Betserai Isaac Nyoka

Betserai Isaac Nyoka is a Tree Scientist and Nodal (Southern Africa) Leader with CIFOR-ICRAF based in Lilongwe, Malawi. Isaac has a PhD is forestry genetics and tree breeding and has over 28 years of research experience in agriculture, forestry and agroforestry research in Southern Africa. He started his carrier in government service (Zimbabwe) before joining parastatals (Forestry Commission and Kutsaga Research Company) where he headed the breeding programmes. 

Isaac had a short stint with the South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota as a post-doctoral research fellow before joining CIFOR-ICRAF. Isaac’s interests cover tree domestication, selection and breeding, tree germplasm supply systems and integration of trees on farms to enhance overall farm productivity, improve tree cover and enhance resilience to climate change. Isaac has published extensively on tree breeding and germplasm supply systems. Isaac has also been an external examiner (PhD thesis) for Zimbabwean and South African universities. His interests include research in agroforestry, tree domestication, breeding and conservation, and teaching and farming.