Dr Javed Rizvi
Regional Director
World Agroforestry Center, India

Dr Javed Rizvi is an Agricultural Scientist with more than 25 years of research for development and teaching experience in different countries. He has been a Visiting Scientist in Italy, Spain, and the USA. He has broad experience of working on national agricultural policy, research for development strategies, and advocacy related issues. While working in this field he has built relationships with countries like Afghanistan, Australia, Bhutan, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, UAE, and Uzbekistan through bi-lateral, regional and international programs.

Javed comes to World Agroforestry from sister Centre ICARDA where he was working as the Country Program Manager overseeing ICARDA’s largest outreach program in Afghanistan. Over the period of 13 years with ICARDA (4 in Iran and 9 in Afghanistan), he managed several large multi-disciplinary agricultural programs including aspects of research, extension, technology transfer, and capacity development to improve food and nutritional security, diversification and intensification of crop-livestock-silviculture production systems, soil-water conservation, alternative livelihoods, and small scale processing and marketing of agricultural and forest products through community based organizations. He has more than 50 research publications and a book published by Chapman and Hall, London to his credit.

Dr. Madappa Mahadevappa
Director (Rural Development)
JSSMVP, India

Dr. Madappa Mahadevappa, is currently the Director at University of JSS Academy of Higher education and Research, Mysore. He received MS and PhD degree from University of Madras, India. He then worked at the CFTRI, Mysore and then served as Professor at the University of Agric. Sciences, Bangalore. He has authored tens of books, hundreds of publications and 1000s of popular articles. His research interests are in Crop Improvement, Food Science, Seed Science & Technology. He was Editor of Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, now continuing as editor of Kannada Quarterly "Krishi Kayaka" in its 11^th year. He is Fellow of National Academy of Agric. Sciences and Academy of Biological Sciences, India. Serves as member of many councils, universities and academic bodies. He is responsible for ongoing scholarly project ‘Krishi Vignyan Kendra’. He is honored with many state, national and international awards including Padmashri and Padmabhushan conferred by President of India.