Dr. Uma Lele and Dr. Grethel Aguilar have recently been appointed as Commissioners on the global Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI), joining 19 other Commissioners working to scale innovation for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in the Global South.
Dr. Lele brings her expertise in agricultural economics to the Commission, as the President Elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) and the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in agricultural economics by Cornell University. She has five decades of experience in research, operations, policy analysis, and evaluation in the World Bank, universities and international organizations. She has also written papers on Agricultural Productivity Growth and Structural Transformation, and on the changing roles of forests and water in the course of economic development. As Senior Advisor in the World Bank’s Operations Evaluation Department (now called the Independent Evaluation Group), she led evaluations of the World Bank’s Forest Strategy (2002), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (2003), and the World Bank’s approach to global programs (2005).
Dr. Lele will be involved in CoSAI’s work on priorities for investment in sustainable agriculture intensification in the Global South.
Dr. Aguilar, IUCN Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and former Acting Director General of the IUCN, brings more than 25 years of experience in conservation and sustainable development to the Commission. At IUCN, she oversees the development and effective implementation of the IUCN Programme throughout Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and she has worked extensively on developing and applying environmental law and policy in collaboration with governments and civil society. In particular, she is deeply passionate about the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities and has pushed for the inclusion of their knowledge and experience in mainstream conservation policy.
Dr. Aguilar will be working on issues related to SAI and environment for the Commission, focusing on how innovation can best be supported to achieve the diverse environmental objectives of SAI.
The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification brings together 21 expert Commissioners to influence public and private support to innovation to rapidly scale up Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (SAI) in the Global South. CoSAI promotes technical, policy, financial and social/institutional innovation in agricultural systems, to deliver the SDG objectives of food and nutrition security, social equity, resource use efficiency and an improved natural environment.
Read more about the Commission here.