profile
Sebastian Escobar Parra
Cacao Quality Lab Associate Team Leader
Sebastian Escobar Parra is a fermentation scientist and chocolate R&D specialist with over 16 years of international experience in cacao fermentation, bioprocess development and scaling-up engineering, post-harvest innovation, and analytical flavour science. He has a proven track record of leading million-dollar innovation projects across Latin America and Europe, from concept and lab/pilot-scale bioreactors to industrial applications. He is an…
profile
Rima Hijazi
Consultant
Rima Hijazi is an Agricultural Engineer and agri-food specialist with extensive experience in SME development, startup incubation, and ecosystem building across Lebanon and the MENA region. She has supported the design and implementation of accelerator strategies, led deal flow and market validation processes, and provided hands-on advisory to agri-food startups to strengthen their operational and financial sustainability.
During her 4 years as Agri-Food Specialist at Berytech,…
profile
Fredy Monserrate
Postdoctoral Fellow
Fredy is an agronomist and soil health expert with interdisciplinary experience in research-for-development initiatives focused on sustainable and regenerative agriculture. His work integrates soil fertility, integrated nutrient management, agrohydrology, GIS, and data-driven approaches to support evidence-based decision-making in agricultural systems. He has extensive experience co-designing decision support systems (DSS) for soil and water management, linking scientific…
profile
Nduwimana Innocent
Research Associate
Innocent Nduwimana is an agronomist coordinating the Burundi activities for the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. He is an expert in the management of pests and diseases, as well as seed systems for vegetatively propagated crops. He received training in agronomic sciences, including plant and animal production, ecology and land use, socio-economics, and food technologies, at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Burundi with an MSc in…
profile
Sonia Gallego Castillo
Senior Research Associate, Agrobiodiversity
Chemical Engineer from Universidad del Valle and M.Sc. in Food Engineering, she currently serves as Senior Research Associate at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, where she coordinates the Nutritional Quality Laboratory (NQL) and the Food Processing Laboratory (FoodLab).
She has extensive experience leading research, innovation, and development projects focused on value addition to legumes, cereals, roots, and tubers. Her…
article
Le rapport EAT-Lancet 2025 : L'alimentation peut-elle sauver notre avenir ?
Erika Eliana Mosquera Echeverry
EAT - une plateforme mondiale scientifique pour la transformation du système alimentaire - et The Lancet - l'une des principales revues médicales au monde - lanceront la 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission. Ce rapport historique met à jour l'une des études les plus citées de la dernière décennie. Pour analyser…
article
There is a science to milking
Anny I. Yedra Cubillos
Thousands of farmers get up early every day to collect the milk that is their main source of sustenance and food for their families. Many of them do it the same way for years, using the technique their parents taught them, which has always worked for them. The level of sophistication of these techniques varies greatly from one farm to another, and so does the…
article
Enhancing Climate Information Services for Climate Change Adaptation in Kenya
Tessie Atieno Akoko, Alex Nduah Nderi
Edited by Owen Kimani and Edith Mutui
The initiative 'Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)' seeks to revolutionize climate information services in Kenya, empowering small-scale farmers with timely and localized climate data to enhance their…
profile
Juan Jose Gonzalez Guzman
Research Coordinator II
Between 2013 and 2015, Juan Jose Gonzalez Guzman did his undergraduate work in agronomic engineering, which consisted of the evaluation of 15 accessions of wild cherry tomato sown in in-vitro conditions against Fusarium oxysporum causing vascular wilt in tomato, identifying the strain of the pathogen causal agent of the disease using conventional taxonomic keys, Koch's postulates and ITSs molecular markers. In the first semester of 2014, he took the ninth…
profile
Tessie Atieno Akoko
Senior Research Associate
Tessie Atieno Akoko is a Senior Research Associate at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, specializing in the intersection of economics, data, climate resilience, and climate finance. She is dedicated to the design and implementation of evidence-based frameworks that translate field data into actionable climate solutions and evidence-based policies, particularly for vulnerable communities.
Her expertise spans the full lifecycle of research and project…
article
How gene banks safeguard our food security for the future
In a world facing increasingly complex challenges—from climate change and biodiversity loss to growing populations and geopolitical instability—the question of food security has never been more critical. Amidst these challenges, an often-overlooked but vital institution plays a key role in securing our agricultural future: gene banks…
article
Piloter le cadre de suivi et d'évaluation des solutions basées sur la nature au Kenya : Les leçons de Chyulu Hills
Tessie Atieno Akoko
Dorcas Jalango, Brenda Binge, Chris Ngige
MoALD, en collaboration avec l'Alliance de Bioversity International et CIAT dans le cadre du CGIAR Climate Action Science Program , a piloté un cadre national de suivi et d'évaluation de la NbS dans les…
article
Renforcer l'avenir : Évaluation des lacunes en matière de résilience dans les régions kenyanes du Turkana et du Pokot occidental touchées par la sécheresse
Tessie Atieno Akoko, Pedro Anglaze Chilambe, Felix Otieno, Chris Miyinzi Mwungu
Brenda Binge, Dorcas Jalango
Des chercheur.e.s de l'Alliance de Bioversity International et du CIAT, en collaboration avec le partenaire…
article
The Power of Human-Centered Design Applied to Digital and Climate-Resilient
Emmanuel Zapata-Caldas
Daniela Arce Gómez
In agriculture, innovation does not begin with technology, but with people. Listening to, understanding, and co-creating with them is the starting point of Human-Centered Design; the approach through which the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT transforms science into…
profile
Langat Kipkorir
Research Associate
Langat Kipkorir is a research associate specialising in sustainable food systems, agroecology, and asset-based community development at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. His core research interests lie in participatory action research, market systems, livelihood analysis, and smallholder empowerment.
Langat’s research-in-development work currently focuses mostly on (1) coordinating multi-stakeholder engagement across landscapes, (2) co-designing and testing…
