Alberto Acedo - Co-founder, and Chief Science officer, Biome Makers

Dr. Alberto Acedo is a self-described genomic dreamer, DNA passionate & worldwide biotech entrepreneur and the scientific soul of Biome Makers ‘technology. He holds a PhD in Genetic Medicine and Biomedical Applications, specializing in NGS sequencing and machine learning. Alberto is a TEDx speaker, European Commission Expert, and GLOSOLAN (FAO) member. He is recognized as a young AgTech visionary by MIT Technology Review and AgFunder among others. Before co-founding Biome Makers with Adrián Ferrero, Alberto gained his experience as a researcher in genetics at the University of León (Spain), where he became an honorary associate. He accumulated more than 5 years of research experience on human genetics at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Spanish National Research Council. Alberto has been able to put into practice his theoretical research and technical knowledge through real services of genetic analysis developed in the company AC-Gen Reading Life.

Alberto holds tens of patents and has authored over 20+ scientific reports. He has extensive experience facilitating hundreds of research projects ongoing in collaboration with different institutions worldwide. Alberto is also leading the Fields4Ever initiative, a global soil health restoration initiative. Fields4ever currently consists of 210+ projects over 4 continents, supporting farmers, agronomists, and research institutions with the ongoing development of sustainable and respectful agriculture, ensuring quality soil and food for generations to come.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 2: Biocontrol and biostimulants - programmes for sustainable agriculture
AI - The Global effort to achieve Sustainable Agriculture

Angela Ailloni - Vice President of Business Development, Ginkgo Bioworks

Angela has worked in Food, Agriculture & Sustainability at Nestle and Land O’Lakes. She has 20+ years of experience in Business Development & Strategy. With a BS from MIT & MBA from Cornell University, she leads the Ginkgo Bioworks Agriculture BD Team.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 4: Digital solutions for biocontrol
De-risking and Accelerating Innovation in Ag Biologicals

Jeremy Belzunces - Technical Project Manager, IBMA Global

Jeremy demonstrates nine years’ experience in the diplomatic and agro-food consultancy areas. Jeremy worked for six years as a Policy Advisor in EU Agricultural Affairs for the Agricultural Department of the diplomatic Mission of Israel to the EU. He advised the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and a range of governmental and industry bodies on the development of EU agro-policies and the EU sanitary and phytosanitary framework.
Jeremy acted for six years as national Delegate to the OECD Committee for Agriculture and two associated OECD working parties: the joint working party on agriculture and trade (JWPAT), and the working party on agricultural policies and markets (APM). This experience gave him a good understanding of international and national agricultural policy matters.
Before joining IBMA, he ran an independent consultancy for three years advising companies and consultancies on EU agro-food policies and EU import requirements.
​Prior to his assignments in the diplomatic and business area, Jeremy participated to an EU research program on plant protection products operated by the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE).
He holds a master degree in International Business, a master degree in Business management and The Prince2 project management certification. ​Jeremy speaks French, English and has notions of Italian.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 4: Digital solutions for biocontrol
Chair of the session

Regina Burger - Division Manager, AGROLINE Bioprotect - fenaco Genossenschaft

Bioprotect:
- Building up a rearing of Ephestia kuehniella and Trichogramma brassicae
- Studies on Diapause of Trichogramma brassicae in partnership with AGROSCOPE Zürich-Reckenholz
- Market building for Trichogramma brassicae in Switzerland and Germany
- Development of Ostrinia-Monitoring together with authorities
- Development of new carrier systems/mechanization of production
- Development of distribution of various beneficial insects, traps, fungi, pollination with wild bees, plant strengthener, plant extracts
- Development of drone deployment for spreading Trichogramma carriers in corn fields; pilot logistics; flight planning tools
- Use of beneficials in Storage rooms
- Working on digital monitoring systems for various fruit-, field-and vegetable pests.
- Application for permits for PPP from FOAG
- Patenting and trademarks

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 4: Digital solutions for biocontrol
Use of digital tools in releasing trichogramma brassicae in cornfields

David Calvert - Director, iFormulate Limited

Dr David Calvert is co-founder and director of iFormulate Ltd. David has over 25 years experience of developing new products and services for the chemical-using industries including pharmaceuticals, inks, coatings, agrochemicals and FMCG to name but a few. More recently he has worked on a number of projects related to the formulation of biocontrol products.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Chair of the session

José Carvalho, EMEA Regulatory Lead, Certis Biologicals

José Carvalho holds a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the Humboldt University in Berlin and a Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Porto University, with a focus on microbiology, antibiotics resistance and immunology. Previous to joining the industry, Jose worked for the Portuguese Water Institute, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the German Federal Institute for Material Science and Testing (BAM) in analytical methods, publishing 11 peer-reviewed articles and 3 book chapters. Since 2020, José works for Certis Biologicals and prior to that in several regulatory and business positions within the crop protection industry. He is currently the Chair of the Microbial Professional Group at IBMA.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 2: Biocontrol and biostimulants - programmes for sustainable agriculture
Chair of the session

Sarah Croonenborghs - Senior Project Scientist, ARCHE Consulting

Sarah Croonenborghs graduated as Master of Bioscience Engineering with a specialization in plant protection in 2006 at the Catholic University of Leuven, where she also obtained a PhD in Bioscience Engineering in 2011, which aimed to link the functional anatomy of tropical plants to their physiology.
Working as a Registration Manager in the agrochemical industry for over 7 years, she gained a valuable regulatory and technical expertise in the broad field of plant protection products. In 2019 Sarah joined ARCHE Consulting as a Senior Project Scientist. She mainly focuses on risk assessments and dossier preparation for plant protection products and biocides.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 4: Digital solutions for biocontrol
Automated sustainability screening of natural substances used for biocontrol

Ignacio de Alfonso - Global Scientific and Technical Manager, Rovensa Next

Ignacio de Alfonso is a scientist known for his contributions in the fields of Chemistry, Biology and Agriculture. Throughout his career he has held various roles, mostly focused on biocontrol and biostimulation. Currently he is the Global Scientific and Technical Manager at Rovensa Next.
Ignacio’s career in Agricultural R&D started more than 20 years ago, involving positions related to management and research in different companies. He has been responsible for the successful development of several biocontrol commercial products that are currently in the market.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Facilitating the transition to biologicals in crop protection

Arnold de Maere - Manager, Minagro

Arnold De Maere is a bioengineer with a strong focus on driving innovation in sustainable agriculture.
With expertise in specialty fertilizers and agrochemical co-formulants, he has a deep understanding of market constraints and building strategic partnerships.
As the founder of Minagro, Arnold is at the forefront of pioneering green coformulants to maximize impact of agrochemical applications. Committed to pushing boundaries and revolutionizing the industry, he is dedicated to shaping a sustainable future for agriculture through new biobased technologies.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Green Chemistry and the development of co-formulants to maximize the impact of agro formulations
Case study on safer in-can preservation for water-based formulations

Domenico Deserio - Policy Officer, European Commission - DG SANTE

Domenico Deserio is a Policy Officer in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE). He is responsible for policies related to micro-organisms used as active substances in plant protection products. Within the EU Biopesticide Working Group, he is currently working on the amendment of Regulations concerning placing on the market of microbiological active substances and plant protection products. He holds a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Bari (Italy), and completed his thesis on food microbiology. Moreover, he achieved an advanced postgraduate Master by Research of Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide (Australia), carrying out his research on plant genomics and plant pathology.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 1: Registration best practice
Moderator of the session

Aoife Dillon - Principal Scientist - Crop Protection, Fera Science Ltd.

