Samuel Ayodele Mesele (SAM) is a Soil Scientist with over 12 years of professional experience in research and development, international capacity building, and project implementation. His expertise lies in soil testing and surveys, soil fertility management, and climate change adaptation, collaborating with various stakeholders across Europe and Africa. SAM has extensive knowledge of African landscapes and farming systems. He earned a Bachelor of Agriculture (Honors) in Soil Science from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), a Master’s in Soil Science from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, and a PhD in Environmental Soil Science from FUNAAB in collaboration with Imperial College London, UK.

He is a Registered Soil Scientist (RSS) with the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) and is a member of both the Soil Science Society of Nigeria and the African Soil Science Society. At IITA, SAM leads the implementation of the Soils4Africa project, an EU-funded initiative aimed at developing a soil information system for monitoring soil quality on agricultural land throughout continental Africa. Additionally, he serves as the Interim Project Manager for the EU-funded Soils4Liberia project, which focuses on land and soil resources knowledge in Liberia. SAM is also the Liberia National Coordinator for the Regional Hub for Fertilizer and Soil Health in West Africa and the Sahel.