Lokendra Khadka is a Research associate in the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Nepal. He currently focuses on scaling inclusive and sustainable irrigation technologies in coordination with the public and private sector.
Lokendra’s research expertise expands from resource conservation technologies related to cereal based cropping systems to scale-appropriate farm mechanization and irrigation.
Sagar has been working at CIMMYT-Nepal since December 2015, contributing to various projects. His main focus has been on the CSISA initiative, which aims to research and scale up resource-saving technologies within Nepal’s cereal systems. Through his work, he has developed expertise in technology scaling within cereal systems, developing market systems, and strengthening governance in the agricultural research and extension services sector. This is in part due to his strong understanding of local contextual factors that influence the adoption of sustainable intensification technologies, including mechanization.
Since 2024, Sagar has turned his attention to generating innovations, tools and scaling pathways in the mixed farming systems of the mid-hills of Nepal as part of the CGIAR Mixed Farming Systems (MFS) Initiative.
Washiq Faisal is a Research Associate with CIMMYT’s sustainable intensification program, based in Bangladesh. He joined CIMMYT in 2014 and has been involved in applied agricultural research to tackle food insecurity through improved nutrient-rich, high-yielding varieties and sustainable agronomic practices for nearly 15 years.
Faisal is involved in innovative and multi-disciplinary research focused on the principles of sustainable and ecological intensification in smallholder dominated and tropical agricultural systems in Bangladesh. His current research focuses on climate-driven epidemiology of two crop diseases, Stemphylium blight of lentil and wheat leaf rust.
In collaboration with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) and Bangladesh Department of Agricultural Extension, Faisal learnt how to use Agvisely, an agro-meteorological services tool providing location-specific advice to farmers.
Sieg Snapp is the director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems program at CIMMYT, which brings together global agricultural economics, systems analysis on agrifood innovations and agricultural systems for development in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
As a Professor of Soils and Cropping Systems Ecology at Michigan State University and Associate Director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, she led research on sustainable farming, particularly for cereal-based, rainfed systems in Africa and North America.
Snapp first partnered with CIMMYT in 1993, when she developed the “mother and baby” trial design. This go-to tool for participatory research has developed farmer-approved technologies in 30 countries.
Snapp has partnered with local and international scientists to tackle sustainable development goals, improve livelihoods and farm sustainably. Her two hundred publications and text books address co-learning, ecological intensification and open data to generate relevant science.
Md. Harun-Or-Rashid is an Agricultural Development Officer working with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program. He conducts research and outreach within maize- and wheat-based cropping systems, with an emphasis on various cutting-edge crop management techniques and technologies, such as conservation agriculture, machine learning, crop modeling, integrated pest management, GIS, and remote sensing methods.
João Vasco Silva is an Agronomy-at-scale Data Scientist with the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program based in Harare, Zimbabwe. His expertise includes yield gap and resource use efficiency analysis, farming systems research, and integrated assessments at field, farm, and regional levels.
He is currently involved in different research projects in Africa dealing with spatially explicit ex-ante assessments of agricultural technologies and sustainable intensification of farming systems in the region.
Silva holds a PhD from Wageningen University, where he is a guest researcher at the Plant Production Systems Group.
Abel Saldivia Tejeda is an agronomist at CIMMYT Headquarters in El Batán, Mexico, where he oversees field experimentation for conservation agriculture-based trials and testing of post-harvest storage technologies.
Saldivia also works with local research partners at different sites in north and central Mexico for the development of sustainable crop management practices and post-harvest technologies.
Tesfaye Shiferaw Sida is a multi-disciplinary researcher, educator and R&D practitioner emphasizing on production ecology and resource conservation. He currently holds a Scientist position at International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). He organizes and runs projects that facilitate the delivery of agronomy-at-scale solutions, create links among institutions in digital decision support systems, assist implementation of next generation agronomy at scale innovations and nurture internal efficiencies for demand-driven R&D in agronomy.
He is passionate for data-driven decisions, hence proficient in advanced data analytics and programing tools including Python, R, ArcGIS, and more. He is experienced with dynamic systems modeling tools such APSIM, FARMSIM, STELLA and SMILE. He aspires to link hands-on, on-farm and practical experiences to the emerging big data and digital capabilities to assist smallholder farmers benefit from the ‘digital revolution’.
Jannatul Ferdous Asha is a Machinery Development Officer working with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. She joined CIMMYT in 2019.
Asha completed an undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering and a masters degree in farm power and machinery at Bangladesh Agricultural University.
With ten years of experience as a crop scientist, Vimbayi Grace Petrova Chimonyo’s research focuses on integrated crop management to address food and nutrition security issues, climate change and rural development. She works primarily with crop simulation modelling as a tool for adapting to climate change and variability and improving food security, especially for smallholder farmers.
She has a good understanding of resource use (water, soil nutrients and solar radiation) within the agricultural sector, Water-Food-Nutrition-Health nexus, the Water-Energy-Food nexus within food system landscapes, and the need for transformative strategies for inclusive food security.
Her main research interests are developing resilient cropping systems with an emphasis on sustainable intensification under climate variability and change.
Md. Zakaria Hasan is a field office coordinator with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. He coordinates all the CIMMYT activities in the Faridpur region.
Hasan completed his undergraduate and masters degrees in Agricultural Science from Bangladesh Agricultural University. He started his career as a research associate in soil science at the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), then joined the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) as a researcher in agronomy.
Joining CIMMYT in 2012, Hasan’s main expertise is in agronomy, mechanized crop production, adaptive research, public and private sector engagement, and management of field activities.
Andrea Gardeazábal works on the use of data-driven agronomy, knowledge management and ICT for innovation within agri-food systems. She holds an MSc in Information and Communication Technologies for Development from the University of Manchester, UK, and an MSc in Political Science from Los Andes University, Colombia. She has over a decade of experience designing and deploying large ICT for agriculture and education projects in Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia.
Gardeazabal currently coordinates the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Unit for CIMMYT’s Integrated Development Program, which involves the design and operation of robust information systems for data collection, analysis and dissemination.
Kindie Tesfaye is a Senior Scientist based in Ethiopia. He has more than 15 years of experience in executing and managing climate, crop modeling and GIS related projects for agricultural research and development in developing countries.
During his time at CIMMYT, he has developed a system of data acquisition and quality control for climate, crop modeling and geospatial analysis. He has applied systems analysis, cropping systems modeling and geospatial analysis tools for yield gap analysis, targeting of climate smart technologies and climate change studies across different scales. In collaboration with partners, he has also developed a digital agro-climate advisory system that provides decision support to smallholder farmers.
Pramod Aggarwal leads the South Asia Regional Program for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
He earned his post-doctoral degree at the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, and holds two doctoral degrees from the University of Indore, India, and from Wageningen University-Netherlands. He was awarded Academy of Sciences for the Developing World’s Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize in 2009, and the Indian National Science Academy’s Young Scientist Medal in 1983.
His professional research focuses on crop growth models for tropical environments, impact assessment of climatic variability and climate change on crops, and adaptation strategies and mitigation options, among other topics.
Sylvanus Odjo is a postharvest specialist working on the development and implementation of postharvest practices for cereals and other grains to achieve food security in rural communities in the developing world. He coordinates a network of research platforms for postharvest research with collaborators in Mexico, Central America and Africa to address research gaps and inform recommendations to farmers, private sector, governments, national agricultural research institutions and non-governmental organization.
Odjo holds a master’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition and a PhD in Agronomic Sciences and Biological Engineering. His PhD project focused on the effect of the drying process on maize grain quality.