TRANSITIONING TOWARDS AGROECOLOGY AND REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE: A CONTRIBUTION TO FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATIONS
Supporting the Agroecology (AE) transition in the ASEAN region
• The ASEAN policy guidance note on accompanying the AE transition and the role of the Lao-facilitated Initiative on Agroecology for ASEAN (LICA)
• The AE Coalition
• The Sustainable Food Systems Programme in SEA
Group discussions :Which common futures are we striving at for AE in the ASEAN region?
Embedding the AE Coalition in the ASEAN through linking with SEA initiatives (LICA, ALiSEA, ASEAN CRN, CASIC, SFS NAPs) and initiating a roadmap for an ASEAN-grounded Agroecology Coalition chapter.
• Opportunity for the participants to network with each other·
• Informal discussions with government officials, development partners and donors
Welcome remarks (30’)
1. Mr. Markus Buerli, Director of Cooperation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Cambodia His Excellency
2. Mr. Jacques Pellet, French Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia
Opening remarks
1. His Excellency Dith Tina, Minister of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Cambodia (TBC)
Introduction to the Cambodian Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC), recommendations from 2022 CASIC Regional Workshop, objectives of TARASA23 workshop (30’)
• Group photo
Ballroom Hall & Lobby
• Imperatives of transforming our food systems
Keynote speech by Prof. Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights/Co-chair, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems(30’)
• How Agroecology can contribute to more sustainable and inclusive food systems, and healthier agroecosystems Keynote speech by Dr. Pablo Titonell, Senior associate researcher at the French International Cooperation Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CIRAD), CGIAR International Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) Commissioner (30’)
• Moderated by: Dr. Hitomi Rankine, UNESCAP
Q&A session (30’)
(Location)
• The Agroecology Coalition, Dr. Oliver Oliveros (15’)
• The 4p1000 initiative, Dr. Paul Luu (15’)
• WOCAT, Dr. Albrecht Ehrensperger (10’)
• ORCaSa: Towards an International Research Consortium on soil carbon / How to give value to Carbon Farming Initiatives on Carbon Markets? Mrs Dr. Ellie DAGUET (CIRAD) (10’)
• TEEB Agri Food, Mrs. Dr. Rebeca Leonard (UNDP) (10’)
• Moderated by: Mr. Pierre Ferrand, FAO
Q&A session (30’)
Ballroom Hall
Key Note on New National Program of Commune Facilitators/Cambodia, HE Dr. Yang Saing Koma, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) (15’)
Q&A Session (15’)
• ASEAN Climate Resilient Network, Dr Margaret Yoovatana (15’)
• The One Million Voices initiatives of AE & the Youth agenda for AE, Ms Irish Baguilat (Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development, AFA) & Ms ALAR-LAA JOY B. CAGATA (PAKISAMA)Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture in ASEAN (15’)
• Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM), Mr. Marco Silvestri (15’)
• Agroecology and Safe Food Systems Transition project (ASSET) and ALiSEA, Dr. Estelle Bienabe (CIRAD) and Mr. PAT Sovann (GRET) (15’)
• Moderated by: Dr. Marlene Ramirez, Asia DHRRA
Q&A session (30’)
Wrap up Day 2 – Comments/remarks on Day 2 (20’)
Overview of Day 3 agenda (10’)
Field visits (optional)
Agricultural Technology Park (ATP) – CE SAIN
Teuk Vil Commune, Siem Reap Province
Technologies and Innovations in the Field of Agroecology(AE) and Regenerative Agriculture (RA)
• “Agroecological Crop Protection for Rice in Cambodia” - Mathilde Sester, CIRAD
• “Exporation and exploitation of rice microbiome as sustainable agriculture in Cambodia” - Oeum Kakada, IRD
• “Impacts of Long-Term Tillage on the Changes in Soil Organic C and N under Cassava Production Systems in the Upland of Cambodia” - Leng Vira, DARLM/GDA
• “Research Progress on Straw Banana Returning Technology in Tropical Agricultural Areas of China” - Zhang Xirui, Hainan University
Moderated by: Ms. Irish Baguilat, Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development
