Alfred Dixon has more than 20 years of experience in agricultural research in Africa. He is currently the Director General of the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Sierra Leone, and later went to Kansas State University (KSU), United States where he obtained an M.S. in Genetics and a Ph.D in Agronomy specializing in plant breeding and quantitative genetics. From 1989 - 2008, he worked as a scientist and served in several management positions at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. Prior to joining IITA, he worked as a Research and Teaching Assistant in Crop Science, University of Sierra Leone (1981-1983), and Graduate Research Assistant in sorghum breeding and genetics (1985 -1988), and Postdoctoral Research Associate (1988-1989) at KSU. He is a member of several professional associations and has authored or co-authored over 350 scientific publications.