Dr. Nasser Kouadio Yao

Dr. Yao has more than 20 year-experience in Agricultural Research and Development. Prior joining the Alliance, he was a Scientist-Molecular Plant breeder at the BecA-ILRI Hub. He led the Molecular Breeding Platform working on Demand/Market-led breeding initiative, the Breeding Management System, the Integrated Genotyping Service and Support (IGSS) platform and the KASP genotyping platform; to accelerate releases and promote higher adoption of varieties. Yao’s role as Lead breeder for the IGGS project and Lead breeding facilitator for the Integrated Breeding Platform(IBP) hub for east, central and southern Africa, was poised to leverage opportunities of genomic technologies and to advocate the business angle of breeding to African breeding programs in Sub Saharan Africa through customized trainings and joint implementation of key activities along the breeding pipeline aimed at increasing genetic gain in economically Important crop.

Previously he was the Principal Rice Breeder (Ivorian National Agricultural Research Center: CNRA), Research Fellow, Research Associate, Visiting scientist and Consultant for the Nested Associated Mapping and Rice Challenge Initiative projects (AfricaRice).

Yao has published more than 30 articles in peer-review journals, 2 book chapters, has been keynote speaker in several international conferences, and has mentored more than 60 scientists, PhD students and research fellows and trained hundreds of agricultural extensionists.