Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2023 GFFA 2023 2023-04-19T15:52:45Z https://www.gffa-berlin.de/en/feed/atom/ WordPress admin <![CDATA[Data and Digital as Enabler for Circular Agri-Food Systems]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23725 2023-02-21T14:55:09Z 2022-11-04T09:20:27Z

All Expert Panels

Data and Digital as Enabler for Circular Agri-Food Systems

World Bank Group (WBG)

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 09:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Room: M4-M5

Language: English, German

Summary:

Data-driven and digital agriculture is a catalyst with wide-ranging potential to transform food systems and affect the lives of billions. Digitization can therefore enable circular agriculture and food systems by overcoming technical barriers and information asymmetries. To discuss the potential and challenges of data and digital technologies to enable the circular food-system transformation, the panel convened experts from academia, industry, private foundations, and the World Bank. The keynote introduced the topic, summarized concrete investment and capacity building activities of the World Bank related to data and digital as well as highlighted ongoing knowledge and learning platforms including analytical work and flagship reports. Panelists brought forward concrete examples from their work and a vision for future development and scaling of circular agri-food systems. Key take-aways were the need for systemic changes, global data streams, system integration and a holistic consideration of both culture and context in designing and implementing the discussed tools, technologies, and business models. Interdisciplinary work and cross-sector collaboration will be driving this transformation. The panel was well attended with active audience interaction and a wide array of questions covering technical, equity and sustainability aspects of circular agri-food systems. The discussion will lay the groundwork for further engagement, knowledge, and analytics on this topic.

Contact for more information or additional questions: ahopf@worldbank.org 

Keynote Speaker

Martien Van NieuwkoopGlobal Director, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank Group (WBG)

Martien van Nieuwkoop is the Global Director for the Agriculture and Food Global Practice in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Practice Group. As Global Director, Martien provides leadership to the formulation and implementation of the Bank’s strategy and knowledge in agriculture and food, oversees the operationalization of the Bank’s vision on agriculture and food in regional and country programs, acts as senior spokesperson for agriculture and food Bank-wide and globally and manages the Agriculture and Food Global Practice. The Agriculture and Food Global Practice has a portfolio of about 160 projects with close to US$ 20 billion in commitments in investment project, program-for-results and development policy lending and about 250 staffs. Martien holds a Final (“Doctoraal”) Examination (Cum Laude), Development Economics from Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands and an MBA (Beta-Gamma-Sigma), International Executive Program from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA. He grew up on a family-owned horticulture farm in Gouda, The Netherlands.

Panel Guests

Enock ChikavaInterim Director, Agricultural Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Enock Chikava leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work to reduce poverty for millions of farming families in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia by promoting inclusive agricultural innovations that drive productivity and income growth for smallholder farmers in a sustainable way. He joined the foundation in April 2015 as a senior program officer focusing on crop innovations. Enock trained in Agricultural Economics and Business Strategy, with 30-years’ experience in agriculture. His career spans from farmer organizations, private sector seed industry, agribusiness, food processing, and now philanthropy. Enock Chikava is a board member of the African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) and former president of the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA). He was raised on a smallholder farm in Zimbabwe in a family of eleven and has dedicated his life to working towards smallholder farmers’ success as they use technology to raise productivity, incomes, nutrition, and economically empower themselves.

 

Abhijeet SharmaGlobal Lead, Mobility Platform, Blockchain & Partner Integration, BASF

Abhi (Abhijeet Sharma) is the Global lead for Blockchain, Mobile and Partner Universe practices for Agriculture in BASF SE. Abhi has been involved and leading the technology as a solver in Agri related sustainability projects and business models such as Ardena which is a north African project solving for 4/17 UNSDGs and mentioned in COP27, sustainable cotton in Greece, biodiversity in Germany and various other projects driving sustainable business models . He is currently in the quest of solving for traceability, carbon management and related concerns at scale using mobile, blockchain and APIs to bridge the gap between “data to value” with farmer focus at core. He is an Electrical Engineer and MBA with 20+ years of experience in developing and launching products across a range of industries and tech sector (Amazon, Time Warner, Dell and startups).

 

Hannah van ZantenAssociate Professor and Interim Chair Holder, Farming Systems Ecology Group, Wageningen University and Research

Hannah is an associate Professor at the Wageningen University Farming Systems Ecology group and expert in the domain of circular food production systems. It is her ambition to unravel how circular food systems can contribute to producing healthy foods for a growing population within the carrying capacity of the Earth. Her analytical and data-driven work showed that animals in a circular food system play an important role in feeding humanity while minimizing their environmental impact. This breakthrough contradicts the dominant view that a meat-free diet is most environmentally friendly, a view that originates from solutions locked within the current linear food system. For a far-reaching redesign, we need to think much more radically. With her team, she is developing a circular food systems (CiFoS) model where stakeholders can co-design and evaluate innovative yet attainable food systems that secure human and planetary health.

 

Cornelia WeltzienHead of Department, Agromechatronics, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy e.V. (ATB)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Cornelia Weltzien is head of ATB Department “Engineering for Crop Production” and chair of Agro Mechatronics at the TU Berlin since 2015. After studying agricultural engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Cologne she completed her postgraduate studies in mechanical engineering at Technical University Braunschweig in 2006. In 2008 Prof. Dr.-Ing. Weltzien obtains her doctorate at the Institute for Agriculutral Machinery and Fluid Technology with the thesis “Assistance System for the Overloading Process with a selfpropelled Forage Harvester”. Before joining ATB she was part of interdisciplinary advanced engineering teams in the industry, developing electro hydraulic control systems for mobile working machinery. Her expertise are precision agriculture, automation of agricultural processes, smart systems, digitalisation in agriculture. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Weltzien is a nationally and internationally recognized elite researcher in the field of digital agriculture.

Moderation

Parmesh ShahGlobal Lead, Data-driven and Digital Agriculture, World Bank Group

Parmesh Shah is the Global Lead for Data-driven Digital Agriculture in the Agriculture and Food Global Practice at The World Bank. In this role, he provides leadership to the Bank’s work and supports the development of global knowledge and learning in digital agriculture to offer solutions to clients and other development partners. Before joining the Bank, Parmesh worked for governments, civil society organizations, foundations and other bilateral and multilateral development organizations in Asia and Africa regions in the areas of community driven development, participatory approaches, institutional change and natural resources management. He holds a D Phil in Development Studies from Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and B Tech degree in Agricultural Engineering from Pantnagar in India.

 

]]> admin <![CDATA[Diversity for Resilient Food Systems]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23751 2023-02-21T15:04:41Z 2022-11-04T09:20:27Z

All Expert Panels

Diversity for Resilient Food Systems

The Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust)

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 09:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Room: M2-M3

Languages: English, German

Summary:

The expert panel featured a keynote speech held by Dr. Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust, and a panel discussion with Lawrence Haddad (GAIN), Brent Loken (WWF), Sharon Cittone (Edible Planet Ventures) and Jaspreet Stamm (Crop Trust).

In his keynote, Dr. Schmitz outlined the importance of crop diversity in adapting to changing environments, increasing crop yields and quality, and helping farmers control pests and diseases. Dr. Schmitz’s recommendations for food systems transformation included recognizing crop diversity as a global common good, building a global system for conservation, providing more substantial financial support, strengthening links between genebanks and researchers and increasing the use of neglected crops.

In the discussion, the panelists agreed on an urgent need to start pivoting from the optimization of the agricultural system to the diversity of solutions available for transforming food systems in different parts of the world. They highlighted the importance of place-based strategies and innovations and the power young people could bring into the mindset shift needed for food system transformation. Due to the diverse solutions available, a higher level of collaboration between actors is also necessary.

The session concluded with a Q&A that focused on the role of the private sector in supporting more diverse farming practices and the importance of collaboration between multiple stakeholders for successful food systems transformation.

Keynote speaker

Stefan SchmitzExecutive Director, Crop Trust

Stefan Schmitz joined the Crop Trust as Executive Director in January 2020.
He previously worked as Deputy Director-General and Commissioner for the “One World – No Hunger” Initiative at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). He also chaired the Steering Committee of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP).
For more than 10 years, Stefan was leading the food security, agriculture and rural development work at BMZ. From 2007 until 2009 he worked as senior advisor to the Secretariat of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Before joining the BMZ in 2001, Stefan held various posts in the German federal administration in the fields of geographical information systems, regional planning and international cooperation on urban issues.
He received scholarships of the McCloy Fellowship of the American Council on Germany and of the German Academic Exchange Service. After studying in Bonn and St. Andrews, he graduated from Bonn University in geography and mathematics and received a doctorate in geosciences from the Free University of Berlin in 2000.

