Kayode Abiola Sanni is an accomplished agricultural scientist and development leader with over 30 years of progressive experience in agricultural research and development, plant genetics and breeding, genetic resources management, and seed systems. He currently serves as Project Manager and Global Lead for the Biotech Maize Seed System (BMSS) and Accelerating Bt Maize Adoption in Nigeria (ABMAN) at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), where he provides strategic leadership to accelerate the adoption of TELA maize and to build a sustainable Biotech seed systems across Africa.
In this role, he drives the strengthening of public–private partnerships, fosters effective collaboration with private seed companies, and coordinates multi-country teams to deliver research, regulatory, and market development priorities, while generating lasting impact that boosts farmers’ productivity, increases incomes, improves livelihoods, and advances Africa’s food and nutritional security.
Earlier, as Hybrid Rice Project Manager at AATF, Kayode initiated the Alliance for Hybrid Rice in Africa (AHyRA), a landmark platform established to accelerate hybrid rice development and adoption across the continent. Under his leadership, Africa achieved the first indigenous 2-line hybrid rice varieties, with 10 hybrid rice varieties commercially released in Kenya. This groundbreaking milestone positioned AATF at the forefront of hybrid rice innovation in Africa, offering farmers access to higher yielding and more resilient rice varieties. He also served as the focal point of AATF to the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) and a member of its Steering Committee, where he contributed to shaping continental strategies for scaling rice production and supporting policy engagement with governments and development partners.
Prior to joining AATF, Kayode served as Head of the Genetic Resources Unit and Coordinator of the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice in Africa (INGER-Africa) at AfricaRice, where he successfully led the collection, conservation, and utilization of rice genetic resources across the continent. He managed the international varietal evaluation and release program across 30 African countries, contributing directly to the registration and release of multiple rice varieties that have contributed strengthening food security on the continent. His work includes the comprehensive characterization and profiling of the over 2,500 accessions of the Africa cultivated rice specie (Oryza glaberrima) collection at AfricaRice which resulted in the use of the germplasm in breeding programs such as the selection of flood-tolerant rice that provided African farmers with resilient varieties capable of withstanding submergence stress and safeguarding yields under increasingly erratic climatic conditions.
He also represented AfricaRice at high-level policy and governance platforms, including the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and served as the Focal Point on all matters relating to genetic biodiversity and Intellectual Property Rights. He was also an active member of the Inter-Center Working Group of CGIAR on Genetic Resources, where he contributed to global efforts on conservation, characterization, and sustainable use of plant genetic resources, strengthening international collaboration and advancing strategies for genetic diversity management in support of resilient agricultural systems.
His leadership supported national research systems through technical backstopping, postgraduate student supervision, and contributed to the establishment of varietal release systems in Benin, including the country’s first rice varietal catalogue.
Kayode’s career began at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria where he contributed to the Maize Breeding Program and the Genetic Resources Center, focusing on maize breeding and later the genetic profiling of IITA mandate crops.
He has also served in the Crop Technical Sub-Committee of the National Varietal Release Committee of Nigeria, contributing his expertise as an international rice specialist. In addition, he has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, and technical resources that continue to influence agricultural research and innovation across Africa.
He holds a PhD in Plant Breeding from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria; an MSc in Environmental Genetics, and a BSc in Agriculture (Soil Science), both from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His doctoral research focused on the New Rice for Africa (NERICA), after which he served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in molecular biology under the Genetic Diversity and Improvement Program at Africa Rice.
Kayode is a Nigerian National.
