Dr. Willy Irakoze
ASARECA National Focal Person (NFP) for Burundi
Dr. Willy Irakoze is the ASARECA National Focal Person (NFP) for Burundi. He is an agronomist by training and currently serves as the Director of Research at the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Burundi (ISABU). He has been a lecturer in various universities of Burundi since 2011 and the Ambassador of the Next Einstein Forum in Burundi. The Forum brings together young African researchers. Dr. Irakoze has a PhD, having completed a thesis on evaluating soil-plant relationships, specifically in the analysis of the effects of soil saline stress on the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and genetic parameters of the rice plant. He undertook his Master’s studies in bioengineering (integrated plant protection) at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. He also undertook a Doctoral a semester training in Integrated Management of the Seed Sector System at Wageningen University, Netherlands. Dr. Irakoze is actively involved in the seed sector where he has been chairing the National Technical Committee in charge of approving new varieties and Plant Species since 2014. His scientific publications can be accessed in Google-Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=fr&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=willy+irakoze&oq=w) and some in Research Gate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Willy-Irakoze).