Panel Guests

Sharon CittoneFounder and CEO, Edible Planet Ventures

Sharon has been at the forefront of building and growing the global food and agtech ecosystem for the better part of a decade. Her work with start-ups, corporations, investors, policymakers, institutions and youth landed her the title of one of Forbes’ most powerful women shaping the future of food. She is the Founder & CEO of Edible Planet Ventures, a systemic platform that aims to reshape our food system by convening leading voices and visionaries to collaborate and innovate around the most pressing challenges of today. Sharon is active in several other roles. She currently is a Founding Board Member of the AgrifoodTech Italia Association, is on the advisory committee of Trueinvestor and two funds, is part of the United for Regeneration-Now Partners team, sits on the Advisory Board of the World Food Programme Italia, and is a mentor for both Rockstart Agrifood and the FoodTech Accelerator. Furthermore, she is also Global Chair for Food Innovation for the G100, a group of global leaders all joined in a pact of purpose to create massive opportunities for women worldwide.

Lawrence HaddadExecutive Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

Dr Lawrence Haddad is GAIN’s Executive Director since 2016. From September 2020 and up to the United Nations Food Systems Summit that took place on 23 September 2021, Lawrence chaired Action Track 1: Ensuring Access to Safe and Nutritious Food for All. Lawrence is also the co-convener of the Standing Together for Nutrition. Prior to GAIN, Lawrence was lead author of the Global Nutrition Report, Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), and Director of the Food Consumption and Nutrition Division at IFPRI. He is the winner of the 2018 World Food Prize together with David Nabarro.

Brent LokenGlobal Science Lead Food, WWF International

Brent Loken is the Global Food Lead Scientist for WWF. In his role, Brent provides thought leadership through forward-looking research, science direction for goal setting, scientific analysis in support of strategy development, and the management of internal and external science talent to support the Global Food Practice team in advancing an ambitious agenda.
Previously, Brent worked for EAT, the science-based global platform for food system transformation, where he was a lead author on the EAT-Lancet report on Food, Planet, and Health. His past research includes a variety of publications ranging from subjects on food and health to orangutan terrestriality and tropical forest governance.
His current work includes a report on food consumption patterns in G20 countries and the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a series of papers that develop national-level roadmaps on GHG mitigation potential from changes in food and agriculture, and an analysis on how sustainable logging in a tropical forest impacts biodiversity.
In addition, Brent co-founded and helped lead a progressive international school and co-founded a conservation NGO that focused on protecting rainforests and biodiversity by empowering indigenous peoples. Rarely patient, Brent believes to achieve the SDGs and Paris Agreement in the short time that is available it will be because of fast-moving and innovative organizations and people that disrupt the status quo and actively show the world a more healthy and sustainable way of living in harmony with nature.
As part of Global Science, Brent is bridging the technical and conservation practice worlds, synthesizing information from a wide range of food, agriculture, nutrition, and environment disciplines for their creative application to the global nature agenda.

Sonja VermeulenManaging Director of Genetic Innovation, CGIAR

Sonja Vermeulen is Managing Director of Genetic Innovation, CGIAR. She has served as Director of Programs at the CGIAR System Organization since 2019, coordinating the delivery of the CGIAR Research Programs and Platforms, and the development of the 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy. She previously held posts as WWF’s Global Food Lead Scientist, Head of Research at the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS),  Director of the Programme on Business and Sustainable Development at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and Research Fellow at the University of Zimbabwe. She is an Associate Fellow at the Sustainability Accelerator at Chatham House in London and served as a Commissioner on the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Sustainable Diets. She holds a BA and MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Tropical Resource Ecology from the University of Zimbabwe, and a PhD in Population Biology from Imperial College London.

Moderation

Jaspreet StammInnovative Finance Lead, Crop Trust

Jaspreet is the Innovative Finance Lead at the Crop Trust. In this role she is exploring new ways to mobilize public and private funding to support crop diversity and enhance resilience of food systems globally. She brings 15+ years of experience in impact investing and multilateral development finance, including the development of impact funds focused on sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Jaspreet holds an MSc in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics.

]]> admin <![CDATA[Leveraging urban and local food systems for sustainable food systems transformation]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23760 2023-02-27T11:53:49Z 2022-11-04T09:20:27Z

All Expert Panels

Leveraging urban and local food systems for sustainable food systems transformation

Food Systems and Food Safety Division (ESF)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Room: M4-M5

Languages: English, German, French

Summary:

The panel was introduced by FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero and the Moderator, Raimund Jehle, presenting the background for discussion.

As the Chairperson of the UN Committee on World Food Security, Gabriel Ferrero started the debate focusing on the value of a new Governance approach, and on the importance of the local dimension of food systems, now being recognized also in the CFS.

The local perspective was ensured by the two representatives of cities in the panel: the Mayor of Tunis, Souad Abderrahim and Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor of Bristol.

Calling for more visibility and education on food systems and nutrition, the former shared practical projects co-implemented by the municipality, especially to address local lack of capacity building.

Other examples were shared by Bristol, with Asher Craig focusing on the financial aspects of multi-stakeholder collaborations, and the involvement of different actors in decision-making.

Private sector was at the center of the intervention by Armen Harutyunyan, from The Eurasian Economic Commission, advocating for innovative acquisitions to be scaled up at the local level.

Brining in an academic perspective, Jane Battersby from the University of Cape Town listed some important key issues that urbanization will pose, and how these will reshape food systems and their governances.

The panel presented practical ways to get cities recognized in food systems transformation.

These include participatory governance instead of top-down approaches, innovative entry points and platforms such as the new Urban Food Systems Coalition.

Keynote Speaker

Maximo ToreroChief Economist, FAO

Máximo Torero Cullen is the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He joined the Organization in January 2019 as Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department. Before joining FAO, he served at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. as the Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Between 2006 and 2016, he led the Markets, Trade and Institutions Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). He is a professor at the University of the Pacific, Peru (on leave) and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Bonn, Germany. His major research work lies mostly in analyzing poverty, inequality, importance of geography and assets in explaining poverty, and in policies oriented towards poverty alleviation based on the role played by infrastructure, institutions, and on how technological breakthroughs (or discontinuities) can improve the welfare of households and small farmers. His experience encompasses Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

Panel Guests

Armen HarutyunyanDirector of Agricultural Policy Department, The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC)

Armen Harutyunyan was appointed Director of Agricultural Policy Department on November 2020. Before joining the Commission, he was Senior Advisor at the Global Center for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Singapore and previously Team Leader, Partnership and International Finance Officer at the United Nation in Armenia. Before starting career in international organizations, he served over five years as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Armenia and coordinated international trade, institutional reforms and international cooperation at the Ministry. He lectured Food Economics at the American University of Armenia and Behavioral Economics at the Executive MBA program at the Yerevan State Medical University. Armen Harutyunyan holds Master’s Degree in International Development from University of Bristol and Master of Public Administration Degree from Armenian State Public Administration Academy, as well as two year comprehensive certified program of the Texas A&M University in Armenia. He had completed executive education programs at Harvard, Stanford, UCL, London School of Public Relations and others. He is Fintech and Blockchain Fellow at the Singapore University of Social Sciences and Academic Council Member at the Global Fintech Institute.

