with a Communications and Public Acceptance Programme designed to empower people – from national officials to grassroots stakeholders – to make informed decisions about the use of biotechnology tools and genetically modified (GM) crops. Our communications strategy is based on the fact that knowledge sharing and awareness creation empowers rural communities. Sharing facts and figures leads to open and informed discussion on biotechnology processes, dispelling the myths and misconceptions that can surround such processes, the public awareness strategy forms an integral part of the business of enabling new commodity production technologies to make an optimal contribution to food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable rural livelihood. The foundation has acquired useful skill in respect to the need for 7

preparedness and issues management to respond promptly to issues related to public perception of biotechnology derived products. Africa harvest has so far been able to navigate the ABS project through the difficult African biosafety terrain with remarkable success.

Regulatory and Biosafety: A significant barrier to the introduction of improved biotechnology derived crops and products in Africa is a lack of expertise in implement effective biosafety management and regulatory policies. Africa Harvest’s has developed core competencies among its senior staff that focuses on raising levels of technical skills, strengthening the ability of policymakers to grasp the issues, that surround effective transfers and applications of new technologies. Equipping Africa’s lawmakers with the knowledge and information they need to formulate and pass enabling legislation is important to stimulate= agricultural productivity and bolster food security. In the last one year, the Regulatory and Biosafety Programme has built the capacity of over 100 African Scientists and regulators in Kenya, South Africa and Burkina FASO

AFRICA HARVEST A TEAM PLAYER Africa Harvest is current serving as the lead organization in three of the project it is implementing namely the ABS project, Tissue culture banana project and the improved multipurpose tree project. However, there are other projects where Africa Harvest is a partner and reports to other partners such as the Virus Indexing Project where Africa Harvest reports to the University of Queensland and Technology (QUT) and the Croplife communications programme where Africa Harvest reports to a team of African organization and in a different USAID project where it reports to Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). In all these partnership Africa Harvest team is comfortable working at different positions meeting the needs and expectations of our partners and contributing towards the cohesion and the development of the group social capital.

Africa Harvest Local and International Recognition through Rewards and Awards to CEO In the last six years, Africa Harvest contribution to rural community development has been recognized through different awards given to the CEO as follows: 1. Woman of the year award 2001 by the American Biographical Institute (ABI) 2. Noble Prize of the United Cultural Convention 2002 3. International Biographical Center (IBC) Lifetime Achievement Award 2002

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4. Recipient of the Woman of the year Award by the EVE Magazine, in February 2004 in Nairobi Kenya in recognition of contribution to science and its application to combat hunger and poverty in Africa.

5. Awarded Planet Africa Award on Science and Technology in Toronto Canada in 2005 6. Recipient of an award given to Africa Harvest by the South African government during the commemoration of 10 years of democratic rule for consistent support to agricultural development in 2004.

7. Under the leadership of Dr. Wambugu, Africa Harvest (and consortium collaborating institutions) has been awarded US$ 18.6 million from a global competitive grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Health Challenge for Health and Nutrition.

8. August 2008, Yara Award, a Diploma and US$ 100 for outstanding contribution to development of rural agriculture and entrepreneurship in Africa.

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APPENDIX I: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Kanayo Felix Nwanze is the Board Chair and is also the Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) a United Nations specialized agency and an international financial institution. He previously served as Director General of WARDA. Dr Kanayo F. Nwanze is a well seasoned manager who provides strong leadership and strategic thinking focusing on growth and sustainability of the foundation Joseph G. Kibe is the Board Vice Chair and Treasurer. He manages several highly success enterprises and sits on the boards of a number of organizations. He provides Africa Harvest with strategic financial and governance oversight.

He is a former Kenyan Permanent Secretary and had served in five different ministries over 12 years.

Andrew C. Fish is the Board Secretary and is also the Senior Vice-President for Legal and Government Affairs and General Counsel for Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), USA. His role at Africa Harvest is to provide strategic advice on governance issues.

Gisele d’Almeida is the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She is currently serving as the Executive Director of Interface, a wide network of local private sectors in Senegal, West Africa. She provides strategic advice on development and promotion of entrepreneurial ventures among smallholder farmers in Africa. She has also been involved in breaking ground in French speaking countries of West Africa for the ABS Project.