Dr Aoife Dillon joined Fera in 2021 as the Principal Scientist for Crop Protection, having spent 25 years in the AgChem industry (multinationals and SMEs) working to develop, register and promote the adoption of sustainable crop inputs (biopesticides and biostimulants). Fera is a UK based expert scientific services business delivering world leading support to public and commercial sectors to address the most demanding UN Sustainable Development Goals for benefit of humankind and our planet. Aoife has managed bio-input R+D programmes across Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 6: Agricultural policy enabling biocontrol from around the world
IPM in the UK – a changing landscape

Hugues Dumas - President / Founding Executive Director, SYNOVIVO Consulting

Hugues Dumas is an Engineer in Agriculture (Unilasalle) with an Executive Master's degree in Management and Business Development (Edhec). He has over 20 years' experience in Agriculture and Biotechnologies. Initially involved in the Seed Industry, he went on to work in the speciality crop nutrition & biosolutions industry. He has held a number of operational positions, culminating in CEO and BU management responsibilities (Limagrain Group, Rovensa Next -Tradecorp, SDP- and Olmix).

With his background and expertise in the 3 following pillars: 1/Corporate Organisation, 2/Market Vision and 3/People Focus, in 2019 he created SYNOVIVO Consulting, an international executive search and recruitment agency specialising in Agriculture, Agro-Industry and Biotechnologies in the EMEA and ASIA zones. This consultancy draws on in-depth knowledge of the businesses and markets in which a large proportion of its clients are involved in biocontrol.

Today, Hugues DUMAS is a recognised consultant in the high added-value agricultural products sector, working for investment funds on company valuations and providing HR solutions in line with the reality of the maturing biosolutions market. Member of various inter-professional syndicates in France and abroad, he is also a dynamic entrepreneur, co-founder of a start-up in the Seed Priming sector and an administrator of 2 innovative companies.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 6: Agricultural policy enabling biocontrol from around the world
HR & Biocontrol Mature Expectations in Immature Market

Sandro Frati - Product Development Manager, Janssen PMP

Sandro Frati is the Senior Product Development Manager at Janssen PMP, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Janssen PMP specializes in the development and commercialization of technologies for postharvest treatment of fruit and vegetables. In his role, Sandro works on the technical positioning of new products in the pipeline and evaluates the commercial conditions compared with competitors. Sandro holds a PhD in Agricultural Entomology from the University of Bologna (Italy) and his main experience lies in the development of biological crop protection products for different uses.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 6: Agricultural policy enabling biocontrol from around the world
Opportunities and challenges for biocontrol in post-harvest

Sumit Ganguly - Researcher, Borregaard

Sumit Ganguly obtained his PhD in Inorganic and Material Chemistry from University of Tromsø, Norway in 2017. He has worked as a researcher in synthetic chemistry and analytical chemistry at University of Tromsø and at NTNU in Norway. He was working as a post-doctoral researcher in biopolymer chemistry at University of Stavanger, Norway for the last two year. Presently he is working as a researcher at Borregaard Biorefinery in Norway. His research interests include developing lignin-based products to provide aids in different agricultural applications, especially as co-formulants in biological formulations.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Lignin-based co-formulants in biocontrol formulations

Jérôme Gonthier - Technical Development Account Manager Agriculture Solutions, Stepan Europe S.A.S.

Holding a Master's degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Major Formulation, from CPE Lyon (France), Jérôme Gonthier started his career in The Netherlands as R&D Project Manager, first at Diversey and then, at Croda. After 12 years in Amsterdam, he joined Stepan Company in 2021 as Technical Development Account Manager. As part of the Stepan Agricultural Solutions´ European team, Jérôme effectively collaborates across both the technical and commercial teams within the organization. He is the main contact for agricultural customers in Europe, dedicated to providing them with the most suitable performance solutions to address their challenges. Thanks to his extensive knowledge of agricultural products he offers valuable knowledge in formulation design of both biological and conventional actives. Jerôme recognizes the strong and growing interest in biological formulations and is committed to offer cutting-edge solutions for customers’ unmet needs. Dedicated biological research efforts enable Jérôme and Stepan to stay at the forefront of agricultural advancements and offer sustainable solutions to their valued customers, supporting them in facing the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Unlocking the Power of Your Biological Active Ingredients Through Formulation Technology

Katharina Grundler Groterhorst - Application Development LATAM – BU Care Chemicals – Crop Solutions, Clariant

Katharina studied biochemistry at the Technical University of Munich and continued her education by defending her thesis and obtaining her doctorate at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. She gained deep knowledge in biomolecular assays analyzing signaling pathways in blood cells. At a postdoc position in Campinas, Brasil, she first came in contact with Brazilian agriculture and soon started working at a multinational chemical company, Clariant. In her 5 years of working for the agricultural business, she became passionate about crop solutions. A great interest of hers is biologicals: joining microbiologists and chemists to find the best possible solutions for the future of agriculture.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Selecting formulation components and tank mixtures for optimum performance

Roma Gwynn, Rationale - Biopesticide Strategists, Vice president IBMA Global

Roma Gwynn is a bioprotectant specialist working for over 35 years; initially as a research scientist then for biocontrol companies and now an independent specialist working internationally. She has an MSc in Technology for Crop Protection and a PhD in Biological Control both from Reading University. Roma has taken a lead role in the development of many new biocontrol technologies (semio-chemicals, botanicals and microbials). Her expertise is in facilitating the process of getting biopesticide products into the hands of farmers by streamlining bio-discovery, product development, registration and marketing.
Roma has been an expert for regulation of biocontrol agents (OECD, EU, FAO/WHO). She is an independent board member for UK AHDB Horticulture, a board member of IAPPS and Vice-President of IBMA. Roma is involved with farmer projects including Crop Health North, AHDB SCEPTRE and AMBER projects. She was editor of the BCPC ‘The Manual of Biocontrol Agents’. Roma was awarded Associateship of The Royal Agriculture Show Societies and Fellowship of RSA (Royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce).

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 3: Regulatory environment
Chair of the session

Inge Hanssen - R&D manager, DCM

Inge Hanssen is research and development manager at DCM, a Belgian company which develops, produces and distributes sustainable plant care products, ranging from organic fertilizers and substrates to biostimulants and biocontrol products. DCM has a strong focus on circularity and sustainability and develops products for both the professional and the consumer market. The company is part of Group De Ceuster (GroupDC), a Belgian family-owned group of companies. Inge obtained her Master's degree in Bio-engineering at KULeuven (Belgium) in 2001 and holds a PhD from Wageningen University in plant virology (2010). In 2001 she started working as a phytopathologist at the Scientia Terrae research institute, also part of GroupDC, where she coordinated the research program ‘phytopathology and biological control’. In this role, she launched a plant virology research division within the institute because of emerging viral disease problems in horticultural crops. Her PhD research on Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) in tomato formed the basis for the development of the biocontrol product PMV®-01, a vaccine developed by DCM to protect tomato crops against damage caused by PepMV. Since 2014, she coordinates the research and product development at DCM as R&D Manager. She was chair of IBMA Belgium from 2015 until 2019.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Bacteriophage-based biocontrol of Erwinia Amylovara

Anna Higley - Business Development Specialist, Croda Europe Ltd

I studied chemistry and international business at the University of Leeds in the UK. After completing my degree I started working at Croda, where I have been for the past 7 years. I have spent the majority of this time working within the Crop Protection, European technical team where I have held several laboratory-based roles. Two significant areas I have focused on over the years have been development of showcase formulations (mainly ODs and SCs) and designing methods to screen for adjuvant performance on the bench.

