Debo Akande
Dr Debo Akande is the Executive Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State on Agribusiness and the Director-General of Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency. He is a Senior Specialist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, with close to 20 years of Research to delivery and International Development Management experience. He is the Sub-Sharan Africa IITA Head of Agribusiness and Mechanisation and the former Head of Station of Olusegun Obasanjo Station in Democratic Republic of Congo, the third-largest IITA Research for Development station in Africa. He leads IITA Agribusiness management globally with a specific focus on public policy, new business development and private sector engagement in agribusiness for economic development.
As part of his current role he also lead the IFAD Agricultural transformation in Nigerian federal states and Togolese regions towards achieving Zero Hunger initiative. He officially lead the agribusiness strategy of the Oyo State Government, Nigeria and oversee the management of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency where he has developed, facilitating and managing several transformational agribusiness programs, that include the AFDB Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) program, WB Nigeria Covid 19 Action and Recovery Economic Stimulus Program (NCARES), WB Rural Access and Mobility program (RAMP), the State Regional Agribusiness Industrial Hub program (RAIH) and Youth Enterprise Agribusiness Program (YEAP) and Agribusiness education development program through the Start them Early project among others.
He has piloted several global agricultural development projects with verifiable success, which includes, the World Bank Integrated Project for Agricultural Growth (PICAGL) in the Great lake of Africa and the Muti-Donor AgResultsGlobal Initiative. He is a member of the Global Consortium Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program on Agriculture for Health and Nutrition and one of the four global Country Coordinators of the CGIAR Flagship on Food System and Healthier Diet and a CGIAR Scientific committed delegate to the United Nation Food System summit engagement process. He has led several Agribusiness management and consultancy work for and with a diverse international institution including with World Bank, African Development Bank, Deloitte LLP USA, USAID, UK DFID, Canada Finance, Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation and Australia Aid among many.
He has a Doctoral Degree in Business Management from the University of Hertfordshire, the United Kingdom with a speciality on Agribusiness Strategy Development and Management. He also holds Masters and Bachelors Degrees in International Development Studies from the United Kingdom and Diplomas in International Environmental Law at United Nation Institute for Training and Research, Switzerland;Agribusiness Management from Pan African University, Nigeria.He was trained in Climate Change Management at the Oxford University, United Kingdom, Food Security Policy at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Bank, Negotiation Conflict Analysis and Management from the United State Institute of Peace, United States, Sustainability Development Diplomacy (July 2011); Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Boston, Wageningen University, the Netherlands under the Sustainable Challenge Foundation, Netherland among others.
He has close to 20 publications to his credit and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Managers Institute, United Kingdom.