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Dr. Mary G. Alton Mackey is the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. She has vast experience in international agriculture development in Africa and Asia and currently runs her own health and nutrition consultancy and offers advice to biotech-related organizations in Canada. Her role on the Africa Harvest Board is to provide strategic advice on audit matters and on programme formulation, design and implementation.

Dr. Caroline A. Kovac, Board Member, is a former Senior Manager at IBM, now holds the position of Managing Director of Burill and Company, a venture capital firm promoting the start-up and growth of life science-based entrepreneurial ventures. She provides the Board with strategic leadership in organizational development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures, with a unique private sector view.

Prudence Ndlovu, Board Member previously held a senior position at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. She is currently serving as the Chief Executive of Eagle People and Organization Development (EPOD) Global, a private enterprise involved in human resources development. She advises the Board on human resource development and institutional policy issues.

Professor Matin Qaim is the Full Professor and Chair of International Agricultural Trade and Food Security at the University of Hohnheim in Stuggart, Germany. He is a specialist in agricultural economic issues, with a bias towards poverty, food security, agricultural innovation, farming systems and sustainable development in developing countries. Provides strategic advice on project design with a focus on impact.

David Farber is Africa Harvest’s Legal Counsel. Although not a Member of the Board, he serves as the Board Secretary.

He is a Legal Counsel with Patton Boggs LLP and ensures institutional compliance as well as handling all legal matters.

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APPENDIX II: AFRICA HARVEST STAFF 1. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Dr. Florence Muringi Wambugu, a renowned agricultural plant pathologist with specialization in virology and genetic engineering, has a B.SC Botany, University of Nairobi; M.SC in Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University; PhD in Plant virology, Biotechnology, University of Bath, England; and a Post-Doctoral Research Associate – Biotechnology, Plant Science Monsanto, St. Louis, USA. Dr. Wambugu who has over 30 years experience in agricultural crop research is the Founder, Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI) from 2002 to the present. AHBFI is a nonprofit foundation with offices in Nairobi, Kenya, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. Previously, she founded, established and worked as Africa Region Director, ISAAA – Afri-center, in Nairobi; she also worked as Plant Biotechnology Research Scientist, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya.

Dr. Wambugu has made significant contributions in research, development and improved production in maize, pyrethrum, banana, sweet potato and forestry in Kenya. She has published over 100 articles and co-authored various papers. She is also the author and publisher of Modifying Africa: How Biotechnology Can Benefit the Poor (www.modifyingafrica.com). Dr. Wambugu is a strong believer in the power of biotechnology and has participated in many international forums in support of biotechnology in Africa to increase food production. Under her leadership, the Biotech Tissue Culture Banana Project has positively impacted thousands of small-scale farmers in Kenya and Eastern Africa.

Dr. Wambugu is the recipient of numerous local and international honors, awards, and grants. KARI’s 1989 Crop Science Award for outstanding scientist of the year; International Potato Center’s (CIP) Regional Research Award/Grant, 1989; Noble Prize of the United Cultural Convention 2002; World Bank Global Development Network Award in 2000 for succesful introdution of the tissue-culture banana in Kenya; Woman of the Year 2001 by the American Biographical Institute; and Woman of the Year Award

by Eve Magazine. Under the leadership of Dr. Wambugu, Africa Harvest (and consortium collaborating institutions) has been awarded US$ 18.6 million from a global competitive grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Health Challenge for Health and Nutrition. In August 2008, the Yara Foundation awarded her the Yara Award for outstanding contribution to development of rural agriculture and entrepreneurship in Africa Dr. Wambugu has served as a board member for and in other capacities both local and international institutions. Previously she served in several board of directors which include Private Sector Committee of CGIAR, United Nations Millennium Development goals Hunger task force; Executive Committee member of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA); DuPont Company Biotech Advisory Panel, USA; International Plant Genetics Research Institute (IPGRI now called Bioversity) and African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum (ABSF).

Currently, she is serving as a Council Member of the Japan Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum, a Steering Committee Member of the European Action on Global Life Sciences (EAGLES) and a Science Board member of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge in Global Health.

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2. DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Michael Njuguna is an international development professional with Twenty (20) years of experience in agri-business development, financial services, institutional and financial management, human resources development, training, agricultural research and development, project management, technology transfer and applications at a senior level. He is currently serving both as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Director Finance and Business Development at Africa Harvest. His career progression has been marked by rich and diverse leadership experience, dedication, creativity and focus. He joined Africa Harvest five years ago when the organization was at its formative stage. He has been instrumental in the establishment of policies, procedures and management systems for the smooth running of the institution.