More recently, I have been leading Croda’s biological projects within Europe, specifically around microorganism delivery. Whilst this has primarily been focused around formulation design and the maintenance of microbe viability, we are now looking into the intrinsic challenges formulating with a microbe presents and how we might be able to also improve microbe viability through formulation. Considerations around improving shelf-life, providing protection from external stresses such as UV and giving overall improved efficacy of microorganism-based formulations in the field are areas we are now looking into at Croda.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Reducing development time of microbial formulations using chassis systems

Imke Hutter - Management - Head of R&D, IPR & Registration, INOQ

As biologist I work in an SME since 1995. INOQ develops microbial biostimulants based on the symbiosis of mycorrhiza fungi with plants. I am passionate about bridging the gap between research and industry and bringing research results into products and application. But working in the industrial sector means that you have to consider not only market trends, but also politics and law. I am responsible for registration of our products according to the EU fertilizer regulation. With the new fertilizer regulation 2019/1009 I started to work in the standardization committees of Germany, DIN "Biostimulanzien für die pflanzliche Anwendung" and European CEN TC 455 "Plant Biostimulants and Agricultural Micro-Organisms". With European colleagues we develop standardization methods for novel biostimulants to enable a standardized CE registration process for better consumer awareness.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 2: Biocontrol and biostimulants - programmes for sustainable agriculture
Biostimulants and EU legislation – the track to your CE marked product

Christian Huyghe - Scientific Director of Agriculture, INRAE

Doctor in Plant genetics from the University of Rennes and Director of Research in "Plant Genetics and Improvement" at INRA, now INRAE, Christian Huyghe conducted research programs on the genetic improvement of the seed yield of a protein crop, the lupin, on the genetic improvement of the digestibility and seed production of alfalfa and on the analysis of the genetic changes in temporary grasslands and the underlying mechanisms.

He published more than 80 scientific articles and wrote some 20 scientific and dissemination books.

He was head of the INRAE’s Research Unit in Genetics of Forage Plants in Lusignan from 2001 to 2007 and then President of the INRA Poitou-Charentes center from 2008 to 2010.
He is currently Scientific Director of Agriculture at INRAE, where he is in charge of issues related to the evolution of production systems towards multi-performance, partnerships with technical institutes and cooperatives and the general issue of innovation in agriculture, including through participatory approaches. Genetics, crop protection and pesticide issues are high in his agenda. He contributes to the coordination of the French Priority Research Program "Cropping and Protecting Differently" and chairs the European Research Alliance ‘Towards a chemical pesticide-free agriculture’ as well as the COST Action T0P-Agri-Network dedicated to the pesticide reduction objective. He is also involved in plant variety issues. He has been Chairman of the CTPS’s Scientific Committee, covering all plant and forest species, since June 2009. He was also Chairman of GIP GEVES’s administrative Board during 11 years. In the regulatory domain, he also chairs the independent evaluation commission for CEPPs (Certificates of Economy of Plant Protection Products), a key element of the French Ecophyto 2+ system.

At the national level, he has been President of the Acta COST (Scientific and Technical Steering Committee), a structure that coordinates the network of Agricultural Technical Institutes, since 2011 and chairs the French public – private consortium on biocontrol.

At the European level, he is a member of the Scientific Council of the Public-Private Partnership program entitled BBI-JU (Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking), which, in 2022, became the Partnership CBE (Circular Bio-based Europe).

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Keynote and panel discussion
Keynote speaker
Pesticide-free European Agriculture in 2050

Leen Jansen - Senior project Scientist, ARCHE Consulting

Leen Jansen graduated as Master of Science in Engineering (Biochemistry) at Hogeschool Gent in 2004, followed by a Master degree in Molecular Biotechnology at Ghent University in 2006. In 2011 she obtained her PhD in the field of plant biotechnology at the VIB (Ghent University) and continued in plant research as a post-doc at the same institute.

She started working as a project scientist for ARCHE Consulting in 2015. She has experience with the regulation of biocides, plant protection products and plant nutrition products (fertilizers and biostimulants). Her focus is on environmental exposure assessment and ecotoxicological risk assessment.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 3: Regulatory environment
Regulatory requirements for biocontrol and biostimulants compared

Nina Jenkins - CTO, ConidioTec LLC

Nina has worked in the biocontrol industry for over 30 years.  She started her research career at CABI Bioscience as part of the team that developed the Metarhizium-based biopesticide, Green Muscle for locust and grasshopper control in Africa.  As Program Manager, Jenkins oversaw the transfer of the publicly funded Green Muscle technology to private industry.  Since moving on from CABI, Nina has worked in Australia and the US.  Her research has primarily focused on the development of fungal biopesticides. She has published extensively, covering a range of insect targets including mosquitoes, houseflies, Asian longhorn beetles, and spotted lanternflies.   

Most recently, Nina has driven the development and successful commercialization of Aprehend, a fungal biopesticide for controlling and preventing bed bugs. Aprehend was first registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2017, and subsequently by the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) in 2020. Aprehend has since become the go-to product for professional pest managers throughout the US and Canada.  Nina is the co-founder and CTO of ConidioTec LLC, which holds the exclusive license for the technology developed in her research lab at Penn State University.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Out of Agriculture and into the Home: Development and commercialization of Aprehend®, a fungal biopesticide for the control and revention of bed bugs

Emma Jenner - Strategic Planning and Operations Manager, CABI

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 3: CABI BioProtection Portal - making biocontrol accessible to growers
Moderator of the Workshop

Haïssam Jijakli - Professor in Plant Pathology (University of Liège) and co-founder of APEO company

Professor and Responsible of Integrated and Urban Plant Pathology Laboratory (University of Liège), Haïssam Jijakli is developing for 32 years biocontrol methods based on micro-organisms to protect plants against fungal pathogens and weeds. Since the beginning of his career, he participated or coordinated more than 80 projects in Belgium and abroad (e.a. 15 European projects). He has to his credit more than 120 refereed articles and 10 patents. Thanks to these results and fruitful collaborations, his laboratory has acquired an international recognition in biocontrol using fundamental and practical approaches.

His concern is also to create a strong link between the academic and industrial worlds in order to implement new techniques which are economically, environmentally and socially affordable for the agricultural sector. Then Haïssam Jijakli has also founded 4 spin-offs. The first spin off was created in 2003 and was involved in the development of a biopesticide based on a yeast against postharvest diseases of fruits. That yeast, Candida oleophila strain O is now registered at EU and US level under the tradename of NEXY by Agrauxin (Lesaffre).

His last spin off, APEO, was created in 2021 and is dedicated to the development of herbicides based on essential oils. APEO’s missions are to find, develop, formulate, register and “go-to-market” (B to B to C) of innovative products respectful of the environment and human health. Additional APEO values consist in putting Science at the heart of its activities and Agronomy at the center of the Professional Agriculture sector. Then, APEO is developing a portfolio of Biological herbicides and fungicides based on Natural Essential Oils for use in Home & Garden and Professional Agriculture.

