Ethiopia | Maize seed systems

2026 Top Agri-food Pioneers: AbduRahman Beshir Issa

AbduRahman Beshir Issa, Seed Systems Lead for CIMMYT Asia, brings over two decades of experience advancing agricultural innovation across Africa and Asia. His work focuses on connecting science-driven research with market-responsive delivery, ensuring improved, stress-resilient crop varieties reach smallholder farmers. His strategic leadership in Pakistan and Nepal has delivered measurable, large-scale outcomes. In Pakistan, he supported collaborative partnerships contributing to the release of more than 15 stress-resilient maize varieties. In Nepal, he played a key role advancing a hybrid maize seed market system, enabling the country to save nearly $25 million in maize imports by 2025 while creating income opportunities for hundreds of smallholder farmers. Beshir has also supported the integration of digital innovations, contributing to the adoption of a Digitally Enabled Seed Information System. Across Asia and Africa, he has strengthened seed systems through capacity building, germplasm exchange and multi-stakeholder collaboration.