Koichi Futakuchi

<p><strong>Koichi Futakuchi</strong> is an Ecophysiologist and Scientific Advisor to Deputy Director General-Director Research for Innovation at Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). He joined the center in 1997 as the Ecophysiologist. In the period of 2012&ndash;2025, he served as a Sustainable Productivity Enhancement Program Leader for agronomy and post-harvest at AfricaRice. He has characterized germplasms of both Asian rice (Oryza sativa) and African rice (O. glaberrima) for morpho-physiological traits, generated target plant types to assist breeders and evaluated effects of cultivation and post-harvest practices on the morpho-physiological traits. By critical review and meta-analysis of published data, he generated a strategy for the use of African rice. He acted as an interim Genetic Diversity and Improvement Program Leader for pre-breeding and breeding in 2010 and 2015-2017. He has produced more than 100 publications in journal articles and book chapters. He earned a PhD in crop science at The University of Tokyo, Japan in 1991. Before joining AfricaRice, he was a research fellow funded by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science at The University of Tokyo.</p>
<p><strong>Aminou Arouna</strong> is an agricultural and resources Economist. He hold a PhD in agricultural and resources economics from University of Hohenheim in Germany. He is the Program Leader for Policy, Innovation Systems and Impact Assessment Program, one the four research programs at AfricaRice. Aminou has more than 20 years&rsquo; experience in socio-economic research related to policy analysis, impact assessment and value chain. He has more than 10 years of leadership using human-centered approach after having certificate of Leadership by the Oxford High Performance Leadership Programme, Sa&iuml;d Business School, University of Oxford in November 2014. Aminou specializes in resources and environmental economics and impact assessment of technological and institutional innovations. He has strong experience of quantitative impact assessment using both experimental and observational methods. His works include an experimental approach to farmer valuation of African rice genetic resources. He has published on the impact of site-specific and personalized agricultural recommendations and institutional innovations (contact farming schemes) on livelihood using randomized control trial approach, gender learning and adoption in agriculture, rice value chain upgrading in West Africa and impact of rice policy. He published more than 150 papers in different journals including American Journal of Agricultural Economic, Agricultural Economics, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, and Journal of Development Economics. Aminou has received international awards including the 2022 Agricultural &amp; Applied Economics Association&rsquo;s Quality of Research Discovery Award and 2021 Best Publication Award.</p>