Dr. Edward Mabaya is the sixth of 10 children born to a Zimbabwean smallholder family who scraped by growing maize, cabbages, potatoes and yams mainly for subsistence. With the introduction of improved seeds and chemical fertilizers in the early 1980s, his family experienced a rapid growth in income which allowed him to pursue his academic career at Cornell. Having experienced it himself, Edward firmly believes agriculture is the pathway out of poverty for the majority of Africa?s people. Currently, he is the Associate Director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture & Development and a Research Associate at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. In 2007, he was selected an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. His research focus has been on food marketing and distribution, seed systems and GMO crops.