Agrilinks

AbduRahman Beshir (PhD)

Seed Systems Lead: USAID's Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project (NSAF)

Maize Seed Systems Specialist for Asia: Global Maize Program (CIMMYT)

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

AbduRahman Beshir  is a Seed Systems Lead for USAID’s Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project and a maize seed systems specialist for Asia. He has a PhD degree in plant breeding from the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He has more than 25 years of practical experiences on crop improvement & seed systems in the context of developing countries. Prior to Nepal, Dr. Beshir was leading the maize component of the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan from 2013-2017, a 30 million USD multi-stakeholders & multi-disciplinary project funded by USAID. While in Africa he worked for the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise in various capacities to contribute to Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation process. He has been CIMMYT’s graduate research fellow for five years and extensively travelled in Eastern and Southern Africa where he gets a closer understanding of the complex African seed systems both in the public and private sector contexts. As a maize seed systems specialist, he works closely with NARS & private seed companies to strengthen product life cycle management & seed scaling, especially in South Asia.  Under the NSAF, he leads activities contributing towards resilience, self-reliance and inclusive seed system in Nepal focusing on major cereals, legumes & high value vegetable seeds. Market orientations, science led innovations and pro-poor agricultural interventions are the centerpiece of Dr. Beshir’s areas of focus. In 2012, he won a gold medal for his PhD project from the University of Johannesburg which focuses on enhancing nutritional quality of staple food crops. He enjoys meeting with people from different cultures and travelling to new areas.