As the head of finance at Africa Harvest he is responsible for planning, budgeting, budget controls, cash flow forecasts, disbursements, investments, audit oversight and timely reporting. In the last five years, the funding commitment to Africa Harvest has grown more than fivefold which reflects a vote of confidence in both the foundations programme performance and financial management. He supports the CEO in coordination of all the activities of the board of Directors, including planning for meetings and implementation of resolutions. His involvement in project work has given him good understanding of all phases of project cycle including initiation, development, monitoring, impact assessment and evaluation.

He has acquired enormous experience in the management of the sub-grants organizations, expertise in organizational policies development, partnership agreements, management of research and proprietary technologies. He has acquired skills of forming strong strategic partnerships with all those that contribute to the well being of the marginalized people Prior to his engagement with Africa Harvest he held the position of Programme Administrator at the International Service for Acquisition of Agri Biotech Applications, in Nairobi (ISAAA AfriCenter) for six years where he managed agricultural projects in sub-Saharan Africa. In year 2000 he was part of the team head by Dr Wambugu that won the Global Development Network (GDN) for contribution to research and development. He also worked as a Business Development Specialist for BEAM Training and Consultancy for two years. Michael has worked as a high school teacher, a profession he esteems highly where he acquired valuable training experience. He is currently finalizing his PhD in Entrepreneurship development at Kenyatta University, in Kenya. He holds a Masters Degree in Entrepreneurship Development from JKUAT, a Certified Diploma in Finance and Accounting from the UK’S Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and BSc from the University of Nairobi.

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3. DIRECTOR, TECHNICAL PROGRAMMES Dr. James Micah Onsando joined Africa Harvest is the Director- Technical Programme/Manager of the ABS project from Unilever where he was heading the Agricultural Research Programme and the Unilever Global tea Sustainability Project. James holds a PhD in Plant Pathology from Kenyatta University, Kenya and an MSc in the same discipline from the University of Hawaii, USA. His BSc was in Botany and Zoology from the University of Nairobi.

James started his Research career thirty years ago with the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute. He then joined the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya as the first Kenyan Tea Industry Plant Pathologist where he pioneered work in the area of Biological Control of the tea root rot fungus (Amillaria mellea) using indigenous fungal antagonists. Using Coffee pulp to enhance the proliferation of the antagonist (Trichoderma) was one of the achievements by James because of the costeffectiveness of the technology. While with the Tea Research Foundation, James won a USAID funding to fine-tune the biological control technology for use by the small tea holders in Kenya, a project he steered up to time he left to join Unilever.

James joined Unilever as the Head of Research and Development. For this business, James implemented an Integrated Pest Management strategy and also developed various management packages against Fusarium root rot of carnations.

James has published 28 scientific papers covering diseases of horticultural crops and tea and contributed a chapter in a book “Diseases of vegetables and oil seed crops. Eds. A. N. Mukhopadhyay et al. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, pp. 243-252.

Although James’ experience is mainly in Research, his 13 years stint with Unilever has enriched his finance and people management skills immensely. He brings to Africa Harvest a skills mix that covers, people and finance management, product innovation and development, project leadership and management, strategic thinking and development of government networks to support technology delivery.

James is very well networked within the Kenyan Agricultural and Environmental Public Sectors. This is exemplified by his appointments to the boards of Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, boards he has served with distinction. He currently serves as Chairman of Research and Development committee of the KEFRI board.

Since he joined Africa Harvest, James has provided world class management and leadership to the ABS project. This has led to major developments in the transformation efficiency of sorghum, delivery of all the planned nutrition traits except vitamins A, a robust product development roadmap with a supportive breeding strategy for Burkina Faso, Kenya and South Africa, a bio-safety entry plan into Burkina Faso, Kenya and south Africa, a sound documentation track record culminating in the project mid-term report and identification of African popular and adapted germplasm to carry the nutritional traits after the backcrossing process.

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4. DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT PROGRAMME Dr. Rose W Njeru obtained a PhD in Plant Sciences from Murdoch University in Western Australia in 1996. She also holds an MSc. in Plant Pathology and BSc. in Agriculture, both from the University of Nairobi. She has attended several short courses with a focus on Agriculture, Science Technology and Innovation systems.

