Vincent Lebot, PhD, started working on tropical root crops in 1981 when teaching agriculture in Vanuatu, South Pacific. He is the scientific coordinator of the Taro Network for Southeast Asia and Oceania (TANSAO) and of SPYN (the South Pacific Yam Network). As a plant breeder with experience in root crops germplasm characterization and evaluation, he specializes in issues related to the genetic improvement of root crops chemotypes and nutritional qualities. He is affiliated with CIRAD (www.cirad.fr) a French institution working for developing countries and has written or co-authored numerous publications on various root crop species. In 2003, he was the recipient of the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration. He is presently coordinating root crops agrobiodiversity research and attempting to find a solution to the sustainable preservation and use of their genetic resources.