Shadrack Ralekeno Moephuli President and Chief Executive Officer  Agricultural Research Council (ARC), South Africa

Dr. Moephuli has been president and chief executive officer of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), South Africa since 2006. He is a member of the Genetic Resource Policy Committee of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which is funded by the World Bank and member states. In the last 4 years he chaired the National Agricultural Research Forum, a multi – stakeholder consultative initiative.

Prior to joining the ARC, he served as acting deputy Director – General responsible for production and natural resource management in the Department of Agriculture, South Africa.

Since 2003 he served as the Chief Director for agricultural production in the same department. His responsibilities included developing and implementing policies and strategies for agricultural production, including agricultural research and development, as well as serving as technical advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture.

During the intervening period, he also served as the country’s representative on various agricultural matters at the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), Cartagena Protocol for Biosafety (CPB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Prior to joining government, Dr. Moephuli was a biochemistry lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. To his credit are a number of research publications, including invited speaking events. He obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Connecticut, USA.