Professional Staff

Oluwole (Wole) is the Ag Director of Research and Innovation at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). He holds a doctorate in Farming Systems Agronomy / Soil fertility from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.  He leads the strategic development and implementation of various research and development initiatives in Africa and, erstwhile, the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA CP), credited with the development and proof of the Innovation Platform as a veritable instrument for achieving quick impact from research outcomes. Before joining FARA,  ‘Wole worked; at the Agricultural and Rural Development Research Institute (ARDRI), University of Fort Hare, South Africa, as a researcher/ lecturer; at the Total Development International Foundation (TODEV) as a Program Manager, at the ARATI Environmental Limited as a soil fertility management expert; at the Savannah Sugar Company Limited, Adamawa, as a field agronomist, and at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan (as a Visiting Research Fellow). He has over 20 years of professional work experience (post-qualification) utilizing broad skills in agricultural research and development. He holds leadership positions in steering committees of some continental initiatives, where he contributes to developing strategic pathways and policy issues. He is part of the UN High-Level Panel of Experts on Agroecology and Other Innovations (HLPE-14). He is also vast in facilitating intercontinental partnerships for Africa’s agricultural research and development. All these are coupled with his progressive University teaching and graduate mentorship work. He has facilitated many training sessions on agricultural-related subjects and has mentored over 16 postgraduate scholars at MSc, MPhil, Ph.D. levels, and post-doctoral levels; he is an adjunct Professor of Agricultural Innovation Systems at the University of Fort Hare, and more lately with Northwest University, Mafikeng South Africa. ‘Wole is well-lettered with over 120 referred publications to his credit.