 

Asher CraigDeputy Mayor, Bristol City Council

Asher has spent over 30 years as a community activist, leader, management consultant and now local politician. She has championed the needs of the voice-less, with a particular emphasis on the social-economic development of BME and under-represented communities. She has led and Chaired a number of major partnerships and organisations at local, regional and national level and has worked in the field of employment & training, education & skills, recruitment, advocacy, equality & diversity within local government and the third sector.
Asher was elected as the Labour Councillor for the ward of St George West, Bristol in May 2016 and was appointed to the Cabinet with the wide reaching portfolio of Neighbourhoods in August 2016.
In March 2017 Asher was asked to step into the new role of Deputy Mayor – Communities, bringing into & elevating the issue of Public Health within her new portfolio. She is committed to address the inequities and multi-level public health risks that impact diverse urban populations through the lens of racial and ethnic health disparities at all levels. This has included work towards a more holistic, sustainable, inclusive and healthier food system, resulting in Bristol achieving Gold Sustainable Food City status in 2021 and building upon this momentum to produce the Bristol Good Food 2030 Framework and Actions plans in 2022.
In October 2021 she was appointed to a new portfolio comprising Children’s Services, Education and Equalities.
One of Asher’s proudest achievements is the development of a new groundbreaking and multiple award-winning Stepping Up leadership programme, using the Bristol “One City Approach”.
Asher is a member of Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Panel, trustee of a national education charity and awarding body and the proud mother of 3 daughters.

Gabriel Ferrero de Loma-OsorioChairperson, UN Committee on World Food Security

Currently serving as Ambassador at Large for Global Food Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Government of Spain. Former Director General for Sustainable Development Policies from 2018 to 2021. In this position, he has been lead author and strategist of the 2030 Agenda Implementation Action Plan of Spain, coordinating the Spanish Voluntary National Review at the High Level Political Forum. Lead author of the Spanish Cooperation Joint Response Strategy to COVID-19 pandemic. He served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary General from 2011 to 2017, including as Coordinator of the UN Secretary-General High Level Task Force on Global Food Security and as Team Leader of the UN Secretary General´s Special Representative for Food and Nutrition Security from 2016 to 2017, based in Rome. In this capacity, he was representative of the UN SG at the Advisory Committee of the Committee on World Food Security and at the Steering Committee of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. He was part of the Milano Group on Sustainable Food Systems convened by UN SG Ban Ki-Moon in 2015 and made seminal contributions to linking ending hunger, poverty and climate-compatible sustainable food systems. Senior policy advisor on sustainable development to the UN Secretary General´s Special Advisor for the Post2015 Development Agenda Ms Amina J Mohammed from 2012 to 2016, leading on food security, agriculture and food systems, financing and climate change. Renowned as being part of the team facilitating the process leading to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he was instrumental on crafting Ban Ki-Moon´s Zero Hunger Challenge and SDG 2. Before joining the UN, he was Deputy-Director General of Development Policies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Spain from 2007-2010, leading on Spain´s global response to the global food crisis. He coordinated the 2009 Madrid High Level Meeting “Food Security for All” and substantially contributed to the reform of the Committee on World Food Security. In this position, he was lead author of the 2009-2012 Spanish Cooperation Master Plan and was instrumental on the set up of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the L´Aquila Food Security Initiative, the UN Fund for the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the „Spanish Fund for Cooperation on Water and Sanitation“. Full time Professor of Development Theory and Planning at the School of Agricultural Engineering and Environment at the Technological University of Valencia UPV (2000-2007) and Director of its Development Cooperation Centre (2004-2007). He founded and coordinated the Development Studies and Applied Ethics Research Group, his research and practice focuses on Sen‘s Capability Approach, development methodology, climate and sustainable development. An engineer by training, he holds a nationally awarded Ph. D on development planning and management. He is author or co-author of more than 50 publications including journal research papers, 3 books, book chapters and op-eds with a focus on rural development, climate and development effectiveness. With field level experience at project, program and policy levels on agriculture, rural development and renewable energy, in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Morocco, and Argentina, he has been advisor to national and subnational governments, social movements and NGOs on rural development planning, management and sustainable development policies.

Jane BattersbySenior Lecturer, University of Cape Town

Dr Jane Battersby is an urban geographer based at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of Oxford, and has conducted research on urban food security, urban food systems and food systems governance. She focused on the interaction between food system and the urban system, and she has worked with NGOs, civil society, UN Agencies, and local governments, particularly in the African context.

Souad AbderrahimMayor, City of Tunis

Souad Abderrahim is the current Mayor of Tunis, Tunisia’s capital. She was elected on July 3, 2018. She is the first Arab woman to serve as mayor of an Arab capital. She is a member of Ennahda Movement. On 23 October 2011, she was elected to the Constituent Assembly, for Ennahdha representing the capital, Tunis.

Moderation

Raimund JehleRegional Programme Leader, FAO

Raimund Jehle, a national of Germany, has a PhD in agricultural economics. Prior to joining FAO, Jehle was a farmer, held several positions in academia and worked as a consultant for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels. Since joining FAO in 1999, he has served in various positions at FAO headquarters in Rome and, as of 2007, in the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in Hungary. Prior to his appointment as Regional Programme Leader, Jehle held the positions of Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia and Regional Initiative Coordinator. Parallel to his current position, he has served since 2016 as the FAO Representative in Albania, Armenia, Georgia and Republic of Moldova.

 

]]> admin <![CDATA[Animal health: a substantive input to the transformation of food systems through the One Health approach]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23789 2023-02-27T11:56:08Z 2022-11-04T09:20:27Z

All Expert Panels

Animal health: a substantive input to the transformation of food systems through the One Health approach

World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Room: M8

Languages: English, German

Summary:

The event organised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) discussed the substantive input of Animal Health to the transformation of food systems through the One Health approach. Monique Eloit, Director General of WOAH, moderated the panel comprising the following panellists:

  • Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director General, Food and Agriculture Organization
  • Arnold Puech D’Alissac, President, World Farmer Organisation
  • Dieter Schillinger, Deputy Director General, International Livestock Research Institute
  • Martien van Nieuwkoop, Global Director Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank
  • Samuel Thevasagayam, Deputy Director, Livestock Team, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The panel underscored the importance of animal production and health in food systems, identified the main drivers for health crises in production systems, and explored challenges for smallholder farmers. The lessons learned from past health crises – COVID-19 and HPAI – offered tangible solutions. The panel concluded that improving animal health is critical to ensure that animal diseases do not extensively impact health, livelihoods, and the environment; conversely, they underlined that globalisation, production, and climate change extensively impacts animal health.

The food systems of tomorrow should be holistic, multisectoral, inclusive, and sustainable. The One Health approach offers a framework for transformation for everyone’s health!

Panel Guests

Arnold Puech D'AlissacPresident, World Farmers’ Organisation

President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) since June 2022, Arnold Puech d’Alissac is a passionate family farmer in the Normandy region in northern France. He farms free-range poultry, beef cattle, and various crops in Pissy-Pôville. Mr. Puech d’Alissac has always dedicated his life to advocating for farmers at the national, regional, and global levels.
Bureau member of the Fédération national des syndicats d’exploitant agricoles (FNSEA), he represented the European Constituency on the WFO Board from 2017 to 2022, also serving as the Treasurer and Vice President of the Organisation.
He also held the position of President of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) from 1999 to 2001.
His motto is “Tout seul, on va plus vite, ensemble, on va plus loin”.

Dieter SchillingerDeputy Director General, International Livestock Research Institute

Dieter Schillinger has been the Deputy Director General of Biosciences at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) since 2016. He is responsible for ILRI’s animal and human health research program across Africa and Asia. In addition, Dieter leads ILRI’s One Health research, focusing on zoonotic diseases, food safety, and antimicrobial resistance. Dieter studied mechanical engineering in Regensburg, Germany, and veterinary medicine in Munich, Germany, where he graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Dieter also holds an MBA from Brunel University, UK. He is a veterinarian with 30 years of experience in animal health, including applied animal science, tropical veterinary medicine, and the development and marketing of animal health products.

Maria Helena SemedoDeputy Director General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, is an economist and politician from Cape Verde. A leading expert in global development issues, she has worked in public service for over thirty years. Over the last decade, FAO has helped shape a new global narrative where agriculture is prominently recognized as a solution in addressing increasingly complex emerging issues – from climate change and biodiversity loss to ecosystem degradation to overfishing. Leading to deliver with impact, Semedo promotes an integrated approach, resulting in greater crosssectoral engagement and stronger strategic partnerships, better positioning FAO in its role to promote the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. A key player on the FAO Core Leadership Team, Semedo heads flagship initiatives such as the FAO Green Cities Action Programme, the corporate Climate Change Strategy and strengthening the global One Health approach. She fosters high-level multi-stakeholder dialogues that optimize the Organization’s 75+ years of technical expertise and experience, its global reach and innovative advances, all contributing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Semedo is a firm advocate for women’s empowerment and is well-known for her work promoting gender equity and social parity. Since October 2019 she has chaired the FAO Women’s Committee and helped spearhead the Organization’s Mentorship Programme, looking to build a more equitable and transparent workplace. Before taking up her current duties in 2013, Ms Semedo gained valuable experience and insight in Africa, first as FAO Representative in Niger (2003-2008), then as Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and Sub-regional Coordinator for West Africa (2008-2009) and Regional Representative for Africa (2009-2013). Prior to her international career, she worked as an economist for the Cabo Verde Ministry of Planning and Cooperation before becoming Secretary of State for Fisheries, then in 1993 Minister for Fisheries, Agriculture and Rural Affairs – the first-ever woman Minister in her country. After serving as Minister for Tourism, Transportation and Marine Affairs from 1995-1998, she became Member of Parliament, a position she held until 2003.

