This year’s theme, ‘Imagine the Decade Ahead’ will feature leading edge speakers with unique insights on the future of agriculture.

Watch this page for updates on speakers and their bios.

Keynote speakers
Our keynote speakers bring to us a world vision with their expertise.  They will share with us their insights and experiences, set the underlying tone and summarize the core theme “to Imagine the Decade Ahead”.

Breakout speakers
Our breakout speakers are from all aspects of the agricultural industry speaking on topic immediately applicable to the producer.

Dr. Howarth Bouis - Director of the Bill and Melinda Gate’s HarvestPlus Foundation  - Washington, DC

Biofortification: A New Tool to Reduce Micronutrient Malnutrition

Dr. Bouis, in his position as director of HarvestPlus, coordinates an interdisciplinary, global alliance of research centers and implementing agencies to biofortify and disseminate micronutrient-dense staple food crops with significant impact on improving nutrition.  Since 1993, he has sought to promote biofortification activities both within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), including their National Agricultural Research and Extension System (NARES) partners, and in the international nutrition community.  Bouis holds a joint appointment at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC, where he is based, and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia.

In addition, he received his B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Food Research Institute.  Before entering graduate school, he spent three years in the Philippines with Volunteers in Asia.

Dr. Ismail Cakmak - Professor, Sabanci University -  Istanbul, Turkey

Bio-fortification of Food Crops with Micronutrients through Application of Fertilizers

Ismail Cakmak is Professor at the Sabanci University in Istanbul.  He received his Ph.D. in 1988 in Plant Nutritional Physiology from the University Hohenheim in Stuttgart.  He is editorial board member of the journals Plant and Soil and European Journal of Agronomy.  He was also “Honorary Theme Editor” in the “Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems” and edited the section entitled “Impacts of Agriculture on Human Health and Nutrition” published by UNESCO.  He served on the Board of Trustee of CIMMYT between 1995-1998.   Prof Cakmak is the recipient of the TUBITAK (Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) Science Prize in 1999, International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) Crop Nutrition Award in 2005 and The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences Crawford Fund Derek Tribe Medal in 2007.  He published 110 peer-reviewed articles in international journals.