Based on 12 years of research, APEO’s first product is a RTU non-selective herbicide for Home & Garden market. All the ingredients (including adjuvants) are fully biobased. The active ingredient and related product are under registration process in US and Europe. Based on such positive results, APEO is now developing concentrated formulations for Professional uses. After leading the company as CEO, Haïssam Jijakli is now responsible of the R&D department as CSO.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Agronomical Plant Extracts & Essential Oils

Diana Karime Londoño - Global Technical Lead Bio-Insecticides, BASF

Diana Joined BASF in 2013 to work in R&D Bio-insecticides and is currently the Global Technical Bioinsecticide lead. She has worked in the bioinsecticide discovery and development for more than 25 years with a multidisciplinary education that includes Microbiology (BS), Entomology (PhD) and Environmental Toxicology (Minor). All of these made her understand both microorganisms and pests very well. Her government, academic and industry experience in discovery, development, and global technical management of bio-insecticides; together with the scouting experience made her understand the past, present, and future in the area.

Before BASF, Diana worked in Michigan State University with RNAi and NGS and prior to this, she worked in the USDA Forest Service at Michigan, developing bio-insecticides to control invasive pests. She had also the opportunity to work as independent consultant for Phyllom Bioproducts developing bioinsecticides based on Bacillus thuringiensis. During her time in Colombia, she worked in a hybrid company (government/private) with the development and the scaling up production of Bio-insecticides based in Beauveria bassiana and Bacillus thuringiensis; and the scaling up production of huma rabies vaccine.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Phasmarhabditis californica (Nemaslug 2.0) as New Beneficial Nematode Speciesfor Slug Control

Jae Su Kim - Professor at Dept of Agricultural Biology, Jeonbuk National University, South Korea

Jae Su acquired B.Sc. in plant protection at Seoul National University, Korea, and M.S. & Ph.D. in insect pathology, where he studied integration of Bt cry gene into AcMNPV and biological control of whitefly using Beauveria bassiana and Isaria fumosorosea.

Jae Su worked at agrochemical company, FarmHannong, Korea and commercialized microbial pesticides, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens WP, B. vallismortis WP, SC & GR, B. thuringiensis WP & SC and Lecanicillium attenuatum SC. In 2008 he left the company and joined Bruce Parker’s lab at University of Vermont, USA working as a postdoctoral associate, during which time his research involved development of entomopathogenic fungi to manage western flower thrips. He came back to Korea and stayed at Seoul National University as a senior researcher and was involved in molecular cloning of insect genes into B. bassiana to improve fungal virulence. In 2012, he joined Jeonbuk National University, Korea as an assistant professor and now being positioned as a full professor. In the university he has been working on entomopathogenic fungi for pest management. He was awarded first prize in the field of teaching in 2017 at the University. In 2018 he received a national medal from the president of Korea for successful industrialization of B. bassiana ERL836 GR product to control thrips in agriculture, which was collaborated with FarmHannong. In 2020 he has been appointed as an associate dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Jeonbuk National University and leaders of Brain Korea 21 program and NRF Basic Research.

Jae Su has had big interest in development and application of microbial insecticides, particularly entomopathogenic fungi, as well as investigation of fungal mode of action at molecular levels using RNA-sequencing. He has been working on management of western flower thrips and melon thrips using a soil-application technology targeting their pupal stage. His main interesting targets are thrips, whitefly, two-spotted spider mite, nematode, and other sucking pests. Another interest is the solid and liquid cultures to improve the shelf life of fungal products in a practical standpoint. To overcome possible conflicts of commercial isolates in B. bassiana, he has been working on fungal diversity at genome and metabolite levels. He is doing international research jointly with Taiwan (Dr. Yu Shin Nai), USA (Dr. Bruce Parker) and Thailand (Dr. Patcharin Krutmuang), which are supported by Korean funding.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Successful R&D and Marketing Strategy for Beauveria bassiana ERL836 GR and WP for thrips management

Ulli Kuhlmann - Executive Director, Global Operations, CABI

Ulrich (Ulli) has worked for CAB International (CABI) for the past 25 years. He is an experienced executive manager overseeing the management and operation of an international intergovernmental not-for-profit organization at its eleven centres across Asia (4), Africa (3), Europe (2) and the Americas (2). Within this role, Ulli is responsible for fostering collaborations between the centres and international partners, and developing new opportunities to improve agricultural production, alleviate poverty and enhance food safety and food security. He is the professional lead for science within the organization, responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and delivery of CABI’s scientific programme. Ulli has a thorough understanding in the development and application of biological-based pest management approaches and passioned about promoting the awareness and uptake of bioprotection solutions globally.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 3: CABI BioProtection Portal - making biocontrol accessible to growers
Moderator of the Workshop

Eric Liégeois - Senior Policy Officer, European Commission - DG SANTE

Eric Liégeois was graduated Chemical Engineer for Agricultural Industries, from the University of Gembloux (Belgium) in 1990.

After first experiences as researcher, civil servant and manager in various positions in the Belgian Federal Administration, he joined the European Commission in 2002, first as seconded national expert at DG Environment where he was in charge of the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and then, as from 2007 as official in the Chemicals Unit at DG GROW.

At DG GROW Eric was revising the Fertilising Products Regulation proposal and also worked on the Plastics Strategy. He was leading a team in charge of Fertilisers, Detergents, Plant Protection Products, Biocides, Waste recycling and Plastics.

Since April 2018 he joined DG SANTE in the team in charge of the authorisation of plant protection products where he is among in charge of the biopesticides, low-risk products and risk reduction activities.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 3: Regulatory environment
Update on EU developments on biological control

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 1: Registration best practice
Moderator of the workshop

Jeanne Millan-Bernal - Senior Consultant in Regulatory Affairs, ERM

Jeanne joined ERM in 2022 as a Regulatory Affairs Consultant in the Sustainable Product & Supply Chain team, working as project manager on active substance and products dossiers, particularly focused on biologicals. She is also coordinating ERM’s IUCLID program.

Before joining ERM, Jeanne was a Regulatory Affairs Consultant for two years. Prior to this, she was a study director for 12 years at a leading CRO, in charge of dermal absorption and residues studies.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 2: IUCLID Registration
Moderator of the workshop

Céline Orizet - Research & Innovation Engineer, Solvay

Céline has been working at Solvay for 22 years in  Research and Innovation for different markets such as water treatment and oil & gas, Home & personal Care and Agrochemical . She has  experience in formulations of surfactants and polymers and acquired extensive robotics experience. Today, she is in charge of  developing new technologies and formulations solutions for biopesticides to tackle modern complex agricultural challenges.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 5: Formulation of biocontrol
Formulation Makes the Difference: Optimized biological formulation strategies with Solvay's co-formulant toolbox

Piyatida (Tung) Pukclai - Regional Sales & Regulatory Policy Manager (Asia-Pacific), knoell

Piyatida (Tung) Pukclai (Ph.D. Agricultural Sciences, Bioresource Science for Manufacturing) is an Asia-Pacific Regional Sales & Regulatory Policy Manager of Knoell, an independent service provider for Regulatory Affairs and Product Registration over 25 years. With her regional team, she is looking after new regulatory policies and guidance development in different Asia countries, focusing on regulatory frameworks impacting agricultural productivity: plant protection products for chemical and non-chemical solutions.  She has been active as a speaker in various international conferences and workshops. Additionally, lead business development activities for the Asia-Pacific region including client interactions, and project managements.  