Honors and awards

November 2019:

  • Receives the Crans Montana Forum Prix de la Fondation

December 2018:

  • The Government of Brazil bestows the honorific Order of Rio Branco
  • The Universidade Aberta in Lisbon confers the Honoris Causa doctorate for her work in global sustainable development

March 2018:

  • Named “Woman of the Year” at the commemoration of the 2018 Women Diplomats Day in Portugal

May 2008:

  • Receives the Order of Niger for her distinguished service to the field of agriculture

Martien van NieuwkoopGlobal Director Agriculture and Food, World Bank Group (WBG)

Martien van Nieuwkoop is the Global Director for the Agriculture and Food Global Practice in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Practice Group. As Global Director, Martien provides leadership to the formulation and implementation of the Bank’s strategy and knowledge in agriculture and food, oversees the operationalization of the Bank’s vision on agriculture and food in regional and country programs, acts as senior spokesperson for agriculture and food Bank-wide and globally and manages the Agriculture and Food Global Practice. The Agriculture and Food Global Practice has a portfolio of about 160 projects with close to US$ 20 billion in commitments in investment project, program-for-results and development policy lending and about 250 staffs. Martien holds a Final (“Doctoraal”) Examination (Cum Laude), Development Economics from Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands and an MBA (Beta-Gamma-Sigma), International Executive Program from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA. He grew up on a family-owned horticulture farm in Gouda, The Netherlands.

Samuel ThevasagayamDeputy Director, Livestock Team, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Dr. Samuel Thevasagayam leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s livestock portfolio, overseeing implementation of the strategy for animal health, animal production, and animal systems. Before joining the foundation in 2012, Sam spent most of his career within the pharmaceutical industry, working in clinical development, regulatory affairs, business development, and external research alliances. Sam was responsible for the development and registration of several drugs and vaccines (human and animal) in North American, European, and international markets. Previously, he served as the director of research and development for global alliances for livestock veterinary medicine with GALVmed, a not-for-profit animal health organization. He spent his early career teaching and practicing companion animal internal medicine before spending five years in veterinary virology research at the United Kingdom’s Pirbright Institute. Sam holds a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, a Ph.D. in veterinary virology for his research on foot-and-mouth disease virus at the Pirbright Institute, and an MBA from the Säid Business School at the University of Oxford. Sam is a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Moderation

Monique EloitDirector General, World Organisation for Animal Health

Monique Eloit entered the Alfort National Veterinary School (ENVA – France) in 1977. She graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, having presented a thesis on infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, an early indication of her interest in livestock health management. Dr Eloit joined the State civil service in 1982 as a veterinary inspector.
From the very first years of her work, Dr Eloit had to deal with sensitive issues such as the transport and slaughter of livestock, at both the national level and at European Community level, and participated in the first European negotiations on these topics. In 1992, she was placed in charge of the launch of the programme for the oral vaccination of foxes against rabies, which in several years enabled the disease to be eradicated in France.
During the 1990s, she occupied successively the positions of Assistant to the Deputy Director for animal health and protection, in which capacity she participated in setting up the national agency for veterinary products (ANMV), and Deputy Head of the Department for food quality and veterinary and plant health actions. For over six years she also acted as Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the European Convention for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes (T-AP), at the Council of Europe.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Dr Eloit was appointed Director at the French Food Safety Agency (Afssa). In this capacity she helped to reform the expert committees, supervised national veterinary laboratories with regard to their scientific and technical support activities, and represented Afssa on the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Committee of national agencies. She was also in charge of the “bioterrorism” dossier, which involved making some of the Agency’s laboratories available for controls on suspicious products.
In 2005, she returned to the Ministry of Agriculture, holding three appointments simultaneously, as Deputy Director General for Food, Chief Veterinary officer (CVO) of France and Delegate to the OIE. During the four years that followed, she had to deal with many sanitary crises, including managing the avian influenza crisis, the foot and mouth disease and bluetongue epizootics and various food safety emergencies. Her duties as CVO and Delegate to the OIE involved working at a national level but also at a regional and international level.
After these years of experience, she joined the OIE in 2009, as Deputy Director General in charge of administration, management, human resources and regional actions. In addition to playing a leading role in institutional relations with Member Countries and with international organisations having an agreement with the OIE, she also supervises the activities of the OIE Regional and Sub-Regional Representations. During these past six years, she has also overseen the reform of the OIE’s accounting and financial procedures and made a significant contribution to the preparation of the OIE’s Sixth Strategic Plan for the period 2016-2020.
Dr Eloit was born in 1958 and is the mother of two children. Her husband is an eminent professor of virology at Alfort national Veterinary School and a researcher at the Pasteur Institute. Dr Eloit’s thirty years of solid professional experience have given her an invaluable knowledge of all aspects of animal health and welfare. She took over as Director General of the OIE on 1 January 2016. By so doing she became the 7th Director General of the OIE, and the first woman to hold the position.

]]> admin <![CDATA[Crisis-proof nutrition through sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture – the private sector as actor]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23600 2023-02-27T11:46:15Z 2022-11-04T09:16:23Z

All Expert Panels

Crisis-proof nutrition through sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture – the private sector as actor

Global Forum for Food and Agriculture Berlin (GFFA Berlin) e.V.

Time: Thursday, 19. January 2023, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Room: M1

Languages: English, German

Summary:

The discussion focused on the role the private sector plays in safeguarding global food security – with panellists including Alem Greiling, an oat producer from Ethiopia, Ruramiso Mashumba, president of a farmers’ association from Zimbabwe, and Frank Terhorst, a representative of Bayer AG, a large DAX-listed company operating in the field of agricultural engineering. The Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Lawrence Haddad, opened the debate by giving an overview of food scenarios worldwide. With this in mind, the panel facilitated by Dr Per Brodersen (German Agribusiness Alliance) discussed global food security with a very specific focus on the need to improve framework conditions for producers, the role associations play in knowledge transfer and the inclusion of marginalised groups, and the added value of applying/using up-to-date agricultural technologies in the relevant markets.
It became evident that the private sector has great potential for effectively producing food in a decentralised manner, thereby contributing to increased food security. Shaping framework conditions accordingly, openness towards technological diversity and not least showing entrepreneurial spirit are key pillars in this regard.

Keynote Speaker

Lawrence HaddadExecutive Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), GB

Dr Lawrence Haddad is GAIN’s Executive Director since 2016. From September 2020 and up to the United Nations Food Systems Summit that took place on 23 September 2021, Lawrence chaired Action Track 1: Ensuring Access to Safe and Nutritious Food for All. Lawrence is also the co-convener of the Standing Together for Nutrition. Prior to GAIN, Lawrence was lead author of the Global Nutrition Report, Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), and Director of the Food Consumption and Nutrition Division at IFPRI.
He is the winner of the 2018 World Food Prize together with David Nabarro. Click here for more.

 

Panel Guests

Alem GreilingManaging Director, Nutridense Agro processing plc , Ehtiopia

Alem is the founder and managing director of Nutridense food processing company. She has completed her first degree in Chemistry at Addis Ababa University and has been working in an International research company. Later on she left to Germany for further study on food processing and nutrition and she accomplished her study on Food Engineering. She has been working as a Nutrition Advisor for different nutrition programs locally and internationally.
To tackle the malnutrition in country Ethiopia, she believes that reduction of malnutrition starts at the root cause of malnutrition which start growing nutritious crops cooperating with small holders farmers providing nutritious improved crops to grow, introducing simple farming tools, and at the same time create a market linkage to the crop produced by small holders to sell directly to food manufacturing industry.

