Lindiwe Majele Sibanda is an animal scientist and a practicing farmer with extensive experience, serving as a policy advisor to numerous African governments and global institutions. She is Professor, Director and Chair of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Food Systems at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. She is a Nestlé SA Board Member and serves on the Board of WorldVeg. She is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and member of Champions 12.3, accelerating progress on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3, halving global per capita food waste.
She previously served as Board Chair for the International Livestock Research Institution (ILRI); Board Member of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT); and program advisor to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). She also served on the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems and as a member of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) Policy Advisory Council. She has served in senior leadership positions in various organizations, including co-Chair of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA),Vice-President, Country Support, Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and CEO and Head of Mission of the pan-African Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). She holds a PhD and MSc in Agriculture from the University of Reading, and a BSc in Animal Production from the University of Alexandria, Egypt.
She was appointed to the CGIAR System Board in April 2021.
Capacity development 