She is specialize in Plant Pathology and Biological Control that are reduce the chemical using in agriculture, determine the efficiency of plants or microorganisms and improve them to be the biological control agents for farmer as well as assessment of allelopathic potential of selected plants and the possibility of using allelochemicals bio-herbicides for weed management.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 3: Regulatory environment
Biocontrol Legislation in some selected Asia countries

Matthew Pye - Biologicals Subject Matter Expert, FMC Corporation

Matthew Pye grew up in a family-owned biological control business founded in the 1980s. Here he learned all the aspects of producing, formulating, and selling entomopathogenic nematodes in a time long before the use of biologicals was commonplace. As a teenager, Matthew introduced many people to the concepts of biological control and integrated pest management at tradeshows. He learned firsthand the importance of educating growers on the nuances of using biologicals. This early foundation stayed with him through all of his education and career pursuits. Matthew earned a doctorate in Plant Pathology from UC Davis shortly before joining FMC in 2013. For the last 10 years he has been involved in the development of many of FMC’s biological and synthetic fungicide products. In his current role as Biological subject matter expert, Matthew leads efforts within the United States to educate and equip FMC’s sales force and customers in the successful deployment of FMC’s biological products in both organic and conventional markets. Matthew believes that continued biological education and demonstration will drive grower acceptance and adoption of biologicals into the traditionally difficult domain of row crop agriculture.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 2: Biocontrol and biostimulants - programmes for sustainable agriculture
At-Plant Biopesticides in Conventional Row Crop Agriculture

Alain Querrioux, Chair - CEO Andermatt France, Treasurer IBMA Global

Alain Querrioux is a French-born agronomist, who has been active in the agricultural sector for the past 35 years. He assumed several technical, commercial and management positions covering a wide spectrum of agricultural and regulatory environments around the globe. In the late 90’s, his deeply rooted commitment to alternative solutions triggered his decision to fully dedicate his energy to the development of Biocontrol. He joined pure-players and witnessed the early development of the industry in pioneering times, and now enjoys the excitement of its booming development. Innovation has always been a key driver in Alain’s professional live, together with the aim to let farmers benefit performing, healthy and cost-effective alternative solutions to protect their crops. Over the years, Alain has developed an excellent knowledge of our industry, of its history, markets and main stakeholders. In 2014, Alain co-founded the French branch of the Andermatt group, which he has successfully been running and developing sofar. In the meantime, he has been active in IBMA governance, as a Council and Board member of the French association. In January 2023, he joined IBMA Global Board as Treasurer.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 1: Innovation in biocontrol
Chair of the session

Paul Rous - Managing Director, Regenerate Ventures

Paul is a Head of Ventures at Regenerate Asset Management, the UK's first dedicated Agtech fund, investing in sustainable agriculture, from soil to nutrition. He has over a decade of experience in venture capital, innovation, and agriculture. He founded two venture capital funds, Fuel Ventures and Blackfinch Ventures, and launched the UK's first agritech accelerator, Shake Climate Change.

As a Consultant at Cognizant, he leads the digital agriculture roadmap to help develop solutions and capabilities to enhance customer experience and drive business growth. He holds an MBA from Imperial College London, where he received the Dean's Award for sustainable business, an APM qualification in project management, and a membership of the Institute of Agricultural Management. Paul lives on the family farm in Suffolk, UK and has been responsible for diversification projects.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Workshop 4: Investment - Understanding how investors think to develop a successful raise
Secrets of a successful raise process: Understanding how investors think to develop a successful raise for your company
Moderator of the workshop

Jonathan Shoham - Consulting Analyst, S&P Global Commodity Insights

Having obtained a PhD in Environmental Economics, Jonathan worked for Syngenta and legacy companies in a variety of technical and commercial roles for 32 years, latterly as Head of Business Intelligence.   For the last 12 years Jonathan has worked as a consultant for clients in the public, private, academic and NGO sectors on a range of projects spanning the agricultural supply chain.  During this time, he has authored over 20 published papers and reports, most recently on the ‘hot topics’ of biologicals and digital farming.  In his current role as Consulting Analyst for IHS Markit Jonathan has returned to his crop protection and seeds roots.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 4: Digital solutions for biocontrol
Digital farming and biologicals

Anne Steenbergh - Policy officer, Dutch board for the authorisation of plant protection products and biocides (Ctgb)

Anne Steenbergh is a microbial ecologist. She obtained her PhD working on microbial communities in marine sediments (Utrecht University & Netherlands Institute of Ecology). Six years ago she joined Ctgb (the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides); first as an assessor and currently as policy officer. In these capacities she has worked on both biopesticides and conventional pesticides. As a member of the Ctgb GreenTEAM she enjoys working on any challenges related to the assessment of biopesticides.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 1: Registration best practice
Moderator of the workshop

Paul Streater - COO, AgBioScout

Paul is the Chief Operating Officer at AgBioScout a global scouting and advisory company in the field of agricultural innovation and technology. He is responsible for managing capital-raising activities and the development of the investor network pipeline for our global clients. Paul has over 25 years of Corporate Development and M&A global experience across Deloitte, BP, Castrol, Hilti, and Brown Forman. More recently, Paul has been supporting Agritech companies to raise capital and supporting investors to manage investments in the agriculture technology sector.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Workshop 4: Investment - Understanding how investors think to develop a successful raise
Secrets of a successful raise process: Understanding how investors think to develop a successful raise for your company
Moderator of the workshop

Joanna Sullivan - Founder and CEO, Conscience Consulting

Joanna is founder and CEO of Conscience Consulting, the trailblazer systems change agency in Brussels, which since 2008 advises European and global institutions, business and civil society on building bridges for inclusive sustainable societies, through advocacy campaigns and strategic communication.
Joanna is passionate about connecting likeminded progressive leaders in business, NGOs, think tanks and institutions, to build coalitions for good and foster resilience against the uncertainty and complexity of global challenges.
As Professor of Climate Diplomacy at the European Institute in Nice, author and speaker on sustainability engagement, moderator of Green Deal, SDG and ESG debates and workshops, and mentor to GenZ activists, Joanna shares decades of experience in policy development, collaboration pathways and sustainability leadership on climate and energy, consumer, trade and environment, and food and agriculture systems change.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Keynote and panel discussion
Chair of the keynote and panel discussion

Lucius Tamm - CEO, ABIM AG

Dr. Lucius Tamm holds a degree in agricultural engineering from ETH Zurich and has more than 25 years plant pathology R&D experience working on cereals, potatoes, grapevine and horticultural crops. Lucius has published > 100 papers and book chapters and been a partner or coordinated in EU projects since 2001. He is also guest lecturer at several universities. Until May 2023, he was Head of Department of Crop Sciences at the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). He led FiBL’s R&D activities for the development of crop protection solutions and has also been involved in the development of improved registration procedures for novel plant protection products.