Q&A session (20’)
Panel and Plenary discussion: key research and research methods, and/or intervention fronts to be addressed in the field of technologies and innovations in AE and RA (20’)
Coffee Break & Evaluation of agroecological pathways : methodological advances and challenges
• “ALiSEA Policy Dialogue” - Mr. Sok Sotha, ALiSEA
• “Participatory impact assessment for climate-resilient integrated farming systems” - Pr. Soben Kim, RUA
• “Promoting agriculture innovation and climate resilience in Lao PDR” - Mr. Thongdam Phongphichith, SAEDA/ALiSEA
• “SSLA Lesson Learned on Farmer Capacity Development: Towards a Community of Practice in Agroecology. Battambang province, Cambodia” - Mrs. Siengly Hong, SSLA
• Moderated by: Mr. Andrew Bartlett, ASSET
Q&A session (20’)
Panel and Plenary discussion: Social and institutional innovation at the grassroots and organizational level that promote the further development and uptake of AE and RA, including different intervention fronts that need to be addressed in building human and organizational capacity in AE and RA (20’)
Support to innovation implementation in the field of AE and RA
• “Bringing Systems’ Approach to Innovation Support Service to promote Sustainable Agrifood Transformation” - Mrs. Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar, FAO
• “Agroecology in Practice: Why a landscape approach makes sense for Lao PDR - Andrew Bartlett, ASSET
• “MetKasekor Model” - Ream Soveth, Swisscontact
• “Research to Support Regenerative Agriculture through Mechanization Technologies” - Mr. Eric Reynoso, SEARCA
• Moderated by: Dr. Margaret Yoovatana, Director of International Agricultural Affairs Group (IAAG), Planning and Technical Division, Department of Agriculture, Thailand
Q&A session (20’)
Panel and Plenary discussion: key research, intervention fronts, institutional arrangements, and means of implementation that need to be addressed in the field of innovation in AE and RA (20’)
Ballroom Hall
Finance and investment in the field of AE and RA
• “Exploring Financial Mechanisms for Agroecological Transition: The Dei Meas Initiative in Cambodia” - Mr. Phy Chhin, DALRM/GDA and Mr. Pierre-Antoine Vernet, Swisscontact/CIRAD
• “Adoption of socially inclusive, environment-friendly and economically viable practices by private land- and forest investors in Lao PDR” - Ms. Vongdeuane SOULALAY (RECOFTC/TLI)
• “The future of rice fields: main lessons from an analysis of incentive mechanisms to agroecology in Cambodia” - Mrs. Alexia Dayet, CIRAD
• “Developing Entrepreneurial Mindset to accelerate Climate Resilient Agriculture offer” - Mrs. Mélanie Mossard, Impact Hub CambodiaModerated by: Dr. Ellie Daguet, CIRAD
Q&A session (20’)
Panel and Plenary discussion: key research, institutional set-up, policy environment and/or intervention fronts to be addressed in the field of finance and investment in AE and RA (20’)
(Location)
Public policies supportive of AE and RA
• “Mainstreaming Agroecology into public policies” - Vietnam, Ms. Thu Minh Doan
• “Design thinking process for the policy guidance on Agroecology for ASEAN” - Dr. Thateva Saphangthong, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR
• “Enabling environment regulations, constraints and incentives for transformative land investments in Lao PDR” - Dr. Thiphavong Boupha (Land Equity International/TLI).
• Moderated by: Dr. Estelle Biénabe (CIRAD) & Dr. Dao The Anh (VAAS)
Feedback from Day1/pre-event on drafting a road map to support the Agroecology transition in the ASEAN region (15’)
Panel and Plenary discussion: key policy interventions, institutional arrangements, and/or intervention fronts to be addressed in the field of public policies on AE and RA, Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) national dialogues and action plans (SFS NAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) engagements, National engagements regarding biodiversity conservation: what convergences and divergences in objectives and strategies (45’)
Ballroom Hall
Towards an enhanced collaboration and partnership in the Asia Pacific region to promote food systems transformation through agroecology.
