René Civava is a Senior Research fellow at the Institut National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques (INERA) with more than 10 years of experience in agricultural research and development working with research centers, universities, public and private sector scaling partners and farmers, particularly in the seed sector. He currently leads the maize programme, coordinating the research activities and lecturer at the university.

His research interests include agricultural productivity and rural development. As a research administrator and leader, he has coordinated projects supported by different development partners in the area of seed and genetic resources. He has served as coordinator of a series of capacity building activities to empower famers in Eastern DRCongo, improving access to good quality seed and ensuring sustainable utilization of crops diversity for improved livelihoods. 

Since 2016, Rene has been involved in improving agrosystems, conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources (neglected & underutilized crops, etc.) in ways they contribute to farmers’ livelihood needs (food security, nutrition, social and economic development) and with a sense of collaboration with local actors. 

He holds a PhD in plant breeding & genetics from université catholique de Louvain and an advanced master in plant and animal resources management from Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux.