Board selects new Director General
Two-term Director General Dr. Dyno Keatinge to Retire; Board Names Dr. Marco Wopereis as New DG
October 16, 2015 – Shanhua, Taiwan – As one strong advocate for small-scale vegetable farmers across the developing world prepares for the next chapter in life, a new supporter to promote health and prosperity through vegetables has come to the fore. AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center announced today that its Director General, Dr. J.D.H. ‘Dyno’ Keatinge, will retire after eight years of service on April 20, 2016. The Center’s Board of Directors selected Dr. Marco Wopereis to succeed Keatinge as the organization’s Director General effective April 21, 2016.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Wopereis to the post,” said Dr. Yu-Tsai Huang, Chair of the AVRDC Board of Directors and Director of the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center, Taiwan. “His strong expertise in resource mobilization and partnership development will serve the World Vegetable Center well in the years to come.”
Dr. Wopereis is currently Deputy Director General and Director of Research for Development of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), positions he has held since November 2007. AfricaRice is an intergovernmental association of 25 African member states with activities in more than 30 African countries. The institute is a member of the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research.
Dr. Wopereis has lived and worked in developing countries in Africa and Asia for the past 25 years, and brings extensive experience in agricultural science research and management to the post. Throughout his career, he has applied research results to develop improved varieties, seed systems, decision support tools, and mechanization suited to the needs of small-scale producers, rural advisory services, and other end-users.
He has specific strengths in fostering productive, action-oriented partnerships for efficient and effective research among international research institutes, national research systems, the private sector and community organizations. Among his many achievements, he contributed to national rice development strategies for 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa under the umbrella of the Coalition for African Rice Development, and he was instrumental in helping to establish a new network of 68 development hubs in 24 African countries to stimulate public-private partnerships along the rice value chain. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers, book chapters, conference proceedings and manuals. Dr. Wopereis received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in soil science and soil fertilizer use and his doctorate in tropical agronomy from Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
For more than 40 years, the World Vegetable Center’s crop research, improved vegetable lines, and proven technologies have had a profound and lasting impact on the lives of farmers, their families and consumers. “It has been an honor to guide this organization,” Dr. Keatinge said. “Under Marco’s leadership, I am confident the Center’s outstanding work will continue to benefit the health and incomes of the poor.”
“Dyno built a solid foundation for vegetable research and development,” said Dr. Wopereis. “I look forward to expanding and extending this base together with the capable staff of the World Vegetable Center, to ensure vegetables make a valuable and necessary contribution to the nutrition, health and prosperity of people in developing countries worldwide.”
Marco Wopereis presented his views and vision for vegetable research to AVRDC’s board members and staff.
(left to right): David Sammons, Vice-Chair of the Board, Chair of the Executive Committee, and Chair of the DG Search Committee; Marco Wopereis; Yu-Tsai Huang, Chair of the Board; Dyno Keatinge, Director General.