This session will include a high-level summary of key points that have emerged from the 5 sessions/systems compartments (5 sessions moderators; 5 minutes each)
This will be followed by a roundtable discussion involving the AE Coalition National Focal Points to get their views on what has been presented and how these can be considered in the transformation process.
Some international discussants will also be solicited to react and interact with the national focal points, looking at ways and means by which the region can be further supported and encouraged towards the transformation process.
Moderated by: Dr. Oliver Oliveros, AE Coalition(50’+20’ Q&A)
Focus areas for the next workshop (30’)
Moderated by: Mr. Rajiv Pradhan, Swisscontact
(inert text)
Education: PhD in Agriculture in 1995, Leipzig University, Germany.Professional and experiences:• 1995 to 2003: Lecturer at the Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia.• 1997 to 2015: President of CEDAC, Non-Government Organization,Cambodia.• 2016-2022: Freelance Agriculture Advisor.• 2022 – present: Secretary of State of Ministry of Agriculture Forestryand Fishery (MAFF), responsible for the development of rice sector anddeployment of commune agriculture officers.
Mr Marco Silvestri is the interim Deputy Head and Programme Management Officer of the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Prior to CSAM, he also worked on sustainable development initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), ESCAP headquarters, and UN Environment Programme.
Vira Leng is an agronomist with over 15 years of experience in designing, evaluating, and disseminating conservation agriculture (CA) and agroecology. He has been working for the Cambodian Conservation Agriculture Research for Development Centre (CARDEC) of the Department of Agricultural Land Resources Management (DALRM). His area of expertise is in designing master plans for CA-based research programs, adaptive research for the enhancement of soil health and ecosystem services, increasing crop yield and profitability while preserving natural resources, appropriate scale mechanization, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. He also manages a large diversity of annual lowland and upland cash, cover, and fodder crops, as well as facilitates the academic research activities of local and international students and coordinates research and extension programmes across the bio-physical environment of Cambodia. He holds a master's in the field of agricultural and environmental science from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.He is currently pursuing his PhD at the doctoral school GAIA, Montpellier SupAgro, France. His PhD research focuses on the impacts of long-term tillage on soil organic carbon dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions under a cassava-based cropping system in the uplands of Cambodia.
Dean Faculty of Forestry Science and Director center for agricultural and environmental studies, Royal University of Agriculture. More than 20 years of experiences in climate change, wetland ecology, natural resource management, climate smart agriculture, integrated farming system and agroforestry. The main responsibility is leading of education, research and project management on forestry, natural resource and climate change project coordinator Royal university of Agriculture; integrated climate change into curricular development for agricultures institution in Cambodia project coordinator and universities network on wetland ecology in lower Mekong basin:2004 until precent.
Kakada OEUM is doing her doctoral study as a double degree at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (Cambodia) and the University of Montpellier (France). She has a bachelor's degree of Science in Biology (2019) from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and a Master's degree in Basic Science (2021) from Chungnam National University (South Korea). Kakada's research is focused on rice microbiomes to explore health-related microbes to enhance plant health and fitness. Her work is to isolate the microbiome from Cambodian jasmine rice (Phka Rumduol) to identify potential bacteria or fungi to help the rice grow and defend against pathogens. The study aims to explore and exploit rice-associated microbes as biofertilizers and biocontrol agents alternative to chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
Dr. Zhang Xirui is a professor of mechanical and electrical engineering at Hainan University. He has been engaged in agricultural mechanization for more than 13 years. He is also a Chang Jiang Young Scholars Program of the Ministry of Education of China and a Shennong Young Talent of the Ministry of Agriculture of China. His main research directions include mechanized production of natural rubber and comprehensive utilization of banana straw.
