Dr.Joseph Gichane Mureithi (Vice Chair International Steering Committee) is the Deputy Director General of Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), previously known as KARI. Prior to this, he served as the Deputy Director in-charge of the Research and Technology Department. He is a member of several professional bodies including Soil Science society of East Africa (SSSEA) and Africa Crop Science Society and is a life member, World Association of Soil and Water Conservation.   Dr. Mureithi has held professional positions in local and international bodies and he has received several professional awards. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the African Conservation Tillage Network, a member of the Advisory Board of the Organic Farmer Magazine in East Africa and a member of the Technical Committee of the Kenya National Farmers Federation. He holds a Doctorate degree in Forage Agronomy from Reading University, UK; a Master of Science degree in Grassland Science from the same university and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Nairobi. Dr. Mureithi has published over 40 papers in refereed journals, several book chapters and has over 50 papers published in conference proceedings. He was a co-editor of Legume Research Network Project Newsletter and he has been involved in the supervision of several post graduate degree students.