Dr André F. van Rooyen is a Principal Scientist at ICRISAT specializing in Crop-Livestock Systems in the research program on Innovation Systems for Drylands (ISD) based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD from the University of Kwa-Zulu, Natal, South Africa and specializes in using Uses complex adaptive systems (CAS) characteristics to analyze system functionality and explore opportunities to improve and develop more diverse and integrated agricultural systems. Working in both dryland and irrigation systems where cereal crops, legumes and livestock complement each another, he utilizes Innovation Platforms, working with a diverse range of value chain players, to increase on-farm production and improved market integration. His work is based on the hypotheses that integrated agricultural systems, linked to functional markets, increase land, labor and water productivity, resulting in increased system efficiency and environmental sustainability, while providing routes out of poverty for small scale farmers.