Board of Trustees

Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, recipient of the Africa Food Prize in 2015 and member of the World Academy of Sciences, is the Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063. He has over 30 years of experience, as academic and a practitioner, in international development. As the Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute, he was instrumental in developing and guiding the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme.

As Lead Specialist for Food and Agricultural Policy at the World Bank, he served as advisor to the Vice President for Africa and originated projects with large-scale funding. Between research and development finance, Dr. Badiane taught Economics of Development in Africa at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies for many years.

Dr. Badiane received PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Kiel in Germany. He is also recipient of a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of KwaZulu Natal.

Ertharin Cousin is a distinguished fellow of global agriculture at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She previously served as executive director of the World Food Programme from 2012 until 2017. In this role, Cousin led the world’s largest humanitarian organization with 14,000 staff serving 80 million vulnerable people across 75 countries.

Cousin possesses more than 30 years of national and international nonprofit, government, and corporate leadership experience. She maintains relationships with global government, business, and community leaders. She has published numerous articles regarding agriculture, food security, and nutrition.

Cousin is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of Georgia Law School, and the University of Chicago Executive Management Finance for Non-Financial Executives program. Cousin has received honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the globe. She has been listed numerous times on the Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women” list, as the Fortune “Most Powerful Woman in Food and Drink,” on TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” list, and as one of the “500 Most Powerful People on the Planet” by Foreign Policy magazine.

A graduate of Utrecht University (The Netherlands), Willem Olthof has devoted much of his academic and practical life to agricultural and rural development in Africa. His research and teaching interests have covered farming systems development, natural resource management, geographical information systems, and remote sensing applications, with a focus on support to evidence-based policymaking.

After having lectured at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, The Netherlands, the University of Zimbabwe, and the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he made the switch to public policymaking and implementation for the European Union. He served as adviser to the EU Delegations in Ethiopia and Ghana, as well as in the EU Delegation to the Rome-Based UN Agencies, dealing in particular with EU relations with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

While working at the European Commission’s Development and International Partnership Directorates in Brussels, he was co-responsible for a team of over 30 staff working on agriculture, food security, and nutrition questions. During this period, he also framed the EURO 1 billion EU Food Facility to assist 50 partner countries in responding to the spiking food prices in 2007/08. Willem has also been active in representing the European Commission in CAADP discussions and in coordinating EU Member States policies and projects on agriculture and rural development, again with a focus on Africa.

Rajul Pandya-Lorch is a strategic and communications leader with 30+ years of experience in food policy research, communications, and capacity building. She has a proven track record in designing and implementing high-level policy consultations and conferences, developing strategic engagements with key donors and partners, pioneering innovative communication and capacity-building approaches, revitalizing and managing diverse teams, and advising institutional leadership.

Rajul worked at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) for more than 30 years before retiring in 2020. In her most recent position, she served concurrently as Chief of Staff in the Director General’s Office, as well as Director of the Communications and Public Affairs Division. Rajul serves on several advisory boards and committees.

An MBA graduate with a concentration in finance, a Master's degree in economic sciences, and various accounting degrees/certificates, Mr. Moussa Elhadji Adam is a seasoned Operations Manager with about 35 years of experience as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative (Operations), Operations Manager, and Director Finance and Administration within five UNDP field offices, the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF).

More recently, Mr. Adam served as Special Adviser to the President of the Republic of Niger and as Independent International Consultant in Finance, Human Resources, and Strategic Management for not-for-profit organizations.

Earlier in his career, he taught mainly accounting, financial mathematics, treasury, and financial analysis in CNPG (Centre Nigérien de perfectionnement à la Gestion), Abdou Moumouni University, the CNCMA (Centre National du Cycle Moyen des Assurances), and the ENA (École Nationale d'Administration), all in Niamey, Niger.