Abstract

Food security is as much a leadership problem as a technical one. This article introduces a practical way to identify and develop leaders using the FIKR tool, which evaluates four dimensions: Facet, Insight, Knowledge and Resilience. Using data from 409 respondents assessed with a 200-item instrument aligned to RIASEC and 20 FIKR traits, we reinterpret patterns for food systems governance. We map trait to role links that matter for policy, operations and community partnerships. Enterprising traits co-occurred with control, extroversion and achievement, signaling readiness for decisive program leadership. Social traits clustered with nurturance and support, indicating strength in coalition building and participatory delivery. Investigative traits aligned with analytical and intellectual profiles that fit evidence-based planning and AI enabled early warning. Conventional traits aligned with structure and self-concept, supporting accountable procurement, standard setting and auditability. Factor analysis and principal components yielded three leadership clusters: Leadership and Execution (Enterprising, Social, Realistic), Structured Creativity (Conventional, Artistic, Realistic) and Cognitive Innovation (Investigative, Artistic). We translate these clusters into role archetypes and propose selection and coaching pathways that are regionally agnostic yet context aware. For policymakers, the contribution is a scalable method to match people to mission critical roles, reduce burnout and strengthen ethical, data informed decisions. For practitioners, it offers a practical template for the design of ministry, NGO and public-private partnership teams. In short, FIKR supports an equitable pipeline of leaders able to plan, mobilize and innovate to protect food and nutrition security in an insecure and unjust world.

Keywords:Food security leadership; FIKR assessment; Personality traits; RIASEC; Talent developmentmicroorganism; Biological control; Over dispersed count data; Zero-inflated models; Markov chain modeling; Spore attachment thresholds; Sustainable nematode management