 

Frank Terhorst Head of Strategy & Sustainability, Bayer AG, Division Crop Science, Deutschland.

Frank Terhorst serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team and as Head of Strategy & Sustainability for the Crop Science division of Bayer. Based in Monheim, Germany, he leads efforts to drive the division’s long-term business and sustainability strategies that benefit farmers, consumers, and the planet.
Terhorst has worked at Bayer for over 25 years in the agriculture industry, bringing deep experience in crop strategy, crop protection, seeds and traits, strategic business initiatives, business modeling, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and lifecycle crop management. After beginning his career in crop protection in Germany, Terhorst held various positions in global portfolio management, marketing and controlling, as well as Managing Director/Country Head roles in the Netherlands and Italy. In 2011, he served as Head of Strategy for Fruits and Vegetables and Insecticides in Germany before becoming Global Head of Seeds. In addition to his responsibilities leading Seeds, Terhorst was most recently responsible for Pre-Merger Planning, which paved the way for Bayer’s successful acquisition of Monsanto.
Terhorst is married and has one son. He enjoys running, diving, golf and traveling. Terhorst speaks five languages: German, English, Italian, Dutch and Spanish

 

Ruramiso Mashumba Managing Director, Mnandi Africa & Global Farmer Network, Zimbabwe

Mrs Ruramiso Mashumba represents young farmers at national level, continental level and international level. She is a well sort out adviser and speaker for organizations like the United Nations – FAO, African development bank and for stakeholders like crop life international. She is the first woman to become chairperson of the Zimbabwe Farmers Union youth wing. Ruramiso primary role at the Union is to advocate and lobby for youth and women participation in agriculture. Ruramiso has 10 years’ experience farming in rural Zimbabwe. She has a 100 ha plantation of eucalyptus trees to address the challenges of deforestation in her community. Ruramiso is the founder of Mnandi Africa an organization that seeks to reduce hunger and poverty in rural livelihoods using tools of sustainable agriculture. Upon completing a degree in Agriculture Business Management in 2008 Ruramiso worked for one of United Kingdom’s leading agriculture companies. In 2016, Ruramiso was selected to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship, which is a flagship program of Barak Obamas Young African Leaders Initiative. Ruramiso was selected to be a panelist at the World Food Prize in Iowa and gave her input on the Importance of nutrition in Africa. In 2021 Ruramiso was named one of Zimbabwe’s most influential people below the age of 40. She has a number of videos available online featuring her recommendations in food and agriculture on global stages.

Moderation

Per BrodersenDirector, German Agribusiness Alliance

The CV will be available at a later date

 

]]> admin <![CDATA[Creating resilient food systems – with replies from those affected by the crisis!]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23648 2023-04-19T15:52:45Z 2022-11-04T09:16:23Z

All Expert Panels

Creating resilient food systems – with replies from those affected by the crisis!

 

           

     

German NGO Forum on Environment and Development
INKOTA-network e.V.
MISEREOR
FIAN Germany
Bread for the World

Time: Thursday, 19. January 2023, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Room: M6-M7

Languages: English, German

Summary:

Moderator Stig Tanzmann (Bread for the World) opened the panel with introductory remarks on the hunger crisis, the climate and biodiversity crisis, and the crisis of multilateralism. The first panelist, Sefu Sunni, Kenyan coordinator of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (CSIPM) for relations with the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), then presented the results of the CSIPM consultation process regarding the food crisis and criticized the Global Alliance for Food Security for not representing many people and not explicitly enshrining the Right to Food. She also denounced the dependence on industrial food systems and argued for better recognition of the participatory rights of women, indigenous groups and young people. In her input, Brazilian professor Veruska Prado substantiated the description of the hunger situation of many people in the global South using the example of Brazil. At the same time she expressed hope through first countermeasures of the new government Lula. Professor Antionio Andrioli, also from Brazil, reported on positive approaches “from below” and successful agroecologically oriented universities in the South American country. Finally, Dr. Silke Bollmohr from Inkota once again emphasized the importance of civil society on a global level and the need to combat the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Small farmers produce 70-80% of the world’s food – their voices must be taken seriously. In his keynote speech, Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, also advocated holistic, agro-ecological approaches. Together with more than 100 participants, the panel discussed further important approaches.

Background information:

Keynote Speaker

Michael Fakhri Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and Professor, UN and University of Oregon School of Law

Mr. Michael Fakhri is a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law where he teaches courses on human rights, food law, development, and commercial law. He is also the director of the Food Resiliency Project in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center. He holds a Doctorate from the University of Toronto, Masters from Harvard Law School, Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University, and a Bachelor of Science in Ecology from Western University. He has taught courses on the right to food at Harvard Law School, European University Institute, and the University of Arizona Indigenous Governance Program. He has delivered lectures on international human rights and development topics at universities in places such as South Africa, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Iceland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He has also led public dialogues on human rights and development with peasant organizations, labor unions, and human rights activists in the Arab region and North America, and at international organizations such as the WTO Ministerial Conference. During his practice as a lawyer, Mr. Fakhri fought for the rights of people who were indigent and incarcerated in a psychiatric institution. More recently, his book Bandung, Global History, and International Law (co-edited with Vasuki Nesiah and Luis Eslava) was cited by the International Court of Justice. He was appointed Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food by the Human Rights Council in March 2020 and assumed his functions on 1 May 2020.

Panel Guests

Prof. Antonio AndrioliProfessor, Federal University of Fronteira Sul, Brasil; Visiting professor at the Hamburg University

Professor Andrioli is an agricultural engineer. He studied philosophy and wrote a doctoral thesis on the comparison between organic and transgenic soybeans at the University of Osnabrück. He was a research assistant at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz and was involved in the foundation of the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS) in Brazil. He was also a member of the Brazilian Biosafety Commission CTNBio. As Director and Vice-President, he was responsible for establishing another six sites of the Federal University in the South of Brazil. In 2020, he received the Nature Protection Award from the Bavarian Association for Nature Conservation. Since August 2022, he has been a visiting scientist at the CSS (Center for Sustainable Society Research) of the University of Hamburg.

Dr. Silke BollmohrSenior Policy Advisor for Global Food Policy and Agriculture, INKOTA-network e.V.

Dr Silke Bollmohr holds a PhD in environmental science (University of Koblenz and Landau) and did practical work and research on agripolitical issues for 25 years, mainly in Africa. Her work’s key subject was sustainable agriculture. Over the last five years, she has academically accompanied the campaigning of different civil-society organisations in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. Together with smallholder farmers, she has developed alternatives for building more resilient agricultural systems that are less dependent on external inputs. She has recently started working as a Senior Policy Advisor for Global Food Policy and Agriculture for the development-policy network INKOTA.

Sefu SanniCoordinator of the CSM Youth working group, World March of Women, Kenya

Sefu Sanni is a coordinator of the CSIPM Youth working group and a regional coordinator for the CSIPM African region. She participated in the African regional consultations that discussed the situation and concerns related to food that are experienced in territories, countries and different regions in Africa calling on governments, communities, organisations and all other groups of actors at the different levels of our food systems to mobilise and engage together to truly take charge of the food sovereignty of the continent, participating actively in the 49th and 50th CFS plenaries. She is a member of the World March of Women in charge Communications and Raporteuring and vied for county Assembly elections-2022. She is also a creative artist.

 

Prof. Veruska Prado Alexandre Weiss Professor, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brasil

Mrs. Prado A.-Weiss is a research Professor at the Faculty of Nutrition at the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. She is a member of the Working Group on Food Security Monitoring of The Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security. Mrs. Prado A.-Weiss has contributed to the II. National Survey on Food Insecurity in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil. She has an interdisciplinary and community-based approach and researches the right to food and school food programs. She is currently based in Germany, where she works on food and nutrition security policies, nutrition-sensitive interventions, measuring hunger and food insecurity, and promoting food equity.

Stig TanzmannAdvisor on Agricultural Issues, Bread for the World

Stig Tanzmann is a farmer and an agricultural scientist who has been working as an advisor on Agricultural Issues at Bread for the World since 2010. Since 2008, he has been doing research on the international effects of the European meat production. Other focus areas of his work include the influence on development policies of the EU’s agricultural policy, agroecology, biodiversity, bioeconomy, digitalisation in agriculture, genetic engineering and seeds.

