Rajib Hazarika, PhD in agricultural (plant) biotechnology, has over 25 years of experience in agri-food research funding program management, research priority setting, knowledge translation and transfer, stakeholder consultation, and policy development. For the past 10 years, Rajib has been serving in the Research and Innovation Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Canada as the lead Research Analyst/Advisor for the Bioeconomy-Industrial Uses and Environmental Sustainability research themes. Besides managing research funding programs, Rajib provides technical and policy advice in the areas of agricultural bioproducts, climate change, water management, soil health, and pollinator health. Prior to joining OMAFRA, he served as a technology transfer scientist in the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, India for over eight years where he supervised tea R&D trials and soil testing laboratory services; coordinated tea research priority setting; conducted advisory, technology transfer, demonstration, training and publication services for improving economic and environmental performance of the tea industry.