After the completion of a rigorous and competitive process, GFAR and partners are proud to announce the appointment of a new chair and vice chair to provide leadership to the secretariat’s steering committee.

Joining as Chair is Dr Ravinder (Ravi) Khetarpal. Currently the Executive Secretary of Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), Dr Khetarpal brings with him over 36 years of vast, global experience in Research, Development, Innovation, Strategic Planning, Institutional Management and Policy issues. 

In his previous roles, Dr Khetarpal has been the Head of Plant Quarantine at ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Regional Director and Regional Advisor for South Asia for Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), and Visiting Scientist at The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA, Versailles) among others.  

He holds an MSc in Plant Pathology and a PhD in Life Sciences.  

Dr Khetarpal is currently also chairing the Tropical Agricultural Platform (a G20 initiative) with its secretariat located at FAO. 

As an active Partner in GFAR, Dr Khetarpal has been instrumental in the development of recently launched regional and global manifesto of forgotten foods. 

Teaming up with Dr Khetarpal in his tasks is Vice Chair Dr Ross McLeod, an economist and evaluation specialist with over 20 years of experience in designing and evaluating research and development programs across 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Australia Pacific. He is currently the Director of eSYS Development.  

He has worked as an evaluation specialist for numerous international agricultural research agencies including ILRI, ICARDA and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, along with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), FAO among others.  

Dr McLeod is a member of the Proposal Review Committee at UNITAD and a member of the High-Risk Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Sidney.  

He holds a PhD in R&D evaluation and master’s degrees in public health.  

Please join us in congratulating Dr Khetarpal and Dr Mcleod as they take up their new roles.