 

]]> admin <![CDATA[Emergency solution or silver bullet? National pathways for food system transformation]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23686 2023-02-21T14:54:15Z 2022-11-04T09:16:23Z

All Expert Panels

Emergency solution or silver bullet? National pathways for food system transformation

 

         

  

    

Think Tank for Sustainability (TMG)
Andreas Hermes Academy
European Commission DG Research & InnovationBioeconomy & Food Systems (B2)
Welthungerhilfe
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
WWF 

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 09:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Room: A1

Language: English, German, French

Summary:

The participating experts discussed the elaboration, objectives and implementation of the so-called “National Pathways”, using the examples of Cambodia, Ethiopia and Kenya. In addition, a classification by the scientific community was part of the discussion. The input providers did not only discuss from a regional perspective, but also approached the topic from a sectoral perspective, i.e. from the perspective of the producers (Dr. M`Mailutha), the civil society (Ms. Worku) as well as the governmental – and thus regulatory – institutions (Dr. Sok Silo). During the short first inputs it became clear that there have been successes in the respective “National Pathways”, but that there are still big steps to be taken, especially with regard to the inclusion of marginalized groups. A general strengthening of the targeted exchange between science, state institutions and civil society was also highlighted as a desirable goal, as only in this way can truly holistic solutions be devised and implemented. During the exchange with the audience, various aspects were discussed (e.g. financing of implementation) and underlined by different experts, e.g. from GIZ or the EU Commission. The input of Agatha Thuo and Dr. Marcella D`Souza, both speakers of a thirteen-member expert group, which successfully addressed the issue of governance of food systems in the run-up to the expert panel, deserves special mention.

Panel Guests

Dr. Daniel M. M'MailuthaCEO, Kenya National Farmers' Federation (KENAFF)

Dr. Mwendah M’Mailutha is the Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF) CEO since September 2017.
He is an expert in agricultural policy development and development economics with specialities in rural development. He has an intimate understanding of the agricultural sector in Kenya and Eastern Africa and is well versed in the role of agriculture in the socio-economic transformation of African countries.
Dr. Mwendah M’Mailutha holds a PhD in International Development Policy and a Master’s in Public Policy from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, United States. Before that, he graduated from Kenya’s Egerton University with a BSc in Agriculture and Human Ecology. He also holds certificates in International Law, Business Administration, Leadership & Management, and Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) for development.
He has a wealth of professional experience, having worked as a field research assistant for Catholic Relief Services in former Sudan (now South Sudan), as a regional coordinator for KENAFF, and as a lecturer at the Kenya School of Government and Egerton University in Kenya. He has also held teaching positions as a graduate student in the USA (2006–2013). Additionally, he co-founded two prosperous enterprises in Kenya and South Sudan that catered to farmers.
Dr. Mwendah M’ Mailutha has a passion for dairy farming and apiculture and practices both in Nakuru County.

H.E. Dr. Sok SiloSecretary General, Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)

H.E. Dr. Sok Silo has served as the Secretary General for the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) of the Royal Government of Cambodia since July 2019. He has been appointing as the SUN Government Focal Point since August 2014 and the National Food System Dialogues Convener since November 2020. He is also the Secretary of the Technical Working Group for Food Security and Nutrition. Previous holding these positions, H.E. Dr. Sok Silo was Deputy Secretary General of CARD for 12 years, Director of the Administration Department of CARD for nearly 10 years and Private Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for almost 5 years.
Dr. Sok Silo played an important role in the coordination and policies and strategies formulation related to food systems, food security and nutrition in Cambodia. He has actively led the dialogues and consultations in the development of the 2nd National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition 2019-2023, the Cambodia’s Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2030 and the Country Operational Roadmap for the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting and many others.

Prof. Dr. Roberta SonninoProfessor of Sustainable Food Systems, University of Surrey

Roberta Sonnino is Professor of Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Surrey (UK). Over her career, she has produced more than 100 publications on sustainable food, some of which have been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Korean. Professor Sonnino has an established track record of creating impact and engagement at the interface of food systems research and policy. In recent years, she has been Vice-Chair of the FOOD2030 Expert Group, which led the development of four priority areas of the FOOD 2030 European research framework; lead author of FAO’s Framework for the Urban Food Agenda and Rapporteur of the High Level Expert Group assembled by the EC to explore ways to improve food systems governance through more effective science-policy-society-interfaces. Professor Sonnino is currently principal investigator of the €12m FOODCLIC project, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Programme, researching the transformation of city-region food systems in European and African city-regions.

 

Sara Worku ZergawCountry Coordinator, Alliance 2015 Ethiopia

Sara Worku is a development professional with 15 years of experience. She currently fulfils the role of Coordinator of Alliance2015-Ethiopia (www.alliance2015.org) since 2019.  Alliance2015 is a strategic network of 7 European-based, globally active humanitarian, development and advocacy NGOs, acting as a platform to foster and nurture collaborations for greater scale and impact towards the SDGs and humanitarian principles; leveraging joint actions, knowledge, and solidarity and working extensively with local partners.

Sara’s role involves providing strategic intelligence and steering, facilitation, coordination, representation and advocacy competencies to Alliance2015 members in Ethiopia. In terms of advocacy and representation, Sara represents the Alliance in several different key national-level dialogues and for a; for example, the Ethiopia food systems transformation pathway mechanism; and acting as co-chair for the National Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture forum/platform. She is also playing a role to empower the CSO partners who are working with the Alliance2015 members to be more effectively included and access improved pathways to influence, resources and skills and competency building.

Prior to this senior role, Sara has worked in both national and international non-governmental organizations including People In Need covering initiatives in sectors including job creation, women and child empowerment. Sara holds a Master’s degree in Geography and Environmental studies from Addis Ababa university.

 

Moderation

Dr. Jes WeigeltHead of Programmes, TMG Research gGmbH

Jes is responsible for co-steering TMG’s programmes, and overall strategic development. He has more than 10 years’ experience in providing science-based policy advice in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. His thematic interests span natural resources governance, transitions to sustainability, co-creation of knowledge, and social innovation.

 

]]> admin <![CDATA[Food Systems of the Future – The National Dialogue on the UNFSS in Germany]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23805 2023-02-21T15:52:32Z 2022-11-04T09:16:22Z

All Expert Panels

Food Systems of the Future – The National Dialogue on the UNFSS in Germany

Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE)

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Room: M6-M7

Languages: English, German

Summary:

The results of the German dialogue on the UNFSS process were discussed at the event. The dialogue leader Dr. Eiden reported on the implementation of the process and its results.
A policy advisory paper was produced from the results, which was submitted to the Federal Ministry and can be used in the design of various policy fields.
Dr. Fotiou, Head of the UNFSS Hub, reported on the activities and progress of the process at international level. He went into the stocktaking in 2023. . It is important that the national results are implemented and at the same time that more joint activities are launched at supranational level.
In the course of the discussion, farmer Jana Gäbert described the challenges facing farms on the path to sustainable food systems. Particularly important is a “national path” describing milestones and reliable framework conditions. However, it should be possible for farms to adapt and implement measures specific to their farm and location.
In evaluating the results of the process, the nutrition psychologist Prof. Dr. Britta Renner from the University of Konstanz focused on the need to incorporate them into political processes and the design of nutritional environments in view of the change in nutrition behavior.

Panel Guests

Dr. Hanns-Christoph EidenPresident, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food

Dr. Hanns-Christoph Eiden holds a doctorate in law and has been President of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) since 2010. The BLE implements a wide range of control, networking and communication measures in the field of agriculture and nutrition. As a project management agency, the authority is also responsible for research projects, including EU-wide, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
In the last year and a half, the BLE conducted the National Dialogue on Food Systems on behalf of the BMEL. Dr Eiden held the role of dialogue leader. Before taking on his current role at the BLE, Dr Hanns-Christoph Eiden held a variety of positions at the BMEL and was most recently in charge of European and international affairs as well as the German spokesperson on the EU’s Special Committee on Agriculture.

Dr. Stefanos FotiouDirektor des Büros für SDGs und Direktor des UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, Ernährungs- und Landwirtschaftsorganisation der Vereinten Nationen (FAO)

The CV is currently available only in German.

