Flavio Sacchini joined the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as mycoplasma research specialist in January 2016. He is a member of the Vaccine Biosciences group and his task is to develop a live vaccine for contagious caprine pleuropneumonia together with colleagues and collaborators from ILRI and the University of Bern, Switzerland. Sacchini’s background is in veterinary immunology and he has a long track record in setting up Mycoplasma challenge models.Prior to joining ILRI, Sacchini worked as veterinary researcher for the World Organisation for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and brucellosis at Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise (Italy), focusing his research activities on CBPP pathogenesis and immunology and development of diagnostics and vaccines for CBPP and brucellosis. Sacchini is from Italy.

Johanna Lindhal was appointed as veterinary epidemiologist at ILRI. She has worked in ILRI since April 2013 as a post-doctoral scientist in a joint appointment with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, from where she also obtained a PhD, which looked at vector-borne infections. Her research at ILRI has focused on food safety and zoonotic diseases, especially on aflatoxins and Rift Valley fever, with projects in Kenya and India. Lindhal is from Sweden.

 

Abdou Fall was appointed project manager effective January 2016,  the United States Agency for Interntional Development (USAID)-funded Feed the Future Mali Livestock Technology Scaling Program that is scaling livestock technologies and development approaches.  Fall has a long experience of livestock research and development in West Africa and has recently been ILRI’s regional representative in West Africa. He will be  based in the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) office in Bamako and will establish the program’s management office there. The project is part of the Animal Science for Sustainable Productivity (ASSP) Program. Fall is from Senegal.

Augustine Ayantunde, Senior Scientist based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso was appointed  the  interim regional representative for West  Africa,  in January 2016. He will provide oversight and representation in the region.

 

 

Steve Staal was appointed program leader of the Policy, Trade and Value Chains  Program starting January 2016. He was previously ILRI’s regional representative for East and South Asia. Staal is an agricultural economist with vast experience of smallholder systems in Africa and Asia and in research and research management. He has held various positions in ILRI, including director of the (then) Market Opportunities Theme, and deputy director general. Staal is from the USA.

Christoph Weber was appointed agri-business specialist in the Livestock, Gender and Impact (LGI) Program. He did his MSc in animal husbandry at Bonn University, Germany and he has a PhD. in rural sociology. His experience includes working with the German Development Cooperation–GTZ in Thailand, Malawi, Lesotho and Egypt between 1983–1993, and working in development projects in countries in transition in the former USSR (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan, Latvia and Estonia and Moldova) and the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo). Weber has a long working experience in a broad range of agricultural and livestock development activities like institutional strengthening of public and private service providers, promotion of farmers’ self-help organizations, rural finance, and linking public and private stakeholders for the benefit of the rural communities. As a freelance consultant he also worked in monitoring and evaluation and various surveys and headed a number of project planning and appraisal missions. Weber is  German/Swiss.

Romano Kiome was appointed the program manager (chief of party) of the USAID-funded Feed the Future–Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) Program in February 2015. He is a graduate of the University of Nairobi, Wageningen University in the Netherlands (Masters) and the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom (PhD in agriculture and natural resources management).  He has more than 26 years’ experience as a postgraduate research scientist, research manager and policymaker, and he has published widely with over 50 publications in journals, book chapters, reports, strategic plans, and policy papers.  He served as the permanent secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture from 2005 to 2013 and from 2000-2005, he was director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), now Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). Kiome has represented Africa in several international agricultural research entities, including, the CGIAR Executive Council (ExCo) and the Fund Council and has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Agroforestry Centre, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, the World Vegetable Center and ILRI and he chaired the BecA-ILRI Hub steering committee for several years. Kiome is from Kenya.

Michel Dione was appointed animal health scientist in March 2016. His expertise is in identifying animal health constraints and opportunities through field surveys, participatory methods and biological sampling, field testing interventions for livestock diseases to improve animal health and human health and developing and testing gender sensitive models of delivery of animal health services, including community-based health care in different livestock and farming systems. Dione has experience in animal health, infectious disease control and diagnosis. He is a veterinarian and holds an MSc in environmental sciences and a PhD in medical sciences from University of Antwerp, Belgium. Dione is from Senegal.

