Dr. Elouafi is the Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, the preeminent global agricultural and food systems research network. She was previously Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and Director General at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA). Dr. Elouafi also served as Senior Adviser to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Branch (AAFC), the National Manager of Plant Research Section; and Director of Research Management and Partnerships Division at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

She has served on expert panels and advisory groups, including the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA), and HarvestPlus; and on the boards of CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), and Canada’s Professional Development Institute. She was member of the Scientific Group for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.

As a geneticist, Dr. Elouafi’s work contributed to enhancing wheat breeding. She has advocated for the diversification of food to improve food system resilience, including work on halophytes that had significant impact in countries facing salinity issues. A prolific scientific author, she has contributed to many major publications – including Nature, on Foodomics, the Gaza food crisis and biodiversity.

In April 2025, Dr. Elouafi has been named on the TIME100 list of the worlds 100 most influential people.