 

Jana GäbertFarmer, agt Agrargenossenschaft Trebbin eG

Jana Gäbert is an agricultural scientist and managing director at Agrargenossenschaft Trebbin eG. With a degree in agriculture, she enjoys bringing science and practice together at an agricultural cooperative in Brandenburg and is convinced that modern agriculture and biodiversity promotion go together perfectly. Jana Gäbert is committed to sustainable intensification that combines the advantages of organic and conventional farming. On her farm, an agricultural cooperative, she manages 4100 ha – 1200 ha of which is grassland – on an often low-yielding sandy site.
See_ https://progressive-agrarwende.org/author/janagaebert/.

 

Prof. Dr. Britta RennerProfessur für Psychologische Diagnostik und Gesundheitspsychologie; stv. Vorsitzende des Wissenschaftlichen Beirats für Agrarpolitik, Ernährung und gesundheitlichen Verbraucherschutz des BMEL, Universität Konstanz

Britta Renner has held the Chair of Psychological Diagnostics and Health Psychology at the University of Konstanz since 2007. She studied psychology in Berlin and Landau; doctorate at the FU Berlin (2000).
A long-standing focus of her research is the study of psychological determinants of health behavior with a focus on dietary behavior and the development of mobile interventions for behavior change. She also leads projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the EU (DEDIPAC; SMARTACT; EATMOTIVE). As part of the Cluster of Excellence EXC 2117 “”Collective Behavior””, she has been leading the research project “”Collective Appetite”” since 2019. Another topic her research deals with is subjective risk assessment, risk communication and health behavior. Prof. Renner is Vice President of the DGE and Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Agricultural Policy, Nutrition and Consumer Health Protection at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Cluster of Excellence EXC 2117 “”Collective Behavior”” and on the Advisory Board of the BMBF nutrition cluster NutriAct.

Moderation

Nadine KreutzerFreelance Radio Moderator

Nadine Kreutzer has been working in broadcasting for over 20 years. As a moderator, she is on the radio, on stage and in front of the camera. She studied political science and moderated the four digital events for the National Dialogue on Food Systems with various stakeholders along the value chain.

]]> admin <![CDATA[Linking indigenous knowledge with transformation processes of sustainable food systems – concepts and examples]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23782 2023-02-21T15:54:40Z 2022-11-04T09:16:22Z

All Expert Panels

Linking indigenous knowledge with transformation processes of sustainable food systems – concepts and examples

   

Welthungerhilfe
Humboldt University of Berlin
ZALF e.V.

Time: Friday, 20. January 2023, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Room: M2-M3

Languages: English, German, French

Summary:

Against the backdrop of multi-dimensional food crises, the Expert Panel “Linking indigenous knowledge with transformation processes of sustainable food systems – concepts and examples”, jointly organized by Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. (WHH), Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin discussed the crucial role of indigenous peoples´ and their knowledge systems in designing equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient food systems.

The moderator of the event Dr. Katharina Löhr (ZALF) welcomed more than 150 participants to the vivid discussion, which was kicked off with a keynote by Prof. Joachim von Braun (Bonn University). By presenting best practices and their scalability potential to foster better linkages between “indigenous” and “academic” knowledge systems, experts from academia and practice (Collela Madjebi BE, GSDM; Tania Eulalia Martinez-Cruz, VUB; Dr. med. Fatimata Koné, WHH & Dr. Céline Termote, Alliance Bioversity-CIAT) clearly demonstrated that disparate knowledge systems are compatible.

The experts´ contributions made evident that technological, social, and policy innovations must be developed in co-creation with local communities respecting and fostering their traditional knowledge systems. This requires supportive political action which ensures an equitable representation of indigenous peoples´ and their knowledge systems in policy processes on all levels, as summarized by commentor Asja Hanano (WHH).

Keynote Speaker

Prof. Joachim von BraunFormer Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), former Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Chair of the UNFSS Scientific Group

Joachim von Braun is Distinguished Professor for economic and technological change at Bonn University, Center for Development Research (ZEF). His research is on economic development, science and technology policy, poverty reduction, food and nutrition security, agriculture, resource economics, and trade. Von Braun is President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican, and member of various academies of science, incl. in Asia and Africa. He is Vice President of the German NGO Welthungerhilfe. He served as Chair of the Scientific Group for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. He was director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington DC.

Panel Guests

Asja HananoHead of the Department for Policy & External Relations and Head of the Berlin Office of Welthungerhilfe

Asja Hanano is Head of the Policy & External Relations Department and the Berlin Office of Welthungerhilfe (WHH) since 2019. She has worked in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance for almost 20 years, for WHH since 2011. Before Berlin, she worked 15 years abroad, most recently as Country Director in Nepal and Liberia, and for other INGOs in South Sudan, Myanmar and Ethiopia. Asja is keen to use her hands-on experience to advocate for political change towards zero hunger and for the realization of the right to adequate food, and to strengthen interlinkages between programme and political work. She is passionate about addressing structural causes of hunger and poverty and making sure that demands from the ground are taken-up in policy processes.

Dr. med. Fatimata KonéDoctor, Food Scientist and Head of Project, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe

Dr. med. Fatimata Konè is a Medical Nutritionist and Head of Project at Welthungerhilfe Mali, where she has been working for over a decade. She has extensive expertise in food and nutrition security as well as emergency and transitional aid. Dr. med. Koné obtained her Doctorate in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology (FMPOS), Bamako.
Currently, she is Head of Project of an emergency project in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office and WFP in the central regions of Mali (Mopti & Segou) with the main object to ensure that long-term displaced and vulnerable rural residents have access to food, nutrition, and sustainable livelihoods through the provision of unconditional food assistance.

Collela Madjebi BeProject Manager, Groupement Semis Direct de Madagascar

Collela Madjebi BE is a Project Manager of ProSAR at Groupement Semis Direct de Madagascar (GSDM) with an extensive expertise in Agroecology. Before joining GSDM he gained several years of experience as a technical assistant in the prevention of food crises (FAO CSA, PROACTING) and as an Agricultural and Environment Manager (Fiantso Madagascar & Welthungerhilfe, SILVER) in Madagascar. Within ProSAR, initiated by BMZ and implemented by GIZ Madagascar, GSDM is contributing its expertise in agroecology to improve the food and nutrition security of vulnerable and malnourished farmers in the southeastern district of Vondrozo, Madagascar. Since 2018 he holds a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from Unversity of Tananarivo.

Dr. Tania Eulalia Martinez CruzIndigenous Activist and Researcher, Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich

Tania Eulalia Martinez-Cruz is an interdisciplinary researcher and an Ëyuujk Indigenous Woman from Mexico. She is a Research Associate at the Laboratory of Anthropology of Contemporary Worlds, Free University of Brussels, and a consultant on Global Water Processes and Indigenous Peoples for the UNDP-SIWI Water Governance Facility, Stockholm International Water Institute. She has 15 years of experience working on issues linked to international development. She uses her research and collaboration with Indigenous organizations and other stakeholders to advocate for Indigenous Peoples’ role, knowledge, and practices in tackling global challenges such as water, nutrition, food security, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

 

Dr. Céline TermoteScientist and Country Representative for Biodiversity Kenia, Alliance Bioversity International-CIAT

Dr. Céline Termote is a Senior Scientist at the Alliance Bioversity International-CIAT, with over 15 years of experience with research in development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her multidisciplinary work bridges ethnobotany, agroecology, sustainable food systems, diet diversity and quality, with focus on evaluation of community-based participatory approaches. As Team leader for Africa in the Food Environment and Consumer Behavior research program, she leads a team of about 25 people working on value chains, market integration, study and promotion of agrobiodiversity for diet diversity, food environments, nutrition education and dietary outcomes. Dr. Termote holds a PhD from Ghent University, Belgium.