Edgar Twine was appointed value chain economist in the LGI program, starting 1 February 2016, after successful completion of a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the same program. Edgar will be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where he will continue working on the Tanzania dairy value chain. Edgar holds a PhD in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Alberta in Canada, an MSc in agricultural economics and BSc in agriculture both from Makerere University, Uganda and a certificate in environmental economics and policy from the University of Pretoria. His research interests are in the areas of marketing economics, production economics, agricultural trade, finance and policy. Edgar is from Uganda.

Laurence Ochieng joined ILRI as field coordinator of the dairy component of the , Dairy FtF Feed the Future-AVCD program under the LGI program in January 2016. He holds an MBA in entrepreneurship from Kenyatta University and a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine (BVM) from the University of Nairobi. Prior to joining ILRI, he worked at TechnoServe Kenya as the technical lead in the poultry value chain. He has experience in dairy and beef management; animal feeds and general animal health and husbandry. His other key competencies are in animal welfare and rural development having worked in this sector for over 15 years. Ochieng is from Kenya.

Tom Kimanzi joined ILRI as head of facilities and projects in the Engineering Department in February 2016. He is in charge of ensuring that the institute’s equipment, facilities, and plant are kept in good order and will also be spearheading ILRI’s new construction projects, including expansion, refurbishment of buildings and other related facilities. Kimanzi holds a BSc in civil engineering from the University of Nairobi and has over 20 years’ experience in engineering. Kimanzi is from Kenya.

Adan Kutu was appointed, in February 2016, as field coordinator for Isiolo County supporting the USAID-funded Feed the Future AVCD program’s livestock component in February 2016. He has more than seven years experience in development work. Kutu has MBA and a BA degree in sociology, political science and public administration. For the last five years, has been working as a technical advisor with SNV Kenya supporting market systems development. He has vast experience in value chain development, multi-stakeholder processes, policy formulation both at the county and national level, project planning and management and market system development. He has worked in over 14 arid and semi-arid counties of Kenya and will play a major role in maintaining contact with the county governments and the state department of livestock to ensure successful implementation of the livestock component of the Feed the Future AVCD program. Kutu is from Kenya.

Haret Hambe joined ILRI as field coordinator, based in Garissa County, in February 2016. He will be working for the livestock component of the Feed the Future AVCD program. He will coordinate and implement the project activities and represent ILRI in the county. Hambe is a veterinary surgeon and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in epidemiology and public health at the Royal Veterinary College in London. In the recent past, he worked with the County Government of Garissa as the deputy director veterinary services in charge of public health and food safety. In earlier engagements, he has worked with non-governmental organizations in Garissa, Turkana, Samburu and Pokot in Kenya, and in Moroto, Uganda.  Hambe is from Kenya.

Wema Adere joined ILRI nutrition specialist in January 2016. Her main role is coordinating nutrition interventions aimed at increasing the dietary diversity of smallholder households, particularly women and children. Adere will design and oversee implementation of nutrition education, communications and behavior change activities aimed at improving the nutritional status of women and children, while working closely with national and county stakeholders. She holds a master’s degree in applied human nutrition from the University of Nairobi. She has previously worked in integrated nutrition programs with Goal Ireland in Sudan, World Vision in Somalia/Somaliland and Save the Children in Kenya. She is an expert in nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming aimed at improving the nutritional status of vulnerable communities. Adere is from Kenya.

Richard Basil joined ILRI as supply chain manager in February 2016. His main role is to provide strategic technical leadership to the three supply chain units (Procurement, Stores and Transport). Richard holds an MSc in procurement and logistics management. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management and has over eight years of work experience in similar roles in several international humanitarian organizations and various contexts including Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps and  western and South Nyanza in Kenya. His previous appointment was with CARE International in Kenya where he managed supply chain functions. Basil is from Kenya.

