Hans-Joachim Braun
Director Global Wheat Program
CIMMYT, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico
Hans-Joachim Braun, a native of Germany with background in wheat breeding based in Mexico, has led CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program since 2004 and the CGIAR Research Program WHEAT since 2014. Responsible for technical direction and implementation of the program, he leads and manages 40 internationally recruited scientists, who develop wheat germplasm that is distributed to around 200 cooperators in more than 100 countries and grown of more than 50% of the spring wheat area in developing countries. He lived from 1985 to 2005 in Turkey, leading the Turkey CIMMYT ICARDA International Winter Wheat Improvement Program. He contributed to the development of more than 40 winter wheat varieties released mainly in West and Central Asia, which are grown on more than 2 million ha. Braun was instrumental in recognizing Zn deficiency and soil borne diseases as a major constraint for winter wheat production in the dryland areas of West Asia. In his 33 years with CIMMYT, he became familiar with all major wheat based cropping systems in the developing and developed world. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, and book chapters and received various awards, including the Friendship Award of China for his contribution to develop disease resistant wheat lines for Gansu province. Braun received his Ph.D. from the University of Hohenheim, Germany in 1983.