Authors

Sharon Migeri is an agricultural scientist at the Sustainable Agroecosystems’ Group (SAE) at ETH Zurich. Her role is to ensure quality of products produced through RUNRES innovations.

Dr. Muriel Asseburg is a Senior Fellow in the Africa and Middle East Research Group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). From October 2006 to June 2012, she headed the research group "Middle East and Africa" at the SWP.

William Madudike is a potato farmer with 12 hectares of land he rents together with his partners. The 29-year-old Zimbabwean is the National Youth Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Farmers Union.

Dr. Alisher Mirzabaev is Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and former Chair of the Production Economics Group, Institute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR), University of Bonn. He also works as Senior Agricultural Economist for Unique Land Use. He was an observer at the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB58) in June 2023.

Karen Mapusua is President of IFOAM Organics International (2021) and is the Director of the Land Resources Division of the Pacific Community based in Fiji providing scientific and technical support in agricultural development, serving 22 Pacific Island states. She has a background in NGO capacity building and management and has worked in rural development in the Pacific islands region for close to 20 years with a focus on organic agriculture as a path to social and economic development. She co-founded the Pacific Organic & Ethical Trade Community (POETCom), and was extensively involved in developing the Pacific Organic Guarantee Scheme and developing alternative forms of certification that empower farmers.

Dr. Caroline Milow is GIZ Programme Manager at the Green Central Asia Project and has serveral years of experience in the water sector in Central Asia. Ms Milow has profound experience in international organizations, working on good governance, democratization, environmental protection and economic development.

Mathias Mogge is Secretary General and Chairman of the Board of Welthungerhilfe. Since 2013, he has been active on the voluntary board of the Association of German Development and Humanitarian Organisations (VENRO). In December 2021, he was elected chairman in a dual leadership. Since 2018, he has also been a member of the board of trustees of the Aid by Trade Foundation.

Wangu Mwangi provides editorial and strategic communications support for TMG projects. She has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist and development communications specialist, working at the interface of research, policy, and practice.

Since November 2021, Dr. Martin Frick is Chief of the WFP-Bureau for Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein in Berlin. Previously, he served as special envoy of the UN Secretary-General at the Food Systems Summit 2021, Executive Director of the UNFCCC-secretariat tasked with the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and as FAO-Climate Chief.

Peter leads communications and strategic planning for WWF's global Food Practice. He worked in a leadership role with the UN Food Systems Summit communications team, overseeing communications for the Action Track on nature-positive production.

Kola Masha is the Managing Director of Babban Gona. Prior to Babban Gona, Kola was a Managing Director and CEO of a major subsidiary in the Notore Group, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural conglomerates, where he raised USD 24 million to develop an integrated agricultural trading, production and processing business. Furthermore, he led the development and execution of Notore’s commercial strategy across West and Central Africa, preparing the company to sell one million tons of fertilizer and establish a modern seed business. He led the effort to raise USD 130 million in equity and the restructuring of USD 360 million in debt.

Alexander Mewes is a graduate from the 58. cohort of the postgraduate course of the Centre for Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt-Universität Berlin. He has a master's degree in Development Studies from the University of Passau and gained field research experience in international research institutes (IITA-CGIAR, EAWAG) focusing on food security, rural development and behavioral change.

Salima Mahamoudou is West and Central Africa Lead at the World Resources Institute (WRI). She defines WRI’s restoration strategy for francophone and Sahelian Africa, and future WRI-AFR100 engagement in dryland Africa. Mahamoudou plays a major role in advancing technical land restoration work in Francophone and Sahelian AFR100 countries, with main current focal countries including Niger, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch is the Director of Centre for Rural Development (SLE) Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He has a PhD. in agricultural and resource economics. Many years of experience as a chairholder, project manager, and university lecturer at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Particular expertise in the field of rural cooperatives, international/national. Professional experience as a consultant and expert for various international organisations, including the GIZ, FAO, World Bank, Conservation International, and UN-DESA.

Kathleen Mar’s work focuses on the nexus of climate, air pollution, and health. She holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and worked at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) prior to joining the IASS, where she leads the group Climate Action in National and International Processes (ClimAct). She is a Senior Associate at the Women Leaders for Planetary Health.

Dr May Hokan is a veterinarian and has been with the WWF since 2019. After growing up in Syria and studying in Germany, she was drawn to Africa where she researched lemurs and worked with elephants. Her main interest is the health aspect of the relationship between humans, animals and the environment. At the WWF, she worked for the protection of the habitat of lions, elephants and cheetahs in southern Africa.

Iris Manner is a media consultant at World Vision Germany. Frequent trips to Kenya have influenced her and she is therefore very interested in environmental and nature conservation as well as children’s and women's rights.

Jochen Moninger worked in Africa from 2005 to 2015, in the last five years as a country director of welfare assistance in Sierra Leone.