Speakers

Invited Speakers

Distinguished experts from academia, government, international organizations, and the private sector will deliver keynote and plenary addresses.

Hon. Muthai Kagwe, EGH

Hon. Muthai Kagwe is the Chairman, ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers (CPM) by virtue of his position as Cabinet Secretary- Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Republic of Kenya.  Kenya assumed the rotational Chairmanship ASARECA CPM in February 2024 and will hold it for two years before passing over to another ASARECA Member State.  Before his appointment as  the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, he served as Cabinet Secretary for Health, a task he took on following his elevation on 28 February 2020. Hon. Kagwe a Bachelor of Commerce (Insurance) degree from the University of Nairobi (1978 – 1981) and an MBA from United States International University (1988 – 1992). As a politician his journey started 2002 when he became the fifth member of parliament for Mukurweini Constituency in Nyeri County, Kenya. As a member of parliament, he was the chair of the parliamentary committee on Finance, Trade, Tourism, and Planning.  In 2005 he made his debut in the Kenyan cabinet when he was appointed the minister of Information, Communication and Technology.

Joshua Ariga

Joshua Ariga, Ph.D., is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the current President of the African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE). Based in Seattle, he leads strategic initiatives focused on agricultural development and food security across Sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific emphasis on empowering smallholder farmers. His expertise lies in agricultural economics, market reforms, and input supply chains, where he works to improve access to high-quality seeds and fertilizers through evidence-based policy and agritech innovation.
Prior to his role at the foundation, Ariga served as a Senior Economist at the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and conducted extensive research with Michigan State University’s Food Security Group. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University and has authored numerous influential publications on fertilizer market dynamics and rural development. Driven by his own background in a farming family, he remains a key figure in strengthening the African data-policy ecosystem to ensure that agricultural investments lead to sustainable poverty reduction.

Matin Qaim

Matin Qaim is Professor of Agricultural Economics and Executive Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany. Before, he had professorships at the Universities of Goettingen and Hohenheim and was research fellow at UC Berkeley, California. Qaim’s main research areas relate to sustainable food systems, poverty reduction, and rural development. He is a Highly Cited Researcher, Member of the German National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the American Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA), and President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).

Johan Swinnen

Johan Swinnen has served as the Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since January 2020. He is Vice Chair of the Global Research Consortium on Economic Structural Transformation Steering Committee; Commissioner in the Food Systems Economics Commission; Governing Board Member of the World Agriculture Forum; Representative in the High-Level Executive Committee of the IPC; member of the Scientific Advisory Group for the EAT Stockholm Food Forum; and a member of the Champions 12.3 Leadership Group to Reduce Food Loss and Waste (SDG Target 12.3) and the Friends of the Alternative Proteins Steering Group.

Prior to joining IFPRI, Dr. Swinnen was a professor of economics and director of the LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance at KU Leuven (Belgium) and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

Dr. Swinnen was a Lead Economist at the World Bank from 2003 to 2004 and economic adviser to the European Commission from 1998 to 2001. Over the course of his career, Dr. Swinnen has been a visiting professor at various universities, including at Stanford University’s Center on Food Security and the Environment, and a frequent adviser to institutions such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Dr. Swinnen earned his PhD from Cornell University (USA) and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Göttingen (Germany) and the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia). He is a fellow of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association and the European Association of Agricultural Economists, and he served as President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists from 2012 to 2015.

Dr. Swinnen has published extensively on agricultural and food policies, international development, political economy, institutional reforms, trade, and global value chains, and his body of work has been widely cited. His recent book, The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), received the Book Award from the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE). A co-authored paper on “Trade, Standards, and Poverty: Evidence from Senegal” received the 2023 Publication of Enduring Quality Award from the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA). His other books include Quality Standards, Value Chains and International Development (Cambridge University Press 2015); Political Power and Economic Policy: Theory and Empirical Applications (Cambridge University Press 2011); and From Marx and Mao to the Market: The Economics and Politics of Agricultural Transition (Oxford University Press 2006).