Currently she heads the capacity building and technology deployment program at Africa Harvest. Her areas of focus include tissue culture banana technology for food security and income generation and planting trees for environmental rehabilitation, source of fuel and other wood products. Implementation looks at the whole value chain, analysis of skill gaps for various actors and addressing the identified needs.

Dr. Njeru joins Africa Harvest from Rwanda where she was based at Institut de Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR) and was the head of Crop Protection unit where she spearheaded research activities, capacity building of researchers, information diffusion agents and farmers. She was also the a team leader of Sub Saharan Africa challenge program under Forum for Agriculture Research in Africa (SSA-CP FARA) at Lake Kivu pilot learning site. She conducted training courses for various teams in Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo and in collaboration with Center for Tropical Agriculture conducted training on Agriculture, Science Technology and Innovation System for Rwanda in 2008.

She also has experience as a senior lecturer in the department of Crop Protection at University of Nairobi.

Responsibilities at the University included teaching, mentoring young graduates, resource mobilization, technology transfer and conducting research. Rose has published extensively with 34 publications in international journals, 17 invited presentations in scientific meetings and produced 7 extension materials/brochures in various languages.

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5. DIRECTOR, REGULATORY AFFAIRS Dr. Silas Obukosia obtained a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Pennsylvania State University USA in 1992; MSc. in Genetics and Plant Breeding, and BSc. in Agriculture from the University of Nairobi. He has attended several short courses in Biosafety and Intellectual Property Rights at Michigan State University and in Kenya.

He currently works as Director of Regulatory Affairs Africa Harvest where he oversees all biosafety and regulatory issues of the program from technology development, product development and deployment. In his position at Africa Harvest he has trained several regulators and scientists in biosafety and regulatory covering: contained experimentation, confined field trials and biosafety at commercialization stage of GMO products in Burkina Faso and in Kenya.

Lecturer-Senior Lecturer. From 1992 until 2000 he worked with the University of Nairobi as Lecturer and later was promoted to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Crop Science. His research experience at the University involved development of laboratory and commercial procedures for producing citrus greening- free seedlings using tissue culture and molecular biology approaches, development of genomics of Kenyan strains of Liberabacter africanum, pathogenic strains that cause the citrus greening disease, development of indexing procedures for the same pathogen.

Biotechnology Advisor. From 2002 until May 2008 he worked with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as Biotechnology Advisor to its Kenya Biotechnology Program that encompassed three programs: Developing and managing the implementation of Kenya’s National Biosafety Regulatory Framework, a National Biotechnology Outreach Program and Biotechnology research Program. During his tenure with USAID he developed a “Strategy to facilitate the Enactment of Kenya Biosafety Bill” and facilitated the Development of regulations for facilitating the Biosafety Bill”.

Publications Dr. Silas Obukosia has published several papers in both scientific refereed journals and proceeding and published three training manuals in field of biotechnology.

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6. DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE DANIEL GITHING’U KAMANGA Daniel heads the Communication Program, which focuses on increasing media coverage of agriculture in the African media in order to increase awareness about agricultural opportunities, especially the benefits of biotechnology.

Under his watch, Africa Harvest has been featured on, among other media outlets, the CNN, BBC, South African Broadcasting Corporation and the New York Times. Daniel has helped Africa Harvest develop extensive media networks in Africa, including with the over 40-country, 400-member, African Economic Editors Forum (AEEF) to facilitate biotech public acceptance in the continent.

In his journalistic career, Daniel has been Associate Business Editor of the Nation, Kenya’s leading daily newspaper and sub-editor of the Standard, Kenya’s oldest newspaper. He has contributed to various African media, including the Business Day and the Sunday Times of South Africa.

Before joining Africa Harvest, Daniel worked in the following companies: World Stream, subsidiary of Econet Wireless International (Director, Business Development), Liberty Life Association of Africa (Marketing & Media Relations Manager), New Economy Worknet, South Africa (Manager, Sales & Advertising), PRIDE AFRICA, US NGO headquartered in Kenya (PR & Communications Manager), Nation Marketing & Publishers, a subsidiary of the Nation Group in Kenya (Associate Business Editor) and the East Africa Standard Newspaper Group in Kenya (Business Sub-editor).

