Dr P.O. Adebola is  a Plant Breeder/Geneticist. Before joining CRIN as ED, He was the Project Leader of AfricaYam IITAAbuja, Nigeria, where he oversees and coordinates the project activities in the four target countries. He obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria in 1987, 1990, and 2003, respectively. He also obtained a master’s degree in Business Leadership (MBL) from the Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa in 2014. Dr Adebola has over 20 years’ experience in plant breeding research and community engagement in West and Southern Africa and had managed and supervised several international projects and networks. Dr Adebola worked for the Africa Rice Center as the Deputy Director General for the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Liberia in 2016. He was a Research Team Manager and Head of the Plant Breeding Division at the Agricultural Research Council, ARC-VOPI, South Africa (2005–2016). He also previously worked for CRIN as a researcher scientist and rose to the position of Assistant Chief Research Officer and Program Manager Biotechnology (1993-2004). He was a postdoctoral fellow (2004-2005) in the Department of Botany, University of Fort Hare, South Africa and a recipient of the Rothamsted International Postdoctoral Fellowship hosted by the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), Sand Hutton, York, United Kingdom during 2008-2010.