The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Representative Directors of the organization. Dr Amit Roy will assume the position as permanent Vice-Chairman of the Board of SAA and Dr Makoto Kitanaka will take on his role as the new President of SAA. These appointments are a result of extensive internal discussions between the SAA Board of Directors and Mr Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, which is the core donor of SAA.

Dr Roy, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), currently serves as a dedicated member of SAA’s Board, and will now oversee all of the organisation’s operational activities in his role as Vice-Chairman. Dr Roy has over forty years’ experience in international agricultural development.

Dr Kitanaka will join SAA following thirty years at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), where he also served as the Director General of the Department of Rural Development. His achievements include expanding the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) – an initiative launched by JICA to double African rice production within ten years.

Dr Roy and Dr Kitanaka will be working alongside Professor Ruth Oniang’o, Chairperson of SAA, and Executive Director Ms Fumiko Iseki. Mr Katsuhiro Osako, the current Senior Executive Director, will continue his work with SAA on a part-time basis, leading fundraising initiatives in Japan.

Professor Oniang’o welcomed the appointments and said: “I’m sure this will give us a momentum for evolution. Let us continue to do great work for the smallholder farmers in Africa.”