Daniel holds BA in Economics & Sociology, Post-Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication and a Masters in Business Administration; the first two are from the University of Nairobi, Kenya and the third is from the Durham University Business School, UK. He has a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing and is a member of the world’s largest marketing organization, the UK-based Chartered Institute of Marketers (CIM). Daniel is also a member of the African Economic Editors Forum (AEEF).

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COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE DEPARTMENT 7. SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICER Julia Kagunda holds an MA in Public Relations and BA in Communication and a minor in Community Development. Currently she is pursuing an MA in Counseling Psychology so as to enhance her understanding of people and to hone communication skills.

She has over ten years’ progressive experience in a variety of communication fields, from teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students, to applying the principles on the ground in a variety of settings. Julia has worked as a lecturer at Daystar University; an institution leading communication education in Africa. She has also served as a Communications Manager with a faith based NGO both locally and internationally in Harare, Zimbabwe. Prior to that she worked for one of the local newspapers where she published several articles. Julia, who has consulted widely in communication, has developed and implemented communication strategies for: Worldbank/ Government of Kenya project; SIDA, Food for the Hungry, KEPSA amongst others.

The last two years have plunged her in the frontline of development policy formulation in the field of agriculture and in media relations and advocacy in Kenya. Working with Africa Harvest, she has engaged with stakeholders in the field, lobbied members of parliament and other policy makers, and developed strong contacts with virtually every media house in the country. Some of this effort culminated in the passing of the Kenya Biosafety Bill 2008, launch of National Kenya BioAware strategy under the Ministry of Agriculture, successful 1st Africa Biotech Congress, high visibility and adoption of Africa Harvest TC Banana and Trees for Energy Project (the latter is under the Ministry of Energy). She is a co-author of a book called, “Rape: A Critical Analysis” published in 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya.

8. SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Benson Kariuki is a Senior Communications Officer in Africa Harvest based in the Johannesburg Office.

His duties involve management of Africa Harvest communications databases, research and drafting of articles, development of project reports, involvement in biotech public awareness initiatives, contributing in cross-functional teams on special projects, and facilitating the hosting of conferences, workshops and seminars. He is responsible for implementation of the CropLife project and Public Acceptance and Communication strategy for the Africa Biofortified Sorghum project.

9. SENIOR COMMUNICATION OFFICER Grace Chivaura is a senior communication officer at Africa Harvest South Africa. She brings a talent for scientific analysis and research writing. She contributes to print production content and also oversees the design and content generation for Africa Harvest websites and media issue sensing by regularly monitoring internal and external information on the organization. Grace holds a Masters degree in Biotechnology specializing in plant biotechnology from the University of Western Cape. She is interested in professional growth and interested in taking the science out of the lab; Grace identified a gap in science and communication and decided to expand her career in communication. Her area of specialization (biotechnology) gives her a strong background in scientific writing and research.

10. ADMINISTRATION OFFICER Yonela Benya has oversight on the administration for the communication’s office based in South Africa, with mainly important responsibilities in supporting the implementation of the communication’s strategy plans. This is assisting the communication’s team to be more effective on its activities and milestones.

Other major responsibilities are an oversight of all office matters, secretarial matters, and office

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compliance matters with relevant laws assisting the Communication’s Director.

As a result of this support Africa Harvest Communication’s Team is always delivering all expected from them as a team in time. Before joining Africa Harvest, Yonela worked in the following companies:

Durban Institute of Technology (Volunteer, Admin Assistant), Mr. Price Group (Assistant Manger), and Healthworx Medical Centre (Receptionist). She has a wealth of experience in Customer service, accounts and administration. Yonela has a National Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting and a Certificate in Professional Secretary.

TECHNICAL PROGRAMMES 11. SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER Victoria Wanjiru Ndung’u has 8 years working experience as a field officer, team leader and senior program officer in international non governmental organizations and private consultancy firms.

She has a Bachelors degree in Education, a diploma course in water management and crop production from Galilee College in Israel and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Rural Sociology and community Development from the University of Nairobi.

As a senior program officer in Africa Harvest, Ms. Ndungu has gained experience in project planning and management having successfully coordinated the implementation of a TC banana project targeting 7 districts in the Eastern and central Kenya. The project exceeded the set targets. She has actively participated in designing & implementing a curriculum for Farmer Field Schools through mobilization of farmer-groups, TC technology adoption and managing micro-credit by small-scale farmers in East Africa.

