News Release: McKnight Collaborative Crop Research Program selects advisory committee chair
January 26, 2010 - Agronomist Richard Jones has been named advisory committee chair of The McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program.
Agronomist Richard Jones has been named advisory committee chair of The McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP).
The McKnight CCRP is a competitive grants program that seeks to increase food security for resource-poor people in developing countries. By strategically combining elements of research and development, it seeks innovative solutions to real problems that will improve availability, access, and utilization of nutritious food by rural people with the fewest resources. The ultimate goal is to enable farmers in developing countries to feed their families year after year.
Jones, who has more than 26 years' experience living and working in Africa, received a PhD from Reading University in 1989 and subsequently accepted a postdoctoral fellowship with the Rockefeller Foundation in Malawi. In 1996 he joined the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) as a technology transfer specialist based in Kenya; he is now ICRISAT's assistant director for eastern and southern Africa.
His research interests include the integration of legumes into maize-based systems, and the improvement of soil fertility through the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Currently he is involved in efforts to establish a sustainable commercial seed industry in Africa that can provide small-scale farmers with affordable, timely, and reliable access to high-quality seeds and planting materials.
Jones has served as an advisory committee member since 2002. Led by him, the committee meets twice a year to provide strategic direction for the program. He replaces Carlos Perez, who served as chair from 2006 to 2009 and will remain as a consultant to the CCRP, acting as a liaison scientist to the Andes community of practice.
Also joining the advisory committee this year are John Lyman and Douglas Horton. Lyman, co-author of The Cassava Transformation: Africa's Best Kept Secret, has worked for the past year in Nairobi, Kenya, as an agricultural development consultant. Horton is an agricultural economist and program evaluator who specializes in capacity building and innovation processes in the context of international development.
ABOUT THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations. Through grantmaking, coalition-building, and encouragement of strategic policy reform, McKnight uses its resources to attend, unite, and empower those it serves. Founded in 1953 and endowed by William and Maude McKnight, the Foundation had assets of approximately $1.8 billion and granted about $98 million in 2009.
Contact
Tim Hanrahan, Communications Director, 612-333-4220