Shenggen Fan (樊胜根) has been Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2009.

Dr. Fan joined IFPRI in 1995 as a research fellow, conducting extensive research on pro-poor development strategies in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He led IFPRI’s program on public investment before becoming the Director of the Institute’s Development Strategy and Governance Division in 2005.

He is also one of the Champions of Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward cutting global food loss and waste. He serves as a member of the Lead Group for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He serves as advisor to many national governments (including China and Vietnam) on agriculture, food security and nutrition.

In 2014, Dr. Fan received the Hunger Hero Award from the World Food Programme in recognition of his commitment to and leadership in fighting hunger worldwide.

Dr. Fan received a PhD in applied economics from the University of Minnesota and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nanjing Agricultural University in China.

Maintaining genetic diversity of crops and animals is critical in achieving the long term goal of ending hunger and malnutrition sustainably. Innovations in technologies, institutions and policies must be promoted to preserve genetic diversity.”