AATF has announced the appointment of Dr Jean Baptiste De La Salle Tignegre as the new manager of the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea (PBR) project being implemented in Nigeria, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.



A statement signed by the AATF Communications Officer (West and Central Africa), Alex Abutu, said that Jean Baptiste, a Burkinabé, joined AATF on August 1, 2022, from the World Vegetable Centre, Mali Office, where he worked as the Country Manager and Representative for West and Central Africa-Dry Region.

Jean Baptiste replaces Dr Issoufou Kolo who retired last December.

In his role as Project Manager PBR Cowpea, Dr. Baptiste, who will be based in Abuja Nigeria, will also serve as the AATF West African Regional Representative.

Jean Baptiste who has led other cowpea improvement initiatives has worked for over 25 years in the Cowpea Value Chain. He brings on board valuable experience in biotechnology and specifically PBR Cowpea.

His previous roles include working with the Institute for Environment and Agricultural Research (National Scientific and Technology Research Centre), Burkina Faso, as a Plant Breeder for the Grain Legume Improvement Program (Cowpea) and team leader of the Plant Genetics for Cowpea in Burkina Faso.

Jean Baptiste holds a PhD in Plant Breeding from the University of KwaZulu in the Republic of South Africa, M. Sc in Plant Biology and Ecology from University of Ouagadougou, MSc in Rural Development Engineering (Major in Agricultural Sciences) from University of Ouagadougou and B.Sc. Rural Development technical Sciences Engineering (Major in Agricultural Sciences) from University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.



Founded in 2003 to address Africa’s food security prospects through agricultural technology, AATF believes that the agricultural sector is a key foundational pillar as Africa consolidates its economic growth and carves out its new position as a major global economic powerhouse and the next growth market in the world.



It was formed in response to the need for an effective mechanism that would facilitate and support negotiation for technology access and delivery and formation of appropriate partnerships to manage the development & deployment of innovative technologies for use by smallholder farmers in sub Saharan Africa.