Board of Trustees
IRRI's Board of Trustees (BOT) sets IRRI policy. Its 15 members are world leaders in their respective disciplines. Three are ex officio: the Philippine secretary of agriculture, the president of the University of the Philippines system, and the IRRI director general. The board meets twice a year (April and October) to review IRRI's research priorities and its allocation of resources and to set the Institute's scientific directions, policies, and strategies. The Director General is responsible for carrying out these policies. Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman is the current chair of the BOT.
Made history not only as University of the Philippines (UP)’s Centennial President but also as its first woman president. Aside from having been Chancellor of the UP Diliman campus from 1991 to 1993 and from 1999 to 2004, Dr. Roman’s experience in university administration includes former positions as vice chancellor for administration, secretary of the university and of the Board of Regents, vice-president for administration, and member of the Board of Regents representing the faculty.
Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) of the Ministry of Agriculture of India, Dr. S. Ayyappan is the also Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), where he worked previously as Deputy Director General of Fisheries.
A Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska. He earned degrees from Harvard University in biochemical sciences, and from Purdue University in plant breeding and genetics.
A Professor in Biometry and currently also President of the Academic Board at the University of Queensland, she was awarded in 1998 the highest possible accolade from the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (the Australian Medal for Agriculture), and in 2006, was awarded a Fellowship with the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering for having developed statistical methods to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of crop breeding programs.
Since July 2008, he has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of CropLife International, the global federation that represents the plant science industry.
A farmer from the United Kingdom, Jim is a Director of the Godfrey family farming companies, which produce a range of agricultural commodities including potatoes, in Linconshire and Yorshire. He is former Chair of the International Potato Center (CIP), the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI), the UK Potato Marketing Board, Sentry Farming Group plc, Dream Direct Group plc and of the Alliance of the 15 CGIAR centres which he represented with Governments, the United Nations and the World Bank.
Councilor Executive of the Japan Association for Techno-innovation in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (JATAFF), formerly Society for the Techno-innovation of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (STAFF). STAFF is a nongovernment organization established in 1989 to promote and coordinate R&D for advanced technology that has potential for techno-innovation for agriculture-related industries.
A professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Makerere University, in Kampala, Uganda. She received her M.S. in food science and technology from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and her Ph.D. in food science and nutrition from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
Former Director General of the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration (RDA), Suwon, South Korea. He now serves as consultant to various projects of the Korean government and is lecturing on plant physiology and experimental statistics at Dankook University.
Secretary to the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the Government of India. Since 1974, Dr. Sharma has worked at various levels of government in India in agricultural development, food security, poverty alleviation, rural livelihood strategies, natural resource management, gender issues, and financial management.
Director General of the Indonesian Agency for Food Security, Ministry of Agriculture. Before he assumed this job, he worked for various institutions within the Ministry of Agriculture. He was Director General of the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (2004-2008), the Interim Director General of Food Crops (2005-2006) and Director General of the Agency for Food Security (2000-2004).
Previous President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and Former President of Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU). He was instrumental in the organizational design and reform of both institutions. His major contributions are in the areas of quantitative genetics and crop breeding research, gene location and genetics research on hybrid rice, capacity building for crop breeding programs, and science innovation.
Internationally respected plant pathologist with more than 30 years of experience in agricultural research in the developing world. Dr. Robert Stewart Zeigler became Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 2005.
Prior to his appointment as secretary of agriculture, Mr. Alcala was a member of the House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress representing the 2nd District of Quezon Province.
An accomplished finance professional who made significant contributions to progress in the Asia-Pacific region as an international development banker and educator. Working in the Asian Development Bank for 19 years until 2008, Mr. Pascual pursued pioneering projects and institution-building initiatives that helped the bank respond to the emerging financing needs of the region and catalyze investments in the region’s developing economies, particularly in the infrastructure and financial sectors.
