The global food system is responsible for one third of greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, climate disruptions are projected to lead to a 17 percent reduction in crop yields by 2050–the same year that the world’s population is expected to reach 10 billion. With limited land and destructive, intensive farming practices in place, how can we feed the world without exhausting its natural resources? Meet agriculture leaders who are innovating to adapt to a warming climate and developing agricultural practices to avoid future climate impacts.
President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
As President of AGRA, Dr. Kalibata leads the organization’s efforts with public and private partners to ensure a food secure and prosperous Africa through rapid, sustainable agricultural growth, improving the productivity and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.
Prior to joining AGRA in September 2014, Dr. Kalibata was Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI). Dr. Kalibata has held several other leadership positions, including Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Deputy Vice Chancellor of University of Rwanda. She also worked for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Uganda, and various other agricultural development organizations. She sits on various boards, councils and commissions including the Global Commission on Adaptation, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, the Global Panel for Agriculture & Food Systems for Nutrition, the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum, the Malabo-Montpellier Panel, the International Fertilizer Development Corporation (IFDC), Bioversity International, Africa Risk Capacity Board, and the Strategic Advisory Council of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), among others.
Dr. Kalibata has a distinguished track record as an agricultural scientist, policy maker and thought leader. She was awarded the Yara Prize, now the Africa Food Prize, in 2012, Honorary Doctorate from the University of Liège in 2018 and will receive the National Academy of Sciences’ Public Welfare Medal in 2019 for her work to drive Africa’s agricultural transformation through modern sciences and effective policy thereby improving livelihoods of stallholder farmers. She holds a doctorate in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Co-Founder, FEED Collaborative, Stanford University
Debra is a faculty member at Stanford University's d.school where she co-founded the Food Entrepreneurship, Education and Design (FEED) Collaborative, an initiative that cultivates radical innovation in the local food system by combining human centered design, experiential education and social entrepreneurship. She also works as an advisor to social ventures around the world.
Previously Debra worked as a business executive at Hewlett Packard. She serves on the Boards of the Skoll Foundation, B Lab and IDEO.org and the Global Advisory Council of the African Leadership University . Her current focus is food system transformation, social entrepreneurship and aligning business and social interests.
Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr is Director and Chief Technology Officer at Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Private Limited (MAHYCO), India. She received her Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Subsequent to her formal education, she worked at Purdue University in the Sorghum improvement program. She has been utilizing new technologies and tools including biotechnology for improving the quality and productivity of seeds and agriculture. In addition, Dr. Zehr serves as Director of Barwale Foundation (a non-profit Research Foundation). She also serves on the Board of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa.
Willy Foote is founder and CEO of Root Capital, a nonprofit impact investor that offers farmers around the world a path to prosperity by investing in the agricultural businesses that serve as engines of impact in their communities. Root Capital provides these businesses with the capital, training, and access to markets they need in order to grow, thrive, and create opportunities for thousands of farmers at a time. Since its founding in 1999, Root Capital has provided more than $1 billion in loans to 630 agricultural businesses in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Together, these businesses have generated more than $6 billion in revenue, 80 percent of which has been paid directly to the 1.2 million smallholder farmers whose crops they collect and market. Foote is a Skoll Entrepreneur and an Ashoka Global Fellow. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008, one of Forbes’ “Impact 30” in 2011, and was a 2012 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He served for nearly a decade on the Executive Committee of the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Foote holds an MS in development economics from the London School of Economics and a BA from Yale University.
