Dr. Cedric Habiyaremye

Cedric Habiyaremye's passion and commitment to agricultural development and in the fight against hunger were fueled by his past. Growing up in a refugee camp and experiencing hunger, it was not life it was survival. Food became a rare commodity and life became horrific. There were times his family, and himself would spend two to three days with no food; only drinking water from the swamp. During those time of hardships when he was 11 years old, that is when he decided that if he survived that situation, he wanted to become an expert in agriculture so that he can improve agricultural systems and fight against hunger in his country of Rwanda and around the world when he grows up. He survived, and today his dreams are on their way to becoming true. As a Research Associate at Washington State University, He leads the Global Participatory Quinoa Research Program. He also serves as Research Director and Special Assistant to the CEO at Food Systems for the Future, a nutrition impact investment fund.

Habiyaremye also founded and co-founded a number of companies, in AgTech and emerging technologies. He is also serving as a member of the Private Sector Mechanism Youth Macro Committee that takes part in negotiations of the Policy Recommendations at the United Nations Committee on World Food Security through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He is also a member of the United Nations Association; the Vice-Chair of Building Bridges with Rwanda; and a New Voices Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute.

During his work in community development projects and the international development realms, Habiyaremye has demonstrated leadership in agricultural development and in the fight against hunger and malnutrition in various settings. He has deservedly received multiple awards and honors and has been an invited participant in the White House briefing on numerous occasions under the Biden administration including, the White House briefing on the UN Food Systems Summit and the White House briefing on American leadership to end hunger and malnutrition at home and abroad. He has also served as a Key Informant and Collaborator in adapting and implementing the first-ever global diet quality monitoring system in partnership with Harvard University and Gallup. Habiyaremye also served as the youngest member of the Global Agriculture Task Force of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and contributed to the 2019 Global Food Security Report. In 2018 he won the World Hunger Leadership Award for his contributions in agricultural development and in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. He was the 2018 Next Generation Delegate at the Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium, the 2018 African Green Revolution Forum Borlaug LEAP Delegate, the 2017 World Food Prize Borlaug LEAP Delegate, a WSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences Mug Awards recipient (2018 and 2017). He served as the 2017 fellow for the US Borlaug Fellowship on Global Food Security, the 2016 fellow for the Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program, and the 2015 fellow for the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development Future Leaders Forum. He is also a WSU College of Agricultural Human and Natural Resource Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Team Award recipient, 2015 (Quinoa Research and Extension Team).

His work was also featured by several media outlets and podcasts including BBC World News, Forbes, Al Jazeera News, Thomson Reuters, TED, Phoenix TV, Yahoo! News, NPR News, The UN Foundation, AllAfrica, The New Times, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) News Article & Podcasts, the WCIA News, the WSU News Posts, the UC Davis Borlaug LEAP, Umuseke, the Lewiston Tribune Newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, and the Purdue Center for Global Food Security.

Habiyaremye is regularly invited to speak around the world. He gives talks and lectures in colleges, universities, and other institutions and various international meetings and conferences around the world as a scientist covering topics on global food and nutritional security and other related issues. As a motivational speaker, he transmits uplifting messages in relevance to real-life to help others rise above their circumstances and thrive for self-reliance. He is the surefire choice for audiences in all industries because his work focuses on what makes us all human: our incredible potential in life and business, and the obstacles that stop us from reaching it.

He received his master's and Ph.D. degrees in Agronomy and Crop Science from Washington State University, a BS in Agricultural Science with Honors in Irrigation and Drainage, and an Advanced Diploma in Soil and Water Management both from the University of Rwanda College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (UR-CAVM) formerly known as (ISAE-Busogo).