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 6: Agricultural policy enabling biocontrol from around the world
Chair of the session

Mark Trimmer - Managing Partner, DunhamTrimmer LLC

Mark Trimmer, Ph.D., has more than 35 years of experience in research, product development, registration, technical service, and technology licensing in the crop protection industry. Early in his career, Mark led international product development at American Cyanamid. Following the acquisition of Cyanamid by BASF, Mark continued as leader of new technology acquisitions for the agriculture division. In 2006, Mark established Trimmer Consulting providing new technology assessment, R&D strategy, regulatory, and product development services to companies in the global agricultural chemical and biological markets. Mark co-founded DunhamTrimmer in 2011 with William Dunham to provide independent market research and strategic consulting for the global biopesticide, biostimulant, and biofertilizer markets. Mark’s training is in agronomy, plant physiology, and plant pathology and he provides the primary technical inputs on all DunhamTrimmer projects. Mark currently leads the Membership Committee and serves on the Board of Directors as Board Chair for the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA).

Wednesday, 25 October 2023, Session 6: Agricultural policy enabling biocontrol from around the world
Biocontrol in the Big Picture: The Trends Shaping Our Industry

Ibrahim Tunc - International Commercial Manager, Commercial Delegate for Southeastern Spain, MAFA BIOSCIENCE

Ibrahim (Ibra) Tunc was born in 1994, making him 28 years old, in Istanbul, Turkey. He currently resides and works in southeastern Spain, specifically in Murcia. While pursuing his studies in the Chemical Engineering program at Istanbul Technical University (Istanbul Teknik Universitesi), he participated in two significant Erasmus+ projects. First, as an Erasmus+ exchange student at Valencia University (Universitat de Valencia), and second, as an Erasmus+ intern at Cartagena Technical University (Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena).

During this period, he contributed to a project titled "Brines Denitrification Using Woodchips Bioreactors in the Campo de Cartagena," which was authored by Carolina Díaz García in collaboration with José Álvarez Rogel and Juan José Martínez Sánchez in 2018. Their team received the "Best Water Reuse Paper" award at the AEDyR (Asociación Española de Desalación y Reutilización) XII International Congress, held from October 23rd to 25th, 2018.

Presently, Ibrahim is a valuable member of the MAFA BIOSCIENCE team, where he holds dual roles as the International Commercial Manager and Commercial Delegate for Southeastern Spain. In these capacities, he actively engages in microbiology research, specializing in biopesticides, biocontrol, and biostimulants, with a strong focus on their field applications and end-user experiences.

In summary, Ibrahim Tunc is a versatile and multilingual business development engineer with a strong interdisciplinary background. He specializes in eco/bio/organic farming, contributing significantly to the sustainable agriculture sector.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 2: Biocontrol and biostimulants - programmes for sustainable agriculture
Unleashing the Power of Pseudomonas chlororaphis ST9: Transforming Agriculture Sustainably with Bio Stimulation and Biological Control

Jacobijn van Etten - Project manager, Dutch board for the authorisation of plant protection products and biocides (Ctgb)

Jacobijn van Etten is an all-round expert in the area of sustainable use of natural resources. She is a Wageningen University graduate with a degree in land and water management and her previous employers include an NGO, an international research institute, local government and consultancy. Currently Jacobijn is project manager and GreenTEAM coordinator at Ctgb (the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides). She has extensive experience with biocontrol dossiers for both substances and products. Jacobijn likes the challenges of innovative dossiers and seeks to be supportive to the green ambitions of notifiers.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Workshop 1: Registration best practice
Moderator of the workshop

Herman Van Mellaert - President IBMA Global and Director Strategic Alliances, Biobest NV

Herman is the Director Strategic Alliances at Biobest Group NV, with headquarters in Belgium. Biobest, originally a pioneer in bumblebee pollination and in invertebrate biocontrol agents, is now active worldwide with a complete range of solutions for biological control.

Herman holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leuven in insect physiology. He was Researcher, then Business Development Manager and subsequently founding CEO in the plant biotechnology industry. He also worked at the EU Council Secretariat (Agriculture) and at the European Commission (DG Research and Development). After several years as a consultant and interim Manager in the Life Sciences industry (with assignments in biotechnology, biological control, food ingredients, manufacturing of biomolecules,…) he became Director Business Development and subsequently Director Strategic Alliances at Biobest Group NV since 2013.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Keynote and panel discussion
Panellist

Martin Wohlfarter - Senior Regulatory Affairs Specialist, Koppert

A passionate agriculturist with fifteen years’ global experience in sustainable pest management.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Marketing from the University of Stellenbosch, Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development and Agrarian Reform from the University of the Western Cape and a MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.  As Senior Regulatory Affairs Specialist, Martin is responsible for global macro product registrations at Koppert B.V. and actively engaged in policy matters, through various ministries of agriculture.  He is vice chair of the IBMA Macro Professional Group, Rotating Chair of the IBMA Pollinators Group, and Chair of Artemis Beneficials and Pollinator Group in the Netherland.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, Session 3: Regulatory environment
EU study on the IBCA Industry vs Regulators - Challenges and Opportunities

Fabio Andrade Silva, Regional PDM Insecticides Manager at FMC Corporation

Dr. Fabio Andrade Silva is an agronomist/entomologist with more than 25 years in the industry. His work at FMC Corporation as Regional PDM Insecticides Manager is to oversee insecticide and nematicide technical projects for the LATAM region. Silva received his PhD from São Paulo State University in Botucatu researching integrated pest management.

25 October 2022, Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world
Biological control of sugarcane nematodes in Brazil

Dan Bailey, Associate at Appleyard Lees

Dan is a dual-qualified trade mark attorney and solicitor with nearly 10 years of experience in developing IP strategies, clearing, registering and enforcing trade marks. He also manages national and international trade mark portfolios and advises on contentious and non-contentious trade mark, copyright and design matters.

25 October 2022, Workshop 3: IP protection and patents (for IBMA members only)

David Calvert, Co-founder and director of iFormulate Ltd

David has over 25 years experience of developing new products and services for the chemical-using industries including pharmaceuticals, inks, coatings, agrochemicals and FMCG to name but a few. More recently he has worked on a number of projects related to the formulation of biocontrol products and during the workshop will explain how a structured approach to the formulation process can accelerate product commercialisation and uptake.

25 October 2022, Workshop 2: Formulating for biology (for IBMA members only)
 

Patrick Caron, Vice President for International Affairs, University of Montpellier

Education Dr in veterinary sciences, PhD in geography, HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) in geography

Patrick Caron is a veterinary doctor, PhD and HDR in development geography. He is a specialist of farming systems and territorial dynamics.

He is Vice President for International Affairs of the University of Montpellier since January 2019, Director of the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions, and Chair of Agropolis International.

He joined CIRAD in 1988 where he has been Director-General for research and strategy from 2010 to 2016, after having served as scientific director for the “Territories, Environment and People" Department (2001-2004) and as "Environments and Societies" Department director from 2007 to 2010. His works relate to the analysis of the role of agriculture and livestock in rural transformations, particularly in Brazil, Southern Africa and the Near East.

In has organized and chaired many international scientific events (e.g. Global Science Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture in 2016, International conference Agrichains and sustainable development in 2017, International conference on Living Territories in 2018, International Conference on Global Food Security in 2020).  He is a member of the French Academies of Technology and of Agriculture and Food.