Irish P. BaguilatCoordinator for Sustainable Agriculture and Women Farmers’ AgendaAsian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)Irish is with the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) providing support to AFA members in 16 countries on various initiatives within the following priority agenda - Women Farmers’ Agenda, Sustainable Agriculture and the implementation of the UN Decade of Family Farming. Currently, Irish have coordinated a number of regional initiatives including the Collective Action on Forgotten Food and Inclusive Digital Transformation of Agriculture, and One Million Voices Initiative: Introducing Citizen Science for Agroecology.Irish is currently on the steering committee of AgriFoSe2030 (Agriculture for Food Security) and in the Coordination Committee of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism of the Committee on World Food Security. With a degree in agriculture and community development, Irish has at least 10 years of experience coordinating and managing programs tackling food security, nutrition and family farming, in partnership with government agencies.
Dr. Albrecht Ehrensperger Head of Sustainable Land Systems Impact Area Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)University of Bern, SwitzerlandAlbrecht is a member of the CDE management committee and leads the Sustainable Land Systems Impact Area at the institution. He also collaborates closely with the WOCAT team at CDE.With a Ph.D. in geography and expertise in Geographic Information Systems and spatial analysis, Albrecht focuses on integrating aspects of sustainability into complex land systems. His recent research involves assessing the interactions between various 2030 Agenda development targets in different contexts.Albrecht is actively engaged in two global regions. In Eastern Africa, he managed a research and implementation project on the sustainable management of the invasive Prosopis Juliflora shrub. With project partners, he currently supports the Kenyan government in implementing their strategy to control this invasive weed. In Southeast Asia, he is a partner in the ASSET project to establish a knowledge hub for the ALiSEA network. He also serves as a technical advisor for the agrobiodiversity project, Pha Khao Lao, and coordinated the second edition of the Mekong State of Land publication. His work demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainable land management and environmental preservation.
Hitomi Rankine is currently Environmental Affairs Officer at the Environment and Development Division of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok. She has worked to advance research and policy advocacy for green growth and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific for over 20 years, focusing on assessments of progress and risk and sustainability policy, and working with transdisciplinary approaches grounded in environmental sustainability and stakeholder engagement. She has a multi-disciplinary academic background with a concentration in natural sciences. ESCAP is a partner in the Agroecology and Safe Food System Transition in South-East Asia (ASSET) project, focusing on regional policy dialogue.
Mr Ferrand holds a Master of Science in Agriculture, Environmental and Food sciences and a Master of Science in Tropical Agriculture Development from respectively ISARA and CNEARC in France. As an agronomist, specializing in tropical agronomy and rural development, he has been working for over 18 years in implementing food security, agriculture and rural development projects in several countries, with a strong focus on South East Asia.Between 2015 and 2018, he facilitated the emergence of the Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) to contribute promoting an agroecological transition in South East Asia, and bringing together all relevant stakeholders active in the field of Agroecology (Civil Society Organizations, Research centers, Government officials, Private sector).He joined FAO in December 2018 and spent over 4 years in the regional office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand as Agriculture Officer and Regional focal point for Agroecology and the UN Decade of Family Farming. He joined FAO HQ in Rome, Italy in July 2023 where he continues working as agricultural officer with a focus on agroecology and ecosystem services within the Plant Production and Protection Division.
Andrew is an educator, adviser, planner, manager - and occasional trouble-maker - with 40 years of experience in agricultural development across Asia. Working with a wide range of organisations, from local CSOs and iNGOs to UN agencies and IFIs, he has lived in Thailand, Pakistan, Phillipines, Vietnam, Indonesia and - currently - in Laos. His interest in ecology and agriculture started as a teenager, later finding outlet in 7 years with the management team of FAO's regional IPM program, published articles on farmer empowerment and - recently - as manager of a decade-long project supporting 'Green Extension' in Laos.
SOK Sotha currently is a managing director of the Cambodian Farmer Federation Association of Agricultural Producers (CFAP Cambodia), Board member of Agroecology Alliance in South East Asia on Policy Dialogue for Cambodia – ALiSEA, and Board member of the World Farmers’ Organisation for Asia. Sotha experienced about 10 years on education with a private school (1993-2003) and 21 years with farmers’ organizations, farming communities, and agricultural cooperatives. He coordinates to have contract farming and market value chains to engage private sector with local producers for collective sales and purchases. He experiences in policy, political and laws debate, policy discussion participation. He pioneered to synergize amongst farmers’ organizations in Cambodia to work together and building the first national farmers’ organization platform network which the country has ever had before. He focuses mainly on building a vocational skills and education for youth, raising awareness on climate change, building the capacity of farmers’ organization, rural community development, liftment of agroecology and agroforestry.
