Dr. Debo Akande
Dr. Debo Akande is a distinguished international development leader with over 20 years of strategic leadership experience globally. 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.
He has senior management experience in all three institutions of work, the public, private, and development sectors, at the highest corporate and governance levels. As the only Nigerian member of the IITA Senior Management team and the Director of the partnership for delivery unit of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), a renowned, globally respected agricultural development organization reaching five sub-regions and 17 countries in Africa. His Portfolio includes leading all agricultural strategies that embed private sector initiatives in agricultural development programs in Africa, including industrial agriculture, technology innovations, mechanization, urban agriculture, and zero-hunger programs.
He combined this role at IITA with the position of the Pioneer Director-General of the trailblazing Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, responsible for developing Strategy, policy, designing, and implementing the state’s Agribusiness programs. His extensive experience is evident in his leadership in successful design and management of several transformational agribusiness initiatives in Oyo State, including the African Development Bank (AFDB) Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) program, World Bank (WB) Livestock Productivity and Resilient Support project, WB Nigeria Covid 19 Action and Recovery Economic Stimulus Program (NCARES), WB Rural Access and Mobility program (RAMP), the Oyo State wholesale market development (OSWMD), and the Youth Enterprise Agribusiness Program (YEAP), among others.
He is also the Executive Adviser on International Development Cooperation for the state and is saddled with the responsibilities of leading the strategy, policy, and programs driving investment, technical, and financial resources into all sectors in Oyo state in the last six years. Under the exemplary leadership of His Excellency Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, and through his office, he has driven close to $245 million blended international development fund into several sectors, ranging from Health, Education, Rural development, and Agriculture in Oyo State.
Prior to this, he was the Head of Olusegun Obasanjo Station in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the third largest IITA Research for Development station in Africa, where he coordinated several CGIAR Centre activities and led multiple Agribusiness management portfolios, including the World Bank Integrated Project for Agricultural Growth (PICAGL) in the Great Lake of Africa and the CGIAR Research Program on Food Systems and Healthier Diets in Africa, He was one of the four Country Coordinators of the CGIAR Flagship on Food Systems and Healthier Diets in the World and the second in Africa. A CGIAR Scientific Committee delegate to the United Nations Food System summit engagement process. He was also a Portfolio Manager for the British government in Nigeria, pioneering several programs on Knowledge Transfer Partnership for development and Climate Change. He has led several Agribusiness management and consultancy works for and with diverse international institutions, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Deloitte LLP USA, USAID, UKFCDO, Canada Finance, Gates Foundation, and Australia Aid.
He has a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration from the University of Hertfordshire, the United Kingdom, with a specialty in Agribusiness Strategy Development and Management. He also holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in international development studies from the United Kingdom and Diplomas in International Environmental Law from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Switzerland, and Agribusiness Management from Pan African University, Nigeria. He was trained in Climate Change Management at Oxford University, United Kingdom, Food Security Policy at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Bank, and Negotiation, Conflict Analysis, and Management from the United States Institute of Peace, United States, among others. He is a chartered manager and a fellow of the Chartered Managers Institute in the United Kingdom.
He has authored over 20 articles in leading high-impact global journals, contributing to the discourse on agribusiness and international development worldwide. He has received distinct awards, including co-author of the best Paper of the Year 2016 by the World Mycotoxin Journal. He is married to Olufunmilayo Akande, an Ogbomosho daughter, and blessed with two children.