Mariko Kato was appointed to her current position in January 2021, following her work in the field of education in Japan, at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines Office, the UNICEF Offices in Kyrgyzstan, and the UNICEF Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division (outposted in Tokyo). She is responsible for strengthening partnerships between IFAD and various stakeholders, including government, the private sector, academia, and the media. She holds a master’s degree in International Relations, with a specialization in International Educational Development.

Federica Cerulli is a development economist. She supports IFAD in its outreach to Member States by bridging dialogue between donors and recipient countries, and strengthening the institutional dialogue with key public, private and civil society stakeholders. Cerulli’s main focus is on advocacy, partnerships scoping, building and maintaining, and resource mobilization and management, including under innovative financing mechanisms for rural poverty eradication (e.g. multi-donor frameworks, blended finance, Unrestricted Complementary Contributions, Concessional Partner Loans).

In her 20-year career in rural development in different environments – with civil society organizations, the private sector and IFAD – Cerulli has experience in strategy design and partnership development; strategic planning and policy dialogue; research analysis; monitoring, evaluation and reporting; and community-driven rural development project design and management.

IFAD Youth Club Japan (IYCJ) is a youth-led organization that has formed a strong partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Launched in February 2024, IYCJ’s mission is to contribute to building a better society through food and agriculture by deepening understanding of global and local issues, sharing these perspectives and engaging in dialogue with others - particularly in collaboration with IFAD. Currently, 46 high school and university students from across Japan are actively involved in IYCJ’s activities. The organization is also expanding its outreach through partnerships with other organizations and the development of new initiatives.

Mr. Motohiro Hayami has held a variety of key roles at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan since joining in 2009. His responsibilities have included participating climate change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the agri-food sector, participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, and promoting Japanese agri-food exports. He has also gained experience through both domestic and international secondments, including to Okagaki Town Office in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2011 and to the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago, USA, in 2018.

Mr. Watanabe has extensive experience in international development through his work with JICA and partner organizations. He served as Head of the Myitkyina Field Office in Myanmar for the World Food Programme (WFP) and led rural development projects in African countries including Kenya, Botswana, and Ghana, as a JICA expert. Currently, he is with the Economic Development Department at JICA, supporting the “Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD)” initiative. He holds a Master of Professional Studies in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University.