12. PROGRAM OFFICER Wangari Kiragu, a holder of a Bachelors degree in Horticulture from Egerton University and has been working as a community development worker for the last eight years. She holds a post graduate degree diploma in Marketing from Kenya Institute of Management.

Wangari is an expert in community engagement after working with farmers at the grass root level in the implementation of TC Banana project in 8 districts in Kenya. She is also adept in identifying and prioritizing community needs using participatory methods, marshalling small scale farming communities to adopt innovative technologies in agriculture and helping build institutional and business capacity within farmer organizations. She has also dealt extensively in the development of smallholder agribusinesses as well as the establishment of smallholder associations 13. PROGRAM ASSISTANT Jane Ndiritu is a Program assistant in the TC banana program. She has over five years experience in community mobilization, sensitization, technology deployment in both rural and semi urban setup and project report writing. Jane has also gained experience in conducting baseline surveys, data collection, scientific data entry monitoring and evaluation. Prior to joining Africa Harvest, Jane had amassed seven years experience and skills in front office management and customer care.

Jane holds a diploma in electrical engineering and hardware maintenance as well as various certificates: Farming as a business (FAAB), A+ and N+ certifications.

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FIELD OFFICERS 14. TCBEL MANAGER JULIUS METHUSELAH NYABICHA, currently the manager TCBEL; holds a BSC. degree in Agribusiness Management and a Post Graduate Diploma in sales and marketing. Among other duties, Julius handles the day to day management of the company in consultation with a Board of Directors where he undertakes marketing management, demand forecasting and demand creation through promotion and product development. Julius also offers leadership to a team of staff to achieve the company goals and he oversees the general financial company management including budget preparation and control. Before joining Africa Harvest in March 2007, Julius worked with the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) as a branch manager in charge of the Western Kenya Branch Julius has also worked with a rural based NGO specializing on teaching farmers on adoption of modern and more efficient farming methods besides picking on the right farm inputs, seeds and fertilizers. Julius has also worked as a lecturer in a teacher training college and a sports administrator and is therefore experienced in community mobilization, marketing and team building.

15. MURANGA SOUTH & THIKA David Kimani Kamau is a field officer with Africa Harvest TC Banana project. He holds a Bachelor of Agribusiness management (Honors) degree and he is currently pursuing a Diploma in Community Based Development and Project Management. He has over four years experience in community work. Before joining Africa Harvest, David worked for the Catholic Diocese of Muranga as a Project Coordinator in the Sustainable Livelihoods Program, which encompassed all Agriculture and relief activities. He was instrumental in the implementation of two technology transfer projects; Quality Protein maize (QPM) funded by CIMMYT and Metal silo technology for grain storage funded by MATF Farm Africa. He also coordinated the implementation of a dairy goat multiplication scheme and sustainable Agriculture. While at Africa Harvest David he has had great achievements ranging from increased awareness of TC technology to over in Thika and Murang’a south districts, to effective mobilization and training of 54 farmer groups with a membership of over 1800 farmers, with about 1400 of them adopting over 46,000 TC banana plantlets, managing a loan in kind facility for 34000 TC plantlets that has an over 70% repayment rate.

16. MERU SOUTH & EMBU Nicholas M. Mutune is a field officer with Africa Harvest’S TC Banana program in Meru South and Embu. He holds a BSc. Agriculture degree.

He has previous experience in the area of sales and training of farmers.

Prior to joining Africa Harvest, he worked at the Catholic Diocese in Embu where he was involved in training farmers on good agricultural practices. At Africa Harvest he has continued to perfect his skills in training farmers on the good agricultural practices.

17. KIRINYAGA AND MURANGA Kenneth Waweru Macharia is the field officer for Kirinyaga and Muranga North districts. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture (second class honors lower division) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (1998). He previously worked as a section Field officer at Homegrown (k) ltd (Turaco Farm) in Timau. Prior to joining Africa Harvest, he worked as a Regional Field Supervisor at Frigoken (k) ltd. Here he worked with small scale farmers in production of various horticultural crops.

He joined Africa Harvest in 2007 where he has many achievements including been able to mobilize 1200 farmers in to 36 groups planting more than 38,000 bananas.

