Professor Monty Jones began his career in agricultural research about 35 years ago. Professor Jones, a Sierra Leonean, has spent the past 23 years of his career in Africa working in international agricultural research for development institutions. While working at the West Africa Rice Development Association’s (WARDA) main research center in Côte d’Ivoire, Prof. Jones and his team developed the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) which gives higher yields, shorter growth cycles and more protein content than its Asian and African parents; for this Prof. Jones won the World Food Prize in 2004.
In 2002, Prof. Jones was appointed Executive Secretary for the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) where he coordinates advocacy for agricultural research for development in Africa as well as regional research. In March 2010, Prof. Jones was elected Chair of the Global Forum for Agricultural Research for Development (GFAR) where he continues to advocate for agricultural research and world-wide coordination of research efforts.
