Dr Harold Roy-Macauley is the Director of Programmes for the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) since July, 2009. Before joining CORAF/WECARD, he was The Regional Coordinator, West and Central Africa, for the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF); a position he held from April, 2006 to May, 2009. He started his professional career as a lecturer in plant physiology at the University of Sierra Leone and was seconded in 1995 to the ‘Centre d’Etude Régional pour l’Amélioration de l’Adaptation à la Sécheresse (CERAAS)’, in Senegal, a Research and Training base-centre of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development, where he was responsible for developing and coordinating scientific activities in biochemistry and molecular physiology. He was appointed Scientific Director and Assistant Managing Director of CERAAS in 1996, and Managing Director, in 1997. He occupied this position till 2004. Between 2004 and 2006, he served as consultant for various agencies, regional and international fora on biosafety and biotechnology. He has been a member of the Steering Committee of the NEPAD/African Biosciences Initiative - Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BeCA); the Interim Implementing Committee of the FARA-led Initiative on Building African Scientific and Institutional Capacity (BASIC) in Agriculture. He was a member of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) Crop Science Advisory Committee (Project evaluation and resource provision). At present he is the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Breeding Project of the World Vegetable Centre. His area of expertise mainly focuses on plant biodiversity improvement and agricultural development especially in West Africa.