Mr. Cephas Taruvinga is a specialist in post-harvest management and food loss reduction, with over 25 years of professional experience across Africa and globally. His work focuses on strengthening agro-enterprises, optimizing agricultural value chains, and advancing innovative strategies to reduce food losses. He has led the development of practical tools for post-harvest loss measurement and evidence-based policy formulation in collaboration with leading institutions such as the African Union, IFAD, WFP, and FAO..

Engr. Musa Darboe is a leading agricultural entrepreneur and expert in mechanized rice production in Gambia. With a background in network engineering at Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and working experience in a rice farm in Bansang, he brings a unique blend of technical expertise and hands-on agricultural knowledge to his work. In 2018, he founded Maruo Farms with a mission to modernize Gambia’s rice sector, reduce dependency on imports, and create employment through sustainable agribusiness, which has cultivated over 128 hectares and supports more than 6,000 out-growers through mechanized farming services and inclusive value chain development.

Ms. Shi Jianfang is a Senior Engineer at the Academy of Agricultural Planning and Engineering, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. Her research mainly focuses on the processing of agricultural products such as grains, oils, fruits, and vegetables. She has proposed a full-process, ground-free model for post-harvest grain handling - covering harvesting, drying, and storage - tailored to the operational scale of cooperatives. She also contributes to relevant policy formulation in China and participates in the design and construction of international development projects, including rice processing in Angola and maize flour processing in Zambia.