Technical Advisory Committee, IPM Innovation Lab
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Education: Ph.D. Entomology and Economics, North Carolina State University, USA; MSc, Genetics, Duke University, USA; BS, Biology, University of Michigan, USA
Hruska joined FAO in 2004 as Plant Protection Officer, based in the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Santiago, Chile. In 2008, he transferred to the Sub-regional Office for Mesoamerica in Panama as Plant Production and Protection Officer. With FAO, Hruska has supported national and regional processes in pesticide risk reduction and regulation, sustainable seed systems for family agriculture, the conservation and utilization of local genetic diversity, management of crop pests and diseases, and the role of private and voluntary standards for food production and safety. Over the last four years, he has led the development of crowd-sourcing mobile applications for the agroecological management of coffee by family farmers in Mesoamerica.
Hruska has dedicated his professional career to the promotion of sustainable family farming and food and nutrition security. He has lived and worked in Panama, Chile, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica for over thirty years. Before his career with FAO, he was the Executive Director of NicaSalud in Nicaragua, Head of Crop Protection Department at Zamorano University in Honduras, Assistant Country Director of CARE in Nicaragua, and Professor of Entomology at the National Agricultural University of Nicaragua. Hruska is the author of over thirty refereed journal publications, has contributed to many FAO publications, and has made dozens of presentations internationally.
