Kayode Abiola Sanni is a senior agricultural development leader with over 30 years of progressive experience advancing science-based, scalable solutions that improve the productivity, resilience, and incomes of smallholder farmers across Africa. He currently serves as Global Lead for the Biotech Maize Seed System (BMSS/ABMAN) at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), providing strategic leadership for the deployment of TELA® maize and the development of sustainable, market-driven biotech seed systems across multiple African countries.
Kayode leads
multi-country portfolios focused on systems-level impact, integrating research,
regulatory pathways, policy engagement, commercialization of agricultural
technologies and private-sector partnerships to ensure responsible and
inclusive access to agricultural innovations. He is recognized for building
durable public private partnerships (PPP), strengthening local seed companies,
and moving proven technologies beyond pilots to scale, delivering measurable
gains in productivity, climate resilience, and household incomes. He also
serves on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for African Rice Development
(CARD), contributing to continental strategies, donor alignment, and policy
reforms that support sustainable rice systems.
Previously at
AATF, he served as Hybrid Rice Project Manager, founding the Alliance for
Hybrid Rice in Africa (AHyRA) and leading the development and commercial
release of Africa’s first indigenous two-line hybrid rice varieties,
significantly expanding access to high-yielding, climate-resilient rice for
smallholder farmers.
Earlier in his
career, he held senior leadership roles at AfricaRice, where he guided
continent-wide genetic resources and varietal evaluation programs across 30
African countries, strengthening breeding pipelines and national institutions
critical for long-term agricultural transformation. He represented African
agricultural research in global policy and governance forums, including the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and
the CGIAR Inter-Center Working Group on Genetic Resources, contributing to
evidence-based frameworks for equitable access, sustainability, and impact,
while strengthening international collaboration and advancing strategies for
genetic diversity management to support resilient agricultural systems.
Kayode holds a
PhD in Plant Breeding and is a Nigerian national. He is a trusted leader known
for translating donor investments into scalable, farmer-centered impact through
strong partnerships, accountable delivery, and a sustained focus on long-term
systems change.