Our Keynote Speakers

Prof. Larry Duncan

Prof. Duncan is a professor at University of Florida where he has studied nematode parasites of citrus and nematode biocontrol agents of citrus pests for more than forty years.

He has published 170 refereed research articles and book chapters, Co-edited Citrus Health Management (APS Press), and is a Fellow of the Society of Nematologists and the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America.

Rocco Renaldi

Rocco Renaldi has been the representative of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) in Brussels since 2007. He has over 25 years of experience as a lobbyist. After ten years experience in various agencies, he established Landmark Public Affairs, in 2007.

He led the growth of the agency, establishing offices in London, Singapore and New York, until he sold the company to global communications agency Edelman in 2023. Rocco is currently Global Chair, Public and Government Affairs at Edelman. He also serves as Secretary General of the International Food and Beverage Alliance, as well as Food Service Europe.

Rocco is Italian and married to a South African.

Dr. Leandro Peña

Leandro Peña got his PhD in biology/biochemistry at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) in 1992. He is specialized in plant breeding through biotechnology and has over 30 years’ experience on work in citrus biotechnology. His current research projects cover pathogen and pest resistance, modulation of tree development, altering terpene metabolism and composition in the fruit to improve nutritional and organo-leptic characteristics. Peña has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and many book chapters on these topics. Author of 6 international patents, he has coordinated international research projects in Spain, EU, USA and Brazil. He has participated in numerous evaluation committees of Spanish national and interna-tional agencies (in USA, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Israel, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the EU, etc.). He has been invited as Keynote Speaker in congresses and meeting held in Spain, Italy, France, USA, Brazil and South Africa. He has been consultant on citrus biotechnology for the Brazilian biotechnology company Alellyx, the National Academy of Sciences USA and the Florida Citrus Production Advisory Board. Current-ly he is research professor of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) at the Institute of Plant Molecu-lar and Cellular Biology (IBMCP) of the CSIC and the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), Spain, and is also consulting on citrus biotechnology projects for the Fundo de Defesa da Citricultura (Fundecitrus; Araraquara, Sao Paulo, Brazil), the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF, Florida, USA) and GCM Citrus (Valencia, Spain).
Wandile Sihlobo

Wandile Sihlobo is South Africa’s Presidential Envoy on Agriculture and Land. He is also Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of three books, “The Uncomfortable Truth About South Africa’s Agriculture (March 2025)”, “A Country of Two Agricultures: The Disparities, the Challenges, the Solutions (2023)” and “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture (2020)”. He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University.
Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2024), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018.
He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).
Sihlobo is the Chairman of the Agribusiness Working Group of the BRICS Business Council (South Africa).
Sihlobo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University.

Dr. Marco Caruso

Dr. Marco Caruso is a researcher in citrus genetics and breeding at CREA, Italy. He graduated in 2004 from the University of Catania (Italy), Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, and received his PhD in “crop productivity” from the same University. He has been a visiting scientist at the University of California, Riverside, USA; IVIA, Spain; and the Bundaberg Research Station, Australia. In his current role, he leads the citrus breeding program at CREA, focusing on the release of new citrus varieties, the development of stress-tolerant rootstocks, and the integration of resistance traits in breeding material. He is breeding lemons for resistance to mal secco (Plenodomus tracheiphilus). He is also involved in managing the citrus germplasm collection at CREA and in generating virus-free propagation material through shoot-tip grafting. Recently, he released new citrus hybrids, clonal selections, and rootstocks within a fast-track release system to support varietal innovation in the Italian citrus industry, registering 6 new citrus hybrids with the CPVO. He is the co-author of more than 90 publications in national and international proceedings, technical journals, and peer-reviewed journals, as well as the co-editor of the book “The Genus Citrus” (Elsevier, 2020).

Richard Schouten

Richard Schouten is General Manager of Fresh Produce Centre Netherlands, which represents the interests of businesses involved in the sales and marketing of fruit and vegetables in the Netherlands. Fresh Produce Centre is a vital source of knowledge and inspiration for its approx. 270 members, which include trading companies and growers’ associations specializing in domestic wholesale, import, export, processing, and packaging of fruit and vegetables. These members contribute to over 80% of the Netherlands’ total fruit and vegetable sales, a market valued at approximately €20 billion.

Coupled to his role at Fresh Produce Centre, Richard holds key positions in several prominent agricultural organizations. Amongst others, he serves as vice president of Freshfel, the European branche organization. And board member of KCB (Dutch authority Quality Control Bureau). IFPS (International Federation Produce Standards).

With his 35+ years of experience in the industry, Richard Schouten plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the fresh produce sector, both in the Netherlands and in Europe. His commitment to food safety, sustainability, and collaboration continues to drive the industry towards a prosperous and resilient future.

Dr. Vaughan Hattingh

Dr. Vaughan Hattingh is CEO of Citrus Research International (CRI) and is based at the AgroHub, University of Stellenbosch. He has 36 years of experience in the citrus industry, starting in 1989 as a research entomologist at Outspan Citrus Centre in Nelspruit, focusing on IPM, non-target effects of plant protection products and mealybugs. He founded the industry recommended usage restrictions guidelines for the use of plant protection products, which continues today to enable ongoing compliance with the residue restrictions required by importing countries. He became Director of Outspan Citrus Centre in 1999 and was instrumental in the formation of CRI in 2001 and in the industry acquiring ownership of both Outspan Citrus Centre (now CRI Citrus Research Centre) and Outspan Foundation Block (now CRI Citrus Foundation Block). He led CRI to become the global citrus research leader that it is today. His personal portfolio of expertise lies in the science underpinning international phytosanitary trade regulation and throughout his career he has played a key role in the industry’s Market Access efforts. He has championed the scientific and technical basis for gaining, retaining and optimising market access for citrus exports over the past 35 years.

Sean Moore

Sean Moore obtained an MSc in Entomology and a PhD in Biotechnology from Rhodes University. He is currently Research Manager with Citrus Research International, Visiting Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Rhodes University, and Deputy Director with the Centre for Biological Control at Rhodes. He also founded the biopesticide company, River Bioscience.
His areas of specialisation are citrus entomology, insect pathology and microbial control of agricultural pests, particularly using viruses, the management of false codling moth and practical implementation of IPM systems in citrus. He has more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters and has supervised more than 50 MSc and PhD students.