He was the Chair of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) from November 2015 to October 2019.

He is a member of many institutional and inter-institutional bodies. He is in particular a Board member of CGIAR since September 2020 and has been a member of the Scientific Group of the 2021 UN Food System Summit.

25 October 2022, Keynote speech
Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet
 

David Cary, Member of the Executive Board of ABIM AG

David Cary has been a pivotal figure in the biocontrol industry and ABIM. He was appointed as the 1st Executive Director of IBMA and served in that role from 2009 to 2019. He has been a member of the organising team at ABIM since 2009. He is an entomologist by training and has represented the industry at FAO, OECD and EU level. He has served under 4 IBMA Presidents and worked closely with Bernard Blum who was often referred to as the founding father of IBMA. He has been involved in the Bernard Blum Award since its creation.

24 October 2022, Host Bernard Blum Award

25 October 2022, Chair Session 4: Case studies on company transformations from chemistry to biology

Charlene Collison, Associate Director of Sustainable Value Chains and Livelihoods at Forum for the Future

Charlene directs Forum for the Future’s Challenge Lab on Sustainable Value Chains, which works to make value chains of land-based commodities regenerative, resilient and just. She leads multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives across a range of agricultural sectors, including directing the Cotton 2040 initiative which takes a collaborative and systemic approach to issues critical to cotton’s future. Charlene also leads strategy projects with brands, retailers and foundation partners, with a focus on using futures tools to diagnose and act on complex systemic challenges in commodity value chains, and on prototyping solutions. She directs Forum’s inquiry into the future of value chains.

Drawing on over 20 years’ experience in futures, systems thinking, and organisational change, Charlene is a lead facilitator on Forum’s School for Systems Change, and supports Forum’s thought leadership on systemic and collaborative change processes. Previous roles included futures and scenario planning with the UK Department of Business and Innovation & Skills.

25 October 2022, Panel discussion
Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet

26 October 2022, Session 6: Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute
Exploring the potential for action on biocontrol throughout the arable supply chain, with an emphasis on the role of food companies in shaping demand
 

Ezio Costa, NPP BU Leader at Natural Plant Protection (NPP) by UPL

Ezio was CEO - Crop Care Holdings at Patria Investments in LATAM with focus on Biocontrol and Special Nutrition solutions. Prior to joining Patria, Ezio managed key leadership roles in SCM organization. In his last role at UPL, he was the Global Head of Formulations Supply Chain and Operations. A multi-faceted leader who worked in manufacturing, supply chain, in AGRO SB and Syngenta, he brings strong expertise in managing business globally with a stint in Hong Kong with Rotam.

Ezio is refining the Global NPP growth strategy, reviewing the Bio-Solutions portfolio and R&D strategy, go-to market approach in key business regions to create a strong business plan in partnership with the regions

25 October 2022, Session 4: Case studies on company transformations from chemistry to biology
 

Michele Demers, Founder and CEO of Boundless Impact Research & Analytics

Michele has 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business executive, and impact measurement expert.

She is Founder and CEO of Boundless Impact Research & Analytics, an industry research and impact analytics platform that provides quantitative and evidence-based research and data for investors, companies, and funds. Boundless offers Scope 1, 2 & 3 climate data and analysis and market intelligence across a growing number of emerging sectors that address significant environmental challenges.  

From 2010-2013, she was Vice President at Foundation Source where she built a knowledge platform on best practices in philanthropy that was used by a network of 1200 family offices. From 2007-2008, Michele was Director of Communications for Humanity United, a philanthropic entity created by Pam Omidyar and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. She has been involved in the successful development of more than two-dozen startups and is regularly called upon for her innovative thinking about environmental impact measurement.

Michele advises and mentors several emerging clean tech companies and projects and has a proven track record in building new technologies, research methodologies, and companies.

She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and has a Master’s in International Relations and Communications from Boston University.

25 October 2022, Workshop 4: The role of biocontrol in sustainability and SDGs (for IBMA members only)
 

Domenico Deserio, Policy Officer in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE)

Domenico Deserio is a Policy Officer in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE). He is responsible for policies related to micro-organisms used as active substances in plant protection products. Within the EU Biopesticide Working Group, he has worked is currently working on the amendment of Regulations concerning placing on the market of microbiological active substances and plant protection products. Before joining the European Commission, he has worked as scientific officer for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in the area of biological hazards. He holds a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Bari (Italy), and completed his thesis on food microbiology. Moreover, he achieved an advanced postgraduate Master by Research of Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide (Australia), carrying out his research on plant genomics and plant pathology.

25 October 2022, Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol
EU microbial data requirements

Barbara Edler, MUCF Coordinator, Minor Uses

Barbara is a weed scientist by training. At the beginning of October 2020, she started work as coordinator for the European Minor Uses Coordination Facility (MUCF), which was established in 2015 and based at the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) in Paris. For the last 8 years she worked in the field of plant protection for an Austrian company producing biological control agents. There she fulfilled the role of product manager with a focus on experimental research for regulatory purposes. This is where she first experienced the challenging complexity associated with specialty crops and minor uses.

The MUCF serves as an exchange platform to support identification of solutions to crop protection issues for specialty crops in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) framework. The mission of the MUCF is to ensure continuous, sustainable production of speciality crops in order to maintain an independent and diverse European food production system and thus contributing to sustainable European agriculture. To date, there is no EU-wide harmonised definition for minor uses and speciality crops. Minor uses of pesticides are applications on minor crops or against pests on major crops that do not occur routinely but can occasionally be very harmful. These speciality crops have a high economic value for farmers but are usually of little economic interest for the agro-pesticide industry. An overview of the status of work on minor uses is available at: 
www.minoruses.eu

25 October 2022, Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol
European Minor Uses Coordination Facility (MUCF) Activities & Developments

Simon Elsworth, Head of Syngenta’s Professional Solutions Business in Europe Africa and the Middle East

He has over 30 years of industry experience in a variety of commercial, technical, marketing, strategy and leadership roles and has a broad experience in both agricultural and professional markets.

Over the last 6 years Simon has led the development of Syngenta’s Professional Solutions Business in EAME, building market leading positions across expanding geographies. With a sharp focus on delivering value and solving customers problems, he has led the development of a business founded on R&D, with a portfolio of sustainable solutions which integrate a range of products and technologies. He is a firm believer in the fundamental power of collaboration and partnerships to enable and support the integration of biological, chemical and digital technologies to deliver high quality solutions for tomorrows problems today.

Simon holds a BSc in Agriculture from Edinburgh University and a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

25 October 2022, Session 4: Case studies on company transformations from chemistry to biology
Creating the Platform to Transform

Robert Finger, ETH Zurich, Agricultural Economics and Policy Group

Robert Finger is since 2016 professor of Agricultural Economics and Policy at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He previously had positions as professor at Wageningen University and the University of Bonn. The teaching and research of Robert Finger is at the interface of agricultural sciences and economics and contributes to more resilient and sustainable agricultural and food systems. Research mainly focusses on farm-level decisions and their interrelation with the environment, markets, societies, and policies, mainly related to European agriculture. He published more than 150 peer reviewed articles in leading agricultural economic and leading interdisciplinary journals on topics such as  sustainable pest management, agricultural risk management, and agricultural policies. Papers can be found here.

