Robert Mbeche has joined WRI Africa as Director for the Food Program. He will lead WRI Africa’s food system transformation work, that includes strategies and innovations for sustainably raising productivity in the face of climate change without causing harm to people, biodiversity or pollution or overexploiting our water resources, reducing food loss and food waste and integrating people/equity agenda in our work. Robert brings a strong track record and credibility in research, development, and extension expertise in agriculture as well as institutions, governance and policy processes.

Prior to joining WRI, Robert worked as Senior Lecturer in Agriculture and Rural Development at the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Since 2017, Robert has also been a Volkswagen Foundation Senior Fellow on Livelihood Reforms and Structural Transformation in Africa. He has over 10 years’ experience in university teaching, research and development work on agriculture and food systems. Prior to joining the University, he led a Forest Governance Research Initiative with the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) in Kampala, Uganda. He is a member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (UK), Kenya’s Intersectoral Forum on Agroecology and Agrobiodiversity (ISFAA), the Agroecology Leadership Academy and IUCN’s Commission Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP). Robert has previously consulted for many organisations including WRI Africa, WWF, WFP, FAO, USAID, GIZ, SNV, UN Women, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition among others.

Robert holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Extension from Egerton University, Kenya, MSc in Environmental Management from the University of Surrey, UK, PhD in Agriculture and Rural Development from the University of Reading in the UK and Postdoctoral Training in Environmental Economics and Policy from the University of Hannover in Germany.

In his spare time, Robert likes to travel and enjoy nature.