AGRA Board & Staff
AGRA Board of Directors:
Kofi A. Annan, Chairman of the Board of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1996 - 2006).
Monty Jones, AGRA Board member; the First Executive Secretary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Monty Jones became the first African to win the World Food Prize in 2004, and in 2007 he was voted one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
Strive Masiyiwa, AGRA Board member; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Econet Wireless International, Johannesburg, South Africa; Trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation. In 2002, Mr. Masiyiwa was named to Time Magazine's Global Business Influentials List.
Sylvia M. Mathews, AGRA Board member; President of Global Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation overseeing grant making and advocacy activities. Mrs. Mathews previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Moise C. Mensah, AGRA Board member; Former Minister of Finance of Benin; Former Assistant President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); member of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) 2020 Vision International Advisory Committee.
Mamphela Ramphele, AGRA Board member; Executive Chairperson, Circle Capital Ventures, a venture capital black economic empowerment company in Cape Town, South Africa; former Managing Director of the World Bank (2000 – 2006).
Rajiv J. Shah, AGRA Board member; Director for Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Shah serves on the Foundation's leadership team working on strategy to manage international grants to extend financial services to the poor and improve agricultural productivity to reduce poverty and hunger.
Nadya K. Shmavonian, AGRA Board member; Vice President, Foundation Initiatives, Rockefeller Foundation. As a senior officer, Ms. Shmavonian helps lead the development and implementation of key Foundation initiatives and strategy.
AGRA Officers and International Staff:
Amos Namanga Ngongi, President
Akinwumi Adesina, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships
Kwame Akuffo-Akoto, Chief Operating Officer
Joseph DeVries, Director, Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems
George Bigirwa, Programme Officer, Seed Production Systems (SEPA)
Issoufou Kapran, Programme Officer, Seed Production Systems (SEPA)
Kehinde Makinde, Programme Officer, Agro-Dealer Development Program (ADP)
Fred Muhhuku, Programme Officer, Agro-Dealer Development Program (ADP)
Jane Ininda, Programme Officer, Crop Improvement and Farmer Variety Adoption (FIACC)
Aboubacar Touré, Programme Officer, Crop Improvement and Farmer Variety Adoption (FIACC)