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18. MERU CENTRAL Kiogora Eugenio is a field officer with the TC Banana project. He holds a Bachelor of Agribusiness Management (Hons) Degree. Kiogora has over 6 years agricultural experience, and prior to joining Africa Harvest Kiogora he worked for BAT(K) LTD as Senior field Assistant in charge of Tobacco Leaf and Woodlot growing farmers in Embu and Migori Districts as a Field assistant with AAA GROWERS LTD (a Horticultural Exporting company) and also as a Field Supervisor with HOME GROWN (K) LTD Timau.

Since he joined Africa Harvest, Kiogora has effectively sensitized and mobilized the Meru Central community into adopting TC banana growing technology to alleviate poverty hunger and malnutrition in the region. He has mobilized 2190 farmers into 59 Banana growing groups who have adopted 42,688 TC banana Plantlets in two years time.

TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT PROGRAMME TREE FOR ENERGY PROJECT 19. PROJECT MANAGER Phillip Wamahiu is the Project Manager for the Tree for Energy project at Africa Harvest. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry and has other qualifications in Forestry and Natural Resource Management. Prior to joining Africa Harvest, Wamahiu worked at Green Belt Movement where he was in charge of planning and co-coordinating Agency for French Development project in the Aberdare Forest Ecosystem. He has a wealth of over 27 years experience in strategic planning, design and managing integrated development programmes, mainly in the environment, natural resources and rural development fields. He has also has hands on experience as he has been involved in field work, research and training.

20. PROGRAMME ASSISTANT Rachael Wachuka, a program assistant officer in the Tree Energy project; is highly experienced in community development work. She is highly skilled in agronomy, documentation, proposal development, business management, monitoring and evaluation and has previously worked for Africa Harvest in coordination of major baseline surveys for both Tissue Culture banana and Tree Energy projects. Previously she worked with the Pesticides Initiative Programme, (PIP) of COLEACP, EU on a framework contract as an expert on organization capacity assessments, assessing EUREPGAP status and traceability systems and designing PIP’s intervention strategy to small holder farmer groups and companies exporting Horticultural produce to the EU. She holds a BSc in Horticulture from Egerton University; is multi skilled with vast experience gained over the years.

FIELD OFFICERS: 21. BUSIA, KAKAMEGA, BUNGOMA Mildred Menda is a field officer working under the Tree for Energy project at Africa Harvest. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Moi University, and has undertaken several additional training courses such as; Empowerment training course by the Green Belt Movement (2006) and a Certificate in community Based First Aid by The Kenya Red Cross Society(2004). Mildred has strong research skills and some of her work includes research on; Effect of spacing in the nursery on the early growth of eucalyptus salgina seedlings (2005); Inventory work in plantation and natural forest in Kimondi Forest (2005) and an Inventory work in plantation and natural forest in Kakamega Forest (2004) 22. KERICHO, KISII, MIGORI Ms Anne Tek has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from and a certificate in Information Technology. She worked with the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Authority (LVEMP) in Nandi as a field assistant to carry out inventory of planted trees in July 2003.

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23. MTWAPA Ronald Kazungu Mbura holds a BSc. Degree in Natural Resources Management (Forestry) from Egerton University. He worked for Kenya Agricultural Research Institute under the Soil and Water Management Project (SWAMP) and Coastal Forest Conservation Unit/WWF. He later joined World Vision Kenya under the Humanitarian Emergency Affairs Program where his career progressed to the level of Agricultural Extension Officer under Taita-Taveta Food Security Project before joining Africa Harvest as Field Officer based in Mtwapa region.

24. KITUI Pius Mutinda holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry (honors. He has been involved in community development work and setting Eucalyptus plantations for various firms 25. NYERI Eliud Mutahi holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry from Moi University. He joined Green Belt Movement as an assistant project officer in tree planting and was later promoted to a project officer.

26. EMBU CENTRAL David Muriungi Kithinji has extensive experience in community mobilization for development. He has also worked as a leaf collection clerk in the tea industry and been a teacher. Currently she is pursuing Bachelor of Education Degree Course at the Nairobi University.

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION 27. SENIOR ACCOUNTANT James Njane is the senior accountant at Africa Harvest. He joined the organization in year 2005 and has over ten years experience both with international Non profit Organizations and professional audit firm.

