Richard A. Sikora is Emeritus Professor of the University of Bonn, Germany; former chairman of the Department of Plant Pathology and the Section, Soil Ecosystem Phytopathology and Nematology. He was Chair of the CGIAR System-wide programme on integrated pest management and is presently a Fellow of Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study (STIAS) and Convener of the Forum on Sustainable intensification. Richard has received numerous awards including the University of Illinois Alumni Association Award of Merit, the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences Award of Distinction, the American Phytopathological Society International Service Award and the 2017 German Phytopathological Society Anton de Bari medal for excellence in phytopathology. Eugene R. Terry was Director General of WARDA, now AfricaRice, and the Founding Director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF). He currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Panel for Biosciences for East and Central Africa (BecA) – ILRI Hub, and the Chair of the Advisory Board of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) hosted by the University of Ghana in Accra. Dr Terry was awarded the AfricaRice Distinguished Service Award in 2010, for exemplary leadership in rice research and development in Africa, and The Macdonald College, McGill University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, for outstanding contributions to society and humanity. Paul L.G. Vlek is Emeritus Professor of the University of Bonn, Germany, and former Director of the Centre for Development Research ZEF as well as the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use WASCAL. He devoted many years of service to a number of journal editorial boards and national and international scientific committees. In 2014, he was awarded the World Agriculture Prize for his lifetime contribution to agricultural development. Joyce Chitja is Senior Lecturer in Food Security at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her expertise and present research programme include food security and water use security, smallholder farmer development and market access. She has received a Women in Science (rural development of women) award and a Wonder Women in Science (WWS) award in 2018. She is a Cornell University and STIAS Visiting Scholar.