PAT SovannNational ALiSEA Coordinator for ASSET project, GRETMr. PAT Sovann is National ALiSEA Coordinator for ASSET project. He has worked in the area of agricultural development, food security, and support to farmer organizations for 12 years. He has been working for GRET Cambodia for over 6 years in agriculture projects, supporting agroecology and value chains. Previously, he worked as a technical assistant to FO federation on rice value chains and worked for Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières as field coordinator in food security projects.
I am Working with Sustainable Agriculture Forum-SAF and SAEDA since 1999 until now to promote the sustainable agriculture, organic/alternative/integrate/green/bio/ecological agricultures, value chain, marketing, agro-biodiversity, pesticides risk reduction, farmer organizations, food security/right to food, environment conservation, nutrition, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and rural development, responsible agriculture investment and other related to rural development. I’m also a member of Lao National CSOs Coordination Committee (LCCC), Leader of Lao CSOs Sector Working Group on Forestry, Agriculture and Rural Development (CSWG-FARD), National Focal Point of CSOs for Community Partnership for Development Effective (CPDE) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Lao National committee of ASEAN People Forum (NSC-APF/ACSC) and others.
Atty. Eric De Vera Reynoso is the Program Head at the Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Eric is a graduate of Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Bachelor of Laws at the Arellano University, and a Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering at the Mapua University. He brings his agricultural industry experience in engaging with farmers, the academe, value chain partners, researchers, policy makers and other agriculture stakeholders. Current interests include agricultural innovation, intellectual property law and industrial engineering.
Soveth Ream, Intervention Lead ISA Project, Swisscontact. Mr. Soveth joined Swisscontact since 2019 as a Project Officer, leading a team of 3 in supporting the implementation of Metkasekor Extension Model on the promotion of Conservation Agriculture/Sustainable Intensification mainly in Battambang and Preah Vihear provinces with public sector (Provincial Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries PDAFF) and leading the coordination of piloting Dei Meas project, and Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP). He has 4 years of experiences in project management, partnership engagement, and technical support on the project implementation with public and private partners. Till now, for MetKasekor Mr. Soveth is leading the technical implementation of extension model to further scale up to 3 new provinces (Kratie, Tboung Khmom, and Svay Rieng) with Department of Agricultural Extension Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries to further implement and integrate MetKasekor into the government extension service system.
Rebeca Leonard is working with UNEP’s TEEBAgriFood initiative. She is based in Thailand, at the UNEP Regional Office for the Asia Pacific to support TEEBAgriFood implementation in Thailand and Malaysia. Rebeca is a law graduate with a Masters in Environment and Development from SOAS, University of London, with over twenty years professional experience in development policy research and analysis. Her research work has centred on promoting sustainable livelihood development of low-income communities, agrarian reform, tenure of land and natural resources, and more recently on agri-food policy and addressing environmental concerns within the food system. In addition to working with the UN, she has worked with local and international NGOs, supporting farmers organisations, in the South East Asia region, including Myanmar, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Pierre VERNET is currently working at Swisscontact as consultant, supporting smallholder farmers transition toward agro-ecological practices. He is strongly involved in the Dei Meas pilot initiative, a pilot that aim to develop financial mechanisms for farmers transition, by quantifying transition impacts, such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and ecosystem services.
Melanie is the CEO of Impact Hub Phnom Penh. Since 2015, she has worked with over 600 + early-stage Cambodian entrepreneurs through 22 different incubator or accelerator programs. As a mentor and entrepreneurs' advocate, she is part of the emerging ecosystem players promoting the growth of impact-driven startups in Cambodia. She loves connecting emerging startups with opportunities, mentors, funding, or media that can help push them to the next level. Melanie has a Master Degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from IESEG School of Management (France). Finally, she is also the Co-Lead for Impact Hub Asia Pacific and the Lead Trainer for the Springboard Amplifier, a capacity-building program for impact incubators across the APAC region.
