Muhammad Imtiaz

Dr. Muhammad Imtiaz is a Seed Systems Specialist and Plant Breeder with over 30 years of experience in research for development in developing and developed countries. He focuses on seed sector development and provides strategic and technical support to develop and strengthen national, regional, and global demand-driven seed systems in public and private sectors. He conducts applied research to understand seed value chain constraints, identify appropriate seed scaling strategies, promote best agricultural practices, strengthen national and regional institutional and human capacities for sustainable seed delivery systems, and understand crop varietal development and adoption challenges.

Dr. Imtiaz held senior leadership positions in world-class organizations in agricultural science and high-level relationship management in the scientific research and associated policy sector. Before joining ICARDA, he worked for the IFPRI program HarvestPlus as a Wheat Seed/Value Chain Specialist to build new commercial wheat supply chains that involve the entire agri-food industry from seed to the consumers’ hands and as Director for Harvestplus network entity Nutritious Agri Future Pvt. to formulate and deliver strategies/activities in the areas of agriculture, food security, nutrition, rural development, and natural resource management. He also worked as CIMMYT Country Representative for Pakistan and led as Chief of the Party USAID-funded multi-sectoral/multi-CGIAR centres agricultural innovation program. He served in the wheat and pulses research in Australia and as Principal Chickpea Breeder/Food legumes Program Coordinator at ICARDA based in Aleppo, Syria, to serve national partners in Central and West Asia, Caucasus, Middle East, and North and sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Imtiaz has been working in the CGIAR system for more than 18 years. He has expertise in strategic and applied crop sciences, including seed technology/systems, breeding, crop production, crop protection, crop management, agricultural biotechnology, and natural resources management, either as a researcher or in lead roles in program management nationally and internationally. He has developed and implemented several multidisciplinary international and regional projects in Africa and Asia to address productivity constraints facing wheat/legume production and achieve food and nutrition security.

Dr Imtiaz authored or co-authored more than 150 research publications and scientific and non-scientific presentations. He received his PhD in Seed Genetics and Molecular Biology and an advanced certificate in Seed Technology from Lincoln University, New Zealand.