Moderation

Dr. Katharina LöhrDeputy Head of the working group ‘Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries’", Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)

Dr. Katharina Löhr is Deputy Head of the working Group ‘Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries’ at Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e.V in Müncheberg and associated researcher at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. In her work she focuses on social-ecological systems and the questions how natural resource management and practices interact with societal relations. Her current project work concentrates on restoration, diversification, agroforestry, livelihoods and impact assessment. With respect to food security research, her focus is on integrated food systems and how to bridge academic and extra-academic knowledge. Dr. Löhr holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

 

]]> admin <![CDATA[Investing on Local Farmers’ Solutions to address Global Food System Challenges]]> https://gffa-berlin.de/?p=23624 2023-02-21T14:41:38Z 2022-11-04T09:16:21Z

All Expert Panels

Investing on Local Farmers’ Solutions to address Global Food System Challenges

     

World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO)
Andreas Hermes Academy (AHA)

Time: Thursday, 19. January 2023, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Room: M4-M5

Languages: English, German, French

Summary:

The panel discussion with high-level participants from WFO, PAFO, AgriCord, World Bank, IFAD and the Food & Land Use Coallition revolved around the critical issue of access to finance for farmers. Backed up by statistical data of the IFAD, the audience learned that only 2% of global climate finance reaches smallholder farmers. However, access to finance is a crucial component for farmers to fulfil their role in changing production means, thus, contributing to a transformation of food systems. Adapting to climate change is and will pose substantial challenges within this transformation as the consequences of a changing climate are unfolding rapidly. Additionally, no blueprint solutions exist but they need to be adapted to the local conditions. Adequate funds to enable this process are crucial.

The panelists agreed that farmers’ organisations are instrumental in building the capacities of their members, a prerequisite for farmers to access funding. Furthermore, only a well-organized agricultural sector, at every level, has the ability to respond to ongoing challenges with the necessary bargaining power.

Another point noted by the panel is the importance of international agreements and a coherent international agenda. However, precisely for those international efforts to be effective at the local level, farmers need to be empowered and involved: Through the representation by farmers’ organisations, they demand to sit at the table.

Panel Guests

Edward DaveyPolicy and International Engagement Director, Food and Land Use Coalition

Edward Davey has two jobs at WRI. The first is Policy and International Engagement Director of the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU). Here, he advocates for global policy change on food and land use systems, working with national governments, international institutions and FOLU’s Ambassadors. In this role, he served as an adviser to the UK government during its Presidency of COP26 and was involved in the preparation of the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

The second is as Co-Director of WRI UK, a joint role with Leo Horn-Phathanothai. In this role, Edward is responsible for the care of WRI UK’s 50 staff, its relationship with the UK government, UK-based Board members and other key partners, as well as with WRI’s royal patron, the former Prince of Wales, now King Charles III.

Marcel GroleauPresident, AgriCord

Mr. Marcel Groleau was President of the Producteurs de lait du Québec from 2004 to 2011 before becoming General President of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) and Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), a position he held until December 2021.

Marcel Groleau’s involvement in the agricultural sector goes well beyond the UPA presidency. He is also president of UPA Développement international and president of Agricord, an organization of 12 agencies that support the development of agricultural organizations in less developed countries. He is also president of the Agricultural and food exception coalition. Mr. Groleau sits on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and on the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. He has participated in numerous missions abroad to follow up on the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and international meetings of agricultural organizations. He also holds a seat on the audit committee of the World Farmers Organization. Mr. Groleau also participated in the advisory committee on the renegotiation of NAFTA.

Mr. Groleau is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) and the Banques alimentaires du Québec.

 

Arnold Puech d'AlissacPresident, WFO - World Farmers' Organisation

President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) since June 2022, Arnold Puech d’Alissac is a passionate family farmer in the Normandy region in northern France. He farms free-range poultry, beef cattle and various crops in Pissy-Pôville.

Mr Puech d’Alissac has always dedicated his life to advocating for the farmers at the national, regional and global levels.

Bureau member of the Fédération national des syndicats d’exploitant agricoles (FNSEA), he represented the European Constituency on the WFO Board from 2017 to 2022, also serving as the Treasurer and Vice President of the Organisation.

He also held the position of President of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) from 1999 to 2001.

His motto is “Tout seul, on va plus vite, ensemble, on va plus loin” (“Alone we go faster, together we go further”).

 

Thouraya TrikiDirector of Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division, IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development

Thouraya Triki is the Director of the Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division (PMI), IFAD’s technical division supporting regional teams to design and implement Investment projects and Grants aimed at reducing rural poverty and promoting food security. She also oversees IFAD’s private sector unit in charge of non-sovereign private sector operations and initiatives.

Before joining IFAD, Triki worked at the African Development Bank (AfDB) as Manager in the Microeconomics, Institutions and Development Impact Division, at its headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. In that role, she oversaw the screening of all AfDB private sector operations in terms of additionality and development impact.

From 2013 to 2017, she was Chief Country Economist at AfDB North Africa Regional Department based in Tunis, Tunisia where she worked on both private and public sector operations, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship, Public Private Partnerships and financial inclusion/ financial sector development initiatives. She also played a leading role in setting up the AfDB Public Private Partnerships Hub for North Africa and the Souk At-tanmia program promoting youth employment.

From 2008 to 2013 Triki held a senior and then principal economist position at AfDB where she helped set up the Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment (ADOA) team. In this role, she also actively contributed to developing several AfDB flagship programs such as the SME program and the trade finance program, and authored several papers and books on financial inclusion and financial sector development in Africa.

Before joining the AfDB, Triki spent about 10 years in various positions in academia – teaching finance in Canada, France and Tunisia, and managing and consulting with private sector businesses.

Triki holds a PhD in finance (risk management) from HEC Montréal.

 

Martien Van NieuwkoopGlobal Director Agriculture and Food, World Bank Group (WBG)

Martien van Nieuwkoop, a Dutch national, was appointed Global Director for the Agriculture and Food Global Practice in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Practice Group on July 1, 2019.  As Global Director, Martien provides leadership to the formulation and implementation of the Bank’s strategy and knowledge in agriculture and food, oversees the operationalization of the Bank’s vision on agriculture and food in regional and country programs, acts as senior spokesperson for agriculture and food Bank-wide and globally and manages the Agriculture and Food Global Practice.  The Agriculture and Food Global Practice has a portfolio of about 160 projects with close to US$ 20 billion in commitments in investment project, program-for-results and development policy lending and about 250 staffs.

Before taking this position, Martien served for two years as Practice Director of the World Bank’s Agriculture Global Practice, where he oversaw the Bank’s agriculture lending, portfolio and analytic work in the East-Asia Pacific, Latin-America and the Caribbean and South Asia Regions, coordinated collaboration with IFC on agribusiness, and led the Bank’s global engagement on agriculture and climate change.

Martien joined the World Bank in 1993 as a Young Professional and worked initially as an agriculture economist in the Latin-America and Caribbean Region.  He was cluster leader covering agriculture during field assignments in Madagascar from 2001-2004 and in India from 2005-2007.  From 2007 to 2015 Martien worked as Program Coordinator and Sector Manager for Agriculture in various assignments in the Africa Region, including covering Southern and West-Africa.  He was also the Practice Manager for Agriculture in the South-Asia Region, a position he held from 2015-2017.  Prior to joining the Bank, Martien was an associate scientist in the Economics Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico from 1991-1993 and an associate expert in the Dutch bilateral cooperation program in Pakistan from 1989-1991.

Martien holds a Final (“Doctoraal”) Examination (Cum Laude), Development Economics from Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands and an MBA (Beta-Gamma-Sigma), International Executive Program from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA.  He grew up on a family-owned horticulture farm in Gouda, The Netherlands.

Connect with Martien van Nieuwkoop on LinkedIn.

 

Moderation

Dr. Babafemi OyewoleCEO, Pan-African Farmers' Organization

Dr. Babafemi Oyewole, the CEO of Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO), is an international and tri-sector executive leader with a track record of success that reflects broad experience gained across banking, corporate management, strategy, marketing, and business development.

Earlier, he was the CEO of African Agribusiness Alliance, Accra, Ghana; former CEO of African Cashew Alliance, Accra, Ghana; a former Executive Director/CEO of African Energy Investment Corporation, AEICORP, Cotonou, Benin Republic and General Manager Banque Internationale du Benin. He served as Deputy Secretary General of the West African Bankers Association (WABA) in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Dr Oyewole obtained his PhD (Development Finance and Policy) from the University of Bradford, U.K. as a Chevening Scholar; MBA (Marketing and Business Strategy) and Executive Certificate in Financial Institutions for Private Sector Development from the Harvard University, USA in addition to several professional and personal development courses in reputable institutions.

He is a regular resource person and speaker in international conferences and fluent in English and French languages.

 

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