Dr. Hughes currently serves as the Secretary General of the World Agriculture Forum, where she leads efforts to expand and strengthen the platform, ensuring its inclusivity for a broad range of stakeholders working toward a more sustainable agricultural future. Prior to this, she was the Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), where she focused on the needs of dryland agriculture, particularly the development and dissemination of adapted, nutritious cereals (such as sorghum and millets) and legumes (including chickpeas, pigeonpeas, and groundnuts) within dryland agricultural systems.

Before joining ICRISAT, Dr. Hughes served as the Deputy Director General for Research at the International Rice Research Institute, where she oversaw the institute’s global research and development efforts in Africa and Asia. Her career also includes a decade-long tenure at the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, where she held the same leadership role. Additionally, Dr. Hughes spent over ten years at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, steadily advancing through various positions of increasing responsibility.

A trained plant virologist, Dr. Hughes began her career in the United Kingdom before moving to Ghana and then transitioning to international agricultural research centers. She has an extensive publication record covering agricultural sciences, plant pathology, nutrition, and climate change. With a career spanning more than three decades across Asia, Africa, and Europe, Dr. Hughes combines a wealth of agricultural research leadership and management expertise with a deep passion for utilizing tools and technologies to improve the livelihoods of the poor. Her optimism and determination continue to drive her commitment to making lasting positive changes in global agriculture.