He holds a Masters in Business Administration (Strategic Management), and he is also a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPAK) and a Certified Public Secretary of Kenya (CPSK). He assists the Deputy Chief Executive in financial and grant management for the three centers (US, Kenya and South Africa), coordinates the audit process, and helps in budget preparations during proposal writing. James is an exemplary performer and he has won an award as best student in CPA section 5 in tax and tax management, and is a member of both the institute of certified public accountant of Kenya and institute of certified public secretary of Kenya.

28. PERSONAL ASSISTANT - CEO Mercy W. Muthui has 14 years working experience in administration work. She holds a Bachelors degree in Business administration from NewPort International University, Advanced Diploma in Business Management from Kenya Institute of Management and an advanced secretarial training from Reeswood Secretarial College and an She is currently pursuing a Diploma course in Human Resource Management. As a Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer, Africa Harvest Biotech International (AHBFI), Ms. Muthui has gained crucial experience in office management, assisting and coordinating the various duties associated with the office of the Chief Executive Officer. Mercy’s responsibilities with AHBFI have evolved considerably over the past eight years. She began her career with AHBFI as an Administrative Assistant in 2002 and was later promoted to PA to the AHBFI CEO. 29. PROCUREMENT OFFICER Rose Kanduthu is a Procurement Officer in Nairobi Office. Rose has brought with her a wealth of experience from a business career and background. She is currently pursuing a Diploma in purchasing & Supply in process.

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30. ACCOUNTANT Gideon Ndichu works as an Accountant and he is a holder of Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA K) and has enhanced his capacity by attaining a certificate in computer applications. Before joining Africa Harvest he was working at Safari Park Hotel & Casino. Gideon is currently pursuing Certified Public secretary (CPS).

31. SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Josephine Kilei is a Senior Administrative Assistant in the Africa Harvest Nairobi office. Prior to her current position, Josephine worked as a Technical assistant in the field where she acquired immense experience in community mobilization, project planning, implementation and training farmers.

Josephine holds a Diploma in Hospitality, Tours and Travel.

32. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Mumbi Maina is an administrative assistant and P.A to the Deputy CEO at Africa Harvest, Nairobi Office. Her duties involve providing administrative support to the CEO as well as other departments.

She also provides great support to the finance department and is engaged in some accounting roles. She has three years of finance and administration work experience having previously worked as an Accounts and Tax consultant and as a Finance and administration assistant both in Uganda She holds a Bachelor of International Business Administration in Finance from the United States International University (USIU) and is currently pursuing her MBA – Strategic Management at Daystar University Nairobi.

33. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Terry Amaya works as an Assistant Office Administrator and Customer Care Officer. She has 10 years experience in Front Office Management and Telephone / Switchboard Operation. Terry holds an Advanced Diploma Certificate in Business and Human Resource Management, a Diploma in Front office Management and Telephone / Switchboard Operation. Currently she is pursuing a bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Management.

34. IT ADMINISTRATOR Anthony Korir is an IT Administrator and PA to the Technical Director. He is Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE 2003) also (CCNA) Networking and System Administration/End-user support at Kabarak University; and a holder of National Diploma in Computer Science. He worked for 5 yrs with Unilever Tea (Kenya) Limited, under Research and Development as Statistical Analyst; IT Helpdesk assistant & PA before joining Africa harvest in 2006. He also worked as a trainer in two Computer Institutes. Currently he is perusing higher diploma in computer science.

35. OFFICE ASSISTANT Chris Nganga is an Office assistant in Africa Harvest Nairobi, He has hands on experience in Motor vehicle mechanic for the last 20 years and he is an IT experience having done certificate in A+ Certification and C+ in CS Holdings, South Africa. He support in photography, He likes traveling and watching movies.

36. OFFICE ASSISTANT Israel Ikuro is an Office Assistant at Africa Harvest. He is involved in training and mobilizing farmer groups. He also offers support to all other departments. He has attended several professional courses including a Financial Management course with USAID. Prior to joining Africa Harvest, he worked at Enda Enterprises as a Relief Supplies Manager.

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37. SITE SERVICE ASSISTANT John Busaala is a Site Service Assistant with Africa Harvest. Under the supervision of the Administration officers, he is responsible for maintaining the Nairobi Offices in terms of security as well as cleanliness.

John is also assists in message sending and deliveries.

38. SITE SERVICE ASSISTANT Anne Ngugi is a site service assistant at Africa Harvest Nairobi office. She assists in the day to day activities helping to ensure the smooth running of the office.

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