Namanga Ngongi
Dr. Namanga Ngongi is the founding chairman of the AFAP board of trustees. This is an honour that adds to the other accomplishments of his career that has included major contributions to agricultural development and international diplomacy.
Until April 2012, he was the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a job he took after decades of service to the United Nations. Namanga joined the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in 1984 as head of the East and Southern Africa service. He rose through the ranks and later served the WFP as deputy executive director (1994-2001). He was appointed undersecretary-general and special representative of the Secretary-General of the UN to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001-2003) to manage the peacekeeping operations, oversee the ceasefire, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Namanga is Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and a member of the Programme Committee of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).
Namanga started his career as an agricultural extension officer in Cameroon, where he owns a farm. He earned his undergraduate degree in Agriculture from the California State Polytechnic University (1968) and graduate degrees in Agronomy from Cornell University (1973 and 1976).
Dr. Namanga Ngongi is an Officer of the National Order of Valour of Cameroon.