Simon N’cho is an Agricultural Economics Engineer and MSc holder in economy and sociology for rural development with 10 years of research experience at AfricaRice as Research Assistant. He has worked mainly in the fields of Production, Policy and Impact assessment economics of rice in SSA. He is currently conducting his PhD research at WUR on the Socioeconomics impacts assessment of parasitic weeds such that Striga hermontica and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa on rain-fed rice systems in SSA. He is married with two kids.

Director General of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), a CGIAR Consortium Research Center. Specialist in agricultural policy analysis and strategy and member of the Academy of Sciences of Senegal.

Deputy Director & Director of International Relations of Agreenium, the French Consortium for agriculture, food, animal health and the environment. Agreenium's members are: INRA, CIRAD, AgroParisTech, AgroCampusOuest, Montpellier SupAgro, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse. Agreenium is representing the French Agricultural Research and Higher Education System.

Board chairman of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF)

Dr. Lesnick is co founder and Senior Partner of Meridian Institute- a not for profit NGO that provides neutral facilitation on complex and controversial issues including food security, climate change and agriculture, water resource and fisheries management, terrestrial property rights and trade, forests and natural resource management.

I am a Nigeria entrepreneur with special intrest in agricultural development in my country. I am passoniate about seeing development and transformation in agriculture spearheaded by young people. At the moment I am a final year student of the Federal University of Technology Akure Nigeria studing Agricultural engineering. I head a team of young people who operates the 'Agropreneur Naija!' Initiative that is designed †o turn the hearts and mind of young people †o agriculture and agric-business by active and agressive participation.