Vice President

Dr. Itshak (Sakkie) Knaffo

Dr. Knafo brings over 40 years of hands-on agricultural and agri-industrial expertise spanning more than a dozen African nations, including South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A recognised authority in large-scale crop production, food processing, and value chain development.

Dr. Knafo has advised governments, multilateral institutions, and private investors across the continent most notably as the originator of the Agri-Industrial Centre (AIC) concept, a comprehensive agri-park framework first commissioned under a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) mandate in Swaziland in 2000, which has since been replicated in agricultural development programmes worldwide. His project portfolio includes the development and management of agricultural enterprises spanning tens of thousands of hectares across sugarcane, banana, pomegranate, paprika, and protected horticulture, as well as large-scale aquaculture and processing operations. In his role as lead agronomist, Dr. Knafo provides strategic oversight of plantation establishment, crop agronomy, post-harvest processing, and outgrower scheme design bringing the operational credibility and African market intelligence. His involvement provides lenders and institutional investors with direct assurance that Transnova’s model is grounded in proven, field-tested African agricultural practice at scale.