Ousmane Badiane, PhD, Dr. h.c

Dr. Ousmane Badiane, a Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, recipient of the Africa Food Prize in 2015, and a member of the World Academy of Sciences, serves as the Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063. He has over 35 years of experience as an academic and a practitioner in international development.

As the Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), he was instrumental in developing and guiding the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
As Lead Specialist for Food and Agricultural Policy at the World Bank, he served as advisor to the Vice President for Africa and originated projects with large-scale funding. Between research and development finance, Dr. Badiane taught Economics of Development in Africa at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies for many years.

Dr. Badiane received a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Kiel in Germany. He is also the recipient of a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

Steven Were

Steven Were Omamo is Director of the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He also serves as Director for Africa. Were worked most recently for New Growth International, where he served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President. Previously, he held several leadership positions with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), including as Country Director in Ethiopia, and as Deputy Director and Food Systems Coordinator of the WFP Policy and Programme Division. He has also served as Director of Global Engagement and Research with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Director of Policy and Advocacy with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and has held positions with the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), and Egerton University, Kenya. Earlier in his career, Were worked at IFPRI as a Research and then Senior Research Fellow. He is an Adjunct Professor of Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech University and holds PhD and MA degrees from Stanford University, an MS from the University of Connecticut, and a BS from California State University, Fresno.

Oliver Kiptoo

Oliver Kiptoo Kirui is a Research Fellow and Acting Program Leader for Nigeria in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Abuja, Nigeria, where he supports the development of research-based policy solutions; coalition-building for policy change; co-creating innovative analytical tools in close collaboration with several partners.

Oliver conducts and supports research related to several policy-relevant topics including agricultural and economic transformation, markets and trade, livelihoods and nutrition, development strategy and investment planning, and resilience of agriculture under climate change and extreme weather events. He is experienced in managing and conducting evidence-based research, building coalitions and working with multiple stakeholders, and conceptualizing, conducting, and communicating research outputs to various audiences.

Prior to joining IFPRI, Oliver worked as a Senior Researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany, and as a Research Associate at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). He received his PhD in Development Economics from the University of Bonn.

Prof. Opeyemi Eyitayo Ayinde

Prof. Opeyemi E. Ayinde, an Applied and agricultural Economists and Behavioral Analyst, got her PhD in Agricultural Economics at the University of Ilorin, had her postdoctoral training in Innovation Economics at SARChI Chair on Innovation Studies, Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria, South Africa, and was Fulbright Visiting Senior researcher to The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Prof. Ayinde is currently the Vice-President of the Africa Association of Agricultural Economists, and a board member of the African Network for Economics of Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems (ARICALICS). Her key research Interest presently has been in the economics of innovation in agricultural productivity exploring themes such as the agricultural producers’ behavior to risk, especially climate risk and as well to innovation; determinants of diffusion of new technology, Agricultural Management strategies, Effect of Climate change on Agricultural production and gender issues. She has supervised more than 100 undergraduate projects, 30 Masters, and 8 doctoral students.

Dr. Beatrice Muriithi

Dr. Beatrice Wambui Muriithi is a Scientist in Gender and Impact Assessment within the Social Sciences and Impact Assessment Unit at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe). She joined icipe in 2014 as a Postdoctoral Fellow before advancing to a full scientist position. She holds a PhD in Development Economics from the Centre of Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn, Germany, where she also worked as a Junior Researcher. Her research focuses on inclusive technology adoption and the social, economic, and environmental impacts of agricultural innovations among communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, employing a broad range of quantitative and qualitative methods.
Dr. Muriithi has made significant contributions to the integrated pest management (IPM) discourse in Eastern and Southern Africa, demonstrating the economic gains of various value chain actors — including improved income, reduced pre- and post-harvest losses, and lower chemical expenditures — as well as broader health and environmental benefits. She also works on livestock health, beekeeping, and pollination services and their integration with IPM practices, with her animal health research highlighting the economic importance of challenges such as tsetse and trypanosomiasis. Beyond her scientific work, she plays an active role in resource mobilization and in mentoring young researchers and postgraduate students.
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