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Ismahane Elouafi

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Ismahane Elouafi (Arabic: أسمهان الوافي) is the Executive Managing Director of CGIAR. Formerly Chief Scientist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), she is ranked among the 20 most influential women in science in the Islamic world and is internationally known for her work on promoting neglected and underutilized crops, use of non-fresh water in agriculture, and empowerment of women in science.[1][2]

Dr.
Ismahane A. Elouafi
Ismahane in 2024
Born (1971-08-15) 15 August 1971 (age 53)
Youssoufia, Morocco
NationalityCanadian/Moroccan
Alma materHassan II Agronomy and Veterinary Institute (Morocco), Cordoba University (Spain)
TitleExecutive Managing Director, CGIAR
Term2020–present
Board member ofInternational Food Policy Research Institute; CABI

She has nearly two decades of experience in agricultural research and development in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She led the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from 2012 until 2020.

Education

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Initially, Elouafi trained at the Aviation High School in Morocco to be one of the country's first female fighter pilots. However, the plan to have women piloting the nations fighter planes was shelved and she had to choose on a new career.[3]

Elouafi went on to attend the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Morocco, where she earned a B.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences in 1993 and an M.Sc. in Genetics & Plant Breeding in 1995. In 2001, she received a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Cordoba, Spain.[4]

Career

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In 2006–2007, Elouafi served as Senior Adviser to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Research Branch in Ottawa, Canada, where she led the development of a new peer-review-based internal process for AAFC research.

In May 2007, she joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as the National Manager of Plant Research Section. In 2010, she was promoted to Director of Research Management and Partnerships Division at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and developed novel partnership models with Genome Canada, scientific departments in Canada and the private sector.

In 2012, Elouafi was appointed Director General of ICBA, where she has overseen the development of the center's strategy for 2013–2023.[5]

In her 2019 role, she initiated a flagship program to empower Arab women scientists working in agricultural research and development called Awla, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Islamic Development Bank and CGIAR Research Program on Wheat.[6]

 
Secretary Blinken meets Ms Elouafi the CGIAR Director in 2024

In 2020, Elouafi became Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a new position created within FAO's core leadership structure. Her appointment was announced by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu at the 35th FAO Regional Conference for the Near East in September 2020.[7]

Elouafi sits on the boards of the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI).[8][9]

She has also been a member of strategy experts panels of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) since September 2020,[10] and the Global Commission on Adaptation.

Previously, she had also worked as a scientist with several international research organizations, including the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).[11]

In 2023 she became the Incoming Executive Managing Director of CGIAR whose budget of billions is addressed to maintain global food security.[12]

Awards

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Elouafi is a recipient of several prestigious awards and accolades, including the National Reward Medal by His Majesty Mohamed VI, the King of Morocco (2014),[13] and the Excellence in Science Award from the Global Thinkers Forum (2014).[14]

In 2014, Muslim Science ranked her among the 20 Most Influential Women in Science in the Islamic World under the Shapers Category.[15]

In 2014–2016, CEO-Middle East Magazine listed Dr. Elouafi among the World's 100 Most Powerful Arab Women in Science.[16]

In 2016, she won the prestigious Arab Women of the Year Award by the London Arabia Organisation for Achievements in Science.[17]

The New York Times named her as one of the ten women that change the landscape of leadership, following her appointment as the first Chief Scientist of FAO.[18]

Personal life

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She has one daughter and is a dual national of Canada and Morocco.[19] She is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

References

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  1. ^ Arbaoui, Larbi (2014-02-01). "Moroccan among top- 20 most influential women scientist in Islamic World". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  2. ^ "Helping women in research navigate career challenges : House of Wisdom". blogs.nature.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  3. ^ "Moroccan scientist hunts for resilient plants to feed a warming Middle East". Reuters. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  4. ^ "Quantitative trait loci (QTL) determination of grain quality traits in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. Var. Durum)". Helvia-UCO. 2003. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  5. ^ "ICBA Board Meeting: Approves ICBA 2013-2023 Strategy". International Center for Biosaline Agriculture. 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  6. ^ "Arab Women Leaders in Agriculture (Awla) fellowship program opens call for applications". International Center for Biosaline Agriculture. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  7. ^ "FAO Leadership: Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist". www.fao.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  8. ^ "IFPRI Board of Trustees". www.ifpri.org. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. ^ "Dr Ismahane Elouafi welcomed to new post on CABI Board". www.cabi.org. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  10. ^ "FAO Appoints Morocco's Ismahane Elouafi as First Ever Chief Scientist". Morocco World News. 22 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Dr. Ismahane Elouafi". International Center for Biosaline Agriculture. 2018-12-09. Archived from the original on 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  12. ^ Elouafi, Ismahane (2023-11-22). "Science our best bet to fight and beat food insecurity". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  13. ^ ICBA - ag4tomorrow (2015-01-11), IE National Award Morocco, retrieved 2019-04-07{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Dr. Ismahane Elouafi". Global Thinkers Forum. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  15. ^ Arbaoui, Larbi (2014-02-01). "Moroccan among top- 20 most influential women scientist in Islamic World". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  16. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Arab Women". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  17. ^ "Arab Women Awards". londonarabia. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  18. ^ "10 Women Changing the Landscape of Leadership". The New York Times. 2021-03-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  19. ^ SciDev.Net. "Ismahane Elouafi, agriculture pioneer by chance". SciDev.Net. Retrieved 2019-07-21.[permanent dead link‍]
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