Josef Kienzle holds an M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from Hohenheim University and a post-graduate certificate for Advanced Training in Agricultural Development (CATAD) from Humboldt University, Berlin. He currently leads the sustainable agricultural mechanization subgroup in the Plant Production and Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), based in Rome. Sustainable mechanization is embedded within one of FAO’s key programmes on ‘sustainable crop production intensification and conservation agriculture’. Mr Kienzle’s work emphasizes the crucial role of farm power and of innovative and efficient mechanization solutions, and the importance of appropriating them to the context of smallholder farmers in developing countries. His work also highlights the important role that the public and private sectors play in mechanization input supply chains and capacity building for mechanization service providers. Mr Kienzle leads the conservation agriculture component of the WorldBank led Guangdong Agricultural Pollution Reduction Programme that is promoting reduced- and no-tillage mechanized solutions in rice and maize based systems.