University celebrates farming adaptation supporter

A Reading graduate whose charity has helped farmers in the global south adapt to climate change has been recognised at a University of Reading graduation ceremony. 

Tony Leandro and his charitable foundation, the Oakwell Trust, have been inducted into the University’s College of Benefactors. Launched in 2014, the College of Benefactors celebrates the generosity of supporters who have made exceptional gifts to the University of Reading. 

After graduating with a degree in Mathematics and Statistics in 1972, Tony went on to become a founding partner of Barnett Waddingham LLP, a prominent consultancy firm providing expert actuarial advice to numerous financial institutions. 

On his retirement in 2011, Tony established the Oakwell Trust. The foundation partnered with the University's Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA), which delivers crucial information and decision-making tools to small-scale farmers and their families in the global south. This has enabled farmers to significantly improve their livelihoods, achieve higher incomes and increase food security for themselves and their communities. 

To date, PICSA has reached more than a million households across 30 countries.

Dr Graham Clarkson, Senior Research Fellow and PICSA Manager, said: “Tony and the Oakwell Trust have been one of PICSA’s biggest supporters. As a result they have contributed to transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of farming households around the world.”

As well as its support for PICSA, the Oakwell Trust is also a valued supporter of the Empowering Students Scholarship, which provides essential living costs support for international Master’s students.