Paul Mwangi joined ILRI in March 2016 as field coordinator in the livestock component of the Feed the Future-AVCD program under the Livestock Systems and Environment program. Prior to joining ILRI, he worked with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Kenya. Mwangi has six years’ experience in the livestock development activities both in arid and semi-arid areas and high rainfall areas of Kenya.  He holds an MSc in food chain systems from Cranfield University and a BSc in Food Science and Technology from the University of Nairobi. Mwangi is from Kenya.

 Evans Hodari joined ILRI in January 2016 as office assistant in the Food and Safety Zoonoses program. Previously, he worked in the hospitality industry in Kenya. He  has a Diploma in Business Management from the Tracom College School of Business in Nairobi. Hodari is from Kenya.

 

 

Joseph Onam joined ILRI as monitoring and evaluation- field support in the dairy component of the Feed the Future AVCD program in March 2016. Onam holds bachelors and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from Egerton University. He has vast experience in rural development having worked for Ministry of Agriculture for the last 19 years in various positions in rural districts of Kenya. He has been involved in implementing the Swedish government-funded National Soil and Water Conservation Project, the National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme, the Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development-funded Southern Nyanza Community Development Project. He has been a part-time lecturer at Kisii and Maseno University since 2010, teaching agribusiness and agricultural economics. He has in the past consulted for ILRI, icipe, Farm Concern International and many other developmental organizations and projects working with rural farmers especially on baseline and impact studies, situational analysis, data analysis, irrigation project feasibility studies and resettlement plans.  Onam is from Kenya.

Abdisemet Osman joined ILRI as the field coordinator for the Feed the Future AVCD program livestock component in March 2016. He is based in Wajir, Kenya. He coordinates field activities aimed at increasing smallholder livestock productivity and market linkages through access to inputs and services as well as uptake of productivity enhancing technologies working with the development partners and the county government. He also manages stakeholder relationships in the project. He holds a BSc in Animal Production from  Egerton University. Osman is from Kenya.

 

Muthoni U. Njiru moved to the Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development Program in March 2016 as the communication and knowledge management specialist.  This role will lead and coordinate the development of communications materials and organize communications and knowledge sharing activities for the AVCD program. Muthoni has particular expertise in event management, media engagement, multi-stakeholder process facilitation, organization management, and systemic knowledge management and training.   She holds an MSc in Organizational Development and a BA in Journalism from the United States International University-Africa, certification in digital graphic design and is a graduate of the Strathmore Business School Management Development Program. She has obtained awards from the Association for Communications Excellence for graphic design campaigns and photography exhibits.

Samuel Oyola was appointed as ILRI’s specialist scientist in molecular biology and genomics in March 2016.  Samuel holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Cambridge. Before joining ILRI, he studied functional genomics of Leishmaniasis and host-parasite interaction as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of York. He then took a Scientist position at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge UK, where he worked on malaria; developing and applying high throughput Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies to study natural genetic variations in malaria parasite populations. He developed novel molecular tools that enable application and translation of NGS technologies into basic healthcare and public health applications. At ILRI, Samuel is using his experience and expertise in modern genomics, biotechnology and molecular biology to study and develop effective vaccines against livestock pathogens. Specifically, Samuel is focused on developing tools to support high throughput sequencing and analysis of TCR and BCR gene repertoires at both population and single cell levels.  He is also actively involved in developing genomic capacity in Africa. Samuel is Kenyan.

Emily Kerandi re-joined ILRI in March 2016 as People and Organizational Development Officer – Learning  and Performance. She has more than 5 years’ experience in both operational and strategic management of the human resources function. Prior to re-joining ILRI she was working at Deloitte East Africa as a Human Resources Officer and had also worked for over 4 years in the same organization when she started out her HR career. She is a recruitment specialist, having extensive experience in recruiting for positions internationally and nationally in both profit and not for profit organizations. She also has experience in other spheres of HR such as compensation and benefits, performance management and policy formulation. Emily holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from St. Paul’s University, Kenya and Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Institute of Human Resource Management. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management from University of Nairobi.

 

Loyce Mbwaya|People and Organizational Development