For the final episode of our special mini-series, Tatiana Antonelli-Abella is joined by Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, the world’s largest agricultural innovation network. Dr. Elouafi was just named as one of the 100 most influential people of 2025 by TIME Magazine.
Dr. Elouafi shares more about her work at CGIAR and their groundbreaking research, which has transformed food security in regions facing salinity and water scarcity.
Before joining CGIAR, Dr. Elouafi served as the Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she played a pivotal role in developing the innovation and science strategy. Her work was instrumental in bridging innovation and science, ensuring research directly informed policy and practice. Prior to FAO, she was the Director General of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), based here in the UAE. At ICBA, she led groundbreaking initiatives in desert farming, biosaline agriculture, and the promotion of underutilized crops like quinoa and Salicornia, significantly improving food security in arid regions.
This episode is part of Our Land, Our Future, a special mini-series of Forward Talks by Goumbook focused on land restoration and combating desertification.
This special series is brought to you in partnership with Saudi Awwal Bank. Find out more at: https://www.sab.com/esg/.