Cotonou, Benin
September 24, 2007
After a rigorous selection
process, Dr Marco Wopereis, of Dutch nationality, has been
appointed as WARDA’s incoming
Assistant Director General, Research & Development. He will take
up his new functions in December 2007.
Dr Wopereis has extensive experience in research and development
related to integrated natural resource management, and rice in
particular. He has led multi-national and multi-disciplinary
scientific teams in South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Before joining WARDA, Dr Wopereis was heading the Annual Crops
Department at the French Agricultural Research Centre for
International Development (Cirad), based in Montpellier, France,
overseeing activities in South-East Asia, Latin America and
sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Wopereis is no stranger to the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), having worked for WARDA as Rice Agronomist from 1994 to
2000 and as Scientific Coordinator of the Inland Valley
Consortium from 2000 to 2002.
He worked earlier at the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) on enhancing water productivity of rice-based production
systems. Both WARDA and IRRI are supported by the CGIAR.
Dr Wopereis was also associated with the International Center
for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) as
Program Leader at IFDC Africa Division, based in Lomé, Togo.
He is particularly noted for his drive to achieve impact in
farmers’ fields and linking farmers to input and output markets
through high quality applied and strategic research. His
expertise is reflected through more than 90 scientific
publications in books and internationally refereed journals as
well as manuals and guides for extension agents and farmers.
Dr Wopereis is fluent in WARDA’s two main working languages
(French and English), besides Dutch and German. He earned his
PhD degree in Tropical Agronomy from the Wageningen University
in The Netherlands in 1993. |
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