Alexia Dayet is currently pursuing her PhD at Cirad and AgroParisTech in France. Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach, centering on identifying incentives aimed at supporting the transition to agroecology in Cambodia. Drawing from extensive fieldwork, she examined to what extend these mechanisms are achieving their goals through a comparative analysis of rice certification, sustainable rice platform, and other incentives implemented in Cambodia. Her Ph.D. research is part of the ASSET project (Agroecology and Safe Food System in South East Asia).
• Master’s degree on Environmental Engineering and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand (2006) • More than 17 years of experience on environmental and social monitoring and management. • Since January 2023, she has joined RECOFTC in Lao PDR as the National Coordinator for the Transformative Land Investment (TLI) project.
Dao The Anh is the Vice-President of Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) since 2017. He was former Director of the Centre for Agrarian System Research and Development (CASRAD). With a first degree in agricultural production, a master (1994) in farming systems, a PhD (2004) in Agricultural, Rural and Food Economics at Montpellier SupAgro, France, he has developed an experience of 30 years in research and developement related to agricultural system and family farming in Vietnam. Recently, he focuses on policies promoting sustainable food system, agro-ecological farming systems, food safety, cooperative development, branding for agricultural products, agri-food value chain governance for smallholder in Vietnam. He is forein member of France Academy of Agriculture since 2020 and Member of Scientific Committee of CIRAD since 2022. He is one of national conveners of UNFSS 2021 in Vietnam.
PhD of Economics, specializing in investment from Fudan University of Shanghai, China. Over twenty years’ experience in rural development, agricultural investment, marketing and value chain research, including project design, M&E, project review and impact assessment. Experience in working with World Bank, FAO, IFAD, ADB’s funded projects. Since April 2022, he has joined Land Equity International (LEI) in the role of National Agricultural Investment Advisor for the Transformative Land Investment (TLI) project.
60 years old, Paul LUU is an agronomist specialized in tropical agronomy, graduate from AgroParisTech, the Institute of tropical areas and the University of Montpellier (PhD).He began in the field (6 years) in agronomic research projects (St. Lucia, Sri Lanka and Tonga) before joining the international Relationship Department of the French Ministry of agriculture.He was in charge (7 years) of relationship with FAO, the WB and the CGIAR, of bilateral relationship with Africa and the Mediterranean area, and management of the French food aid (200 000 t of grain per year).Since 2002, he has contributed for 9 years to the development of agriculture in the French overseas departments and territories as Technical Advisor "Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry" and as Director of ODEADOM.In 2011, Paul LUU was appointed Director of Agropolis International (Montpellier) before joining the CGIAR in September 2013 as Liaison Officer with the French Authorities, then as Protocol Officer.From September 2016, Paul is Executive Secretary of the “4 per 1000 Initiative: Soils for food security and climate”, launched at COP 21 in Paris.
Oliver Oliveros is the Coordinator of the Agroecology Coalition. He was the interim Executive Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, a network of foundations committed to leveraging their resources to help shift food and agriculture systems towards greater sustainability and equity. He was formerly the Champions Engagement Lead at the UN Food Systems Summit Secretariat and has previously worked as Deputy Director of Agropolis Fondation, the French foundation for scientific cooperation in agriculture and sustainable development.He worked as the Global Coordinator of the DURAS Project which aimed to promote research collaboration between the scientific and civil society communities. He was in-charge of multi-stakeholder research partnerships at Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) Secretariat in FAO.Before coming to Europe in 1999, Oliver served at the Ministry of Socio-economic Planning in the Philippines where he was extensively involved in project evaluation, investment programming and formulation of the country’s Agenda 21 and Medium-Term Development Plan.
Dr. Estelle BIENABE has been a senior agricultural economics researcher in the CIRAD unit “Innovation and Development in agriculture and food” since 2003. She is currently scientific coordinator of the Agroecology and Safe Food System Transition (ASSET) project (https://www.asset-project.org); and concurrently leads the Vietnam - Sustainability of Coffee and Pepper (V-SCOPE) project (https://www.worldagroforestry.org/project/enhancing-smallholder-livelihoods-central-highlands-viet-nam-through-improving). Estelle has been working for more than 20 years in the field of sustainable food systems, market access for smallholder farmers and value chain transformations in Southern Countries. After acting as deputy to the General Director of the Research and Strategy Director of CIRAD from 2013 to 2016, Estelle Biénabe is since then a visiting researcher at CASRAD/ VAAS in Hanoi and associate researcher at ICRAF, being an active member of the South East Asian research platform in partnerships MALICA (www.malica.org). She has a huge fieldwork experience, namely in Costa Rica, South Africa and in South East Asia. She coordinated projects on market transformations and innovation processes linked to large retail dynamics and to quality standards and management, including geographical indications. She edited among others the book “Sustainable development and tropical agri-chains” (Springer, 2017).
Mr. De Schutter was appointed the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights by the Human Rights Council at its 43rd session, in March 2020. A Professor of Law at UCLouvain and at SciencesPo (Paris), Mr. De Schutter is also a member of the Global Law School Faculty at New York University. He holds a LL.M. from Harvard University, a diploma cum laude from the International Institute of Human Rights (Strasbourg) and a Ph.D. in Law from UCLouvain.
Pablo Tittonell is Professor of Agroecology and Sustainable Landscapes at the University of Groningen, and Senior associate researcher at the French International Cooperation Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CIRAD). He holds a WWF-endowed Chair on Resilient Landscapes for Nature and People at the Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, and has been nominated Principal Research Scientist by Argentina’s National Council for Science and Technology (CONICET) since 2017.In Argentina, he acted as national coordinator of the Natural Resources and Environment Program of the Ministry of Agriculture until 2018, coordinating the work of more than 1500 researchers nation-wide. He was Chair Professor of the Farming Systems Ecology Group at Wageningen University, in The Netherlands, and acts as external Professor at the Ecole Doctorale GAïA of the University of Montpellier, France and at the National University of Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is an agronomist by training and worked both in the private sector and in academic/research organisations. He holds a PhD in Production Ecology and Resource Conservation and his areas of expertise include agroecology, soil fertility, biodiversity and systems analysis. His recent areas of interest include human-nature interactions in multifunctional landscapes, and their adaptation to global change. He participated in a diversity of research, development and education projects around the world on design, resilience and adaptation of farming systems, with a focus on interacting social-ecological processes. Fluent in Spanish, English, French and Dutch, he is a member of the International Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification, contributing author of the IPBES (Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) report, serves as editor of several international journals, published more than 160 scientific articles (H-index 44), consults for the FAO, for international NGOs and for the CGIAR, trained a vast number of active young researchers, PhD students and postdocs with fieldwork in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Markus Buerli is the Director of Cooperation at the Swiss Cooperation Office and Consular Agency in Cambodia. He has over 20 years of experience in international cooperation mostly in managing and overseeing projects on Climate Change and Natural Resource Management both in Switzerland and abroad. He holds a Master’s degree in Managing Rural Development from the University of London and a Batchelor in Agronomy. With experience in providing business advice to Swiss farmers as well as international agricultural research, he now heads the Swiss Representation in Cambodia, managing Swiss Development Cooperation to Cambodia.
Quai d’Orsay (Directorate for Asia and Oceania Affairs in Paris), Cambodia desk officer, 1995- 1998; • Deputy Consul at the General Consulate of Shanghai, 1998-2001; • Deputy Consul at the General Consulate of Boston (intern at Harvard), 2001-2002; • Second Counsellor at the French Embassy in Tehran (Iran), 2002-2006; • At headquarters, Deputy Director for Human rights and Humanitarian affairs (United Nations, international organisations, Human rights and Francophonie), 2006-2009; • Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, 2009-2013; • Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy in Beijing (China), 2013-2015; • Personal Envoy of the ICRC President for China affairs, 2016-2019; • Personal Envoy of the ICRC President for China and Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross East Asia Regional Delegation in Beijing, 2019-2021.