Since 2021, Robert Finger is the Chair of the World Food System Center that hosts ca. 50 groups at ETH Zürich and supports multi- and transdisciplinary approaches in research, education, and outreach activities to contribute to sustainable food security.

Robert Finger and his team are strongly engaged in outreach and science communication. For example, they established a blog on agricultural policy that synthesizes academic papers into non-​technical blog posts in German and French targeting at non-​academic stakeholders. He is also strongly engaged in policy and industry advice. In 2021, Robert Finger was listed by the newspaper NZZ among the most influential economists in Switzerland.  

26 October 2022, Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology
Economics and policy of moving from chemistry to biology in plant protection

Barbara Fleck, Partner at Appleyard Lees

Barbara is a specialist in patents in the agritech and healthcare sectors. She has over 20 years’ experience in patent drafting, prosecution, freedom to operate opinions, due diligence in connection with the sale or purchase of intellectual property rights, global patent portfolio management and IP strategy advice. Barbara is highly regarded for the commercially relevant advice she provides to her clients, including scale up and start-up companies seeking investment and development partners.

25 October 2022, Workshop 3: IP protection and patents (for IBMA members only)

Karine Grosbeau, EU and France Regulatory Manager CBC Biogard

Karine, EU and France Regulatory Manager within CBC Biogard, has been very active in IBMA for more than 10 years, member of the Executive Board of IBMA France, taking part in several IBMA working groups at national (France) as well as at global level. She has a broad background and a strong network in regulation, in particular for biocontrol products in Europe and in Africa.

25 October 2022, Chair Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol

Roma Gwynn, Vice-President IBMA

Roma Gwynn is a bioprotectant specialist working for over 35 years; initially as a research scientist then for biocontrol companies and now an independent specialist working internationally. She has an MSc in Technology for Crop Protection and a PhD in Biological Control both from Reading University. Roma has taken a lead role in the development of many new biocontrol technologies (semio-chemicals, botanicals and microbials). Her expertise is in facilitating the process of getting biopesticide products into the hands of farmers by streamlining bio-discovery, product development, registration and marketing.

Roma has been an expert for regulation of biocontrol agents (OECD, EU, FAO/WHO). She is an independent board member for UK AHDB Horticulture, a board member of IAPPS and Vice-President of IBMA. Roma is involved with farmer projects including Crop Health North, AHDB SCEPTRE and AMBER projects. She was editor of the BCPC ‘The Manual of Biocontrol Agents’. Roma was awarded Associateship of The Royal Agriculture Show Societies and Fellowship of RSA (Royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce).

25 October 2022, Chair Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world

Buyung Hadi, Agricultural Officer (IPM), Coordinator, Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control, FAO

Buyung serves as an Agricultural Officer (Integrated Pest Management, IPM) in Pest and Pesticide Management Team under FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division. He coordinates the Secretariat for the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control. His professional interests revolve around the development of IPM strategies and their enabling socio-economic and policy environments.

25 October 2022, Panel discussion
Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet

26 October 2022, Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology
FAO and biocontrol: enhancing capacities for sustainable plant protection

Rüdiger Hauschild, Managing Director Biocontrol APIS Applied Insect Science GmbH

A biologist specialising in molecular plant physiology, plant pathology, nematology and applied biocontrol research, Rüdiger has been closely involved in the regulation of biocontrol products and regulatory developments since 2005. He has been involved in more than 60 dossier submissions for microorganisms, botanicals and semiochemicals in the EU, and was involved in several EU research and policy initiatives, including the REBECA, ProLarix and BIOCOMES projects and is active in EU Commission and OECD working groups on development of guidance documents and new regulatory requirements.

25 October 2022, Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol
Industry view on new microbials data requirements

Jordan Hazell, Research Manager at Semios

Jordan's experience in agricultural technology is comprised of equal parts tribulation and success. Over his 10 year tenure leading Semios' research endeavors globally, he has been integral in growing ideas into a commercially viable products used worldwide. Jordan’s expertise is multifaceted covering a wide range of agronomy, hardware development, and data analytics. As a pragmatist, Jordan regularly challenges what is understood to be theory and is devoted to working back from value to end users.

25 October 2022, Session 1: Innovation for IPM and biocontrol 
IPM implementation via full crop cycle crop management platform

Salome Hofer, Head of Sustainability at Coop Group

Salome Hofer has been Head of Sustainability & Economic Policy at Coop since 2019. She is 36 years old and has been with Coop for over 10 years. She studied political science and communication management in Zurich and Lucerne and has further training in sustainability management. She has been President of the Swiss Soy Network since 2022 as part of her work at Coop and is also a member of the board of IGAS. In her private life, she has been a member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt since 2009, which she presided over in 2020/2021. 

26 October 2022, Session 6: Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute
Creating added value together along the entire value chain

Nikki Hulzebos, Program Manager Sustainability & Certification at Fresh Produce Centre of the Netherlands

Within the Fresh Produce Centre Nikki covers a broad range of sustainability & certification related topics, like certification schemes, crop protection, environmental footprinting, food loss & waste and packaging. Previously he worked as Project Manager Sustainability within the floriculture sector for Royal FloraHolland. As project manager he was involved in several sustainability related projects, like the development of a methodology to quantify the environmental impacts of plant protection products and the PEFCR for cut-flowers and potted plants (FloriPEFCR).

26 October 2022, Session 6: Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute
Measuring environmental impacts of fruit and vegetables from a life cycle perspective

Owen Jones, Managing Director and Partner at Lisk & Jones Consultants Ltd

Dr Owen Jones is a partner in the consultancy company Lisk & Jones Consultants Ltd that specialises in benign pest management technologies. He advises clients on related to semiochemicals, microbial products, biostimulants and plant-derived products.

Prior to his semi-retirement in 2012 he was responsible for Global Strategy at Suterra LLC and was based at AgriSense BCS Ltd, a company which he helped establish in 1984 to develop and commercialise insect monitoring and control systems based on pheromones.

He was also the President of the International Biocontrol Manufacturers’ Association (IBMA) for two years until December 2012 and on the board of IBMA for 5 years prior to that.

Dr Jones’ academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Science Degree from Bangor University and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the University of Cambridge (Churchill College). Dr Jones has been a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London since 1978, an Honorary Professor in the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University and an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University.

24 October 2022: Bernard Blum Award

Jennifer Lewis, Member of the Executive Board of  ABIM AG and Executive Director of IBMA Global

Jennifer Lewis was appointed as IBMA Executive Director in 2019. Jennifer is passionate about IPM, reducing the reliance on traditional pesticides through the uptake of these integrated programmes of pest and disease control in crop production throughout Europe.
Prior to IBMA, for 10 years Jennifer Lewis was a member of the Certis Europe Management Board as Head of Innovation and Development and during this period was Vice Chair of IBMA UK.
Earlier Jennifer was General Manager of BCP, a beneficial insect production company selling beneficial insects for pest control, which was purchased by Certis Europe. 
Jennifer has worked in crop protection for 35 years in various marketing, regulatory and stewardship roles in the US, Brazil and Europe. Jennifer is an agronomy graduate with a Masters in Business Administration and a Diploma in Sustainable Business Development. 

www.ibma-global.org

24 October 2022, Welcome note

Daniela Maia, Manager Regulatory Affairs at Vigna Brasil

Graduated in Biological Sciences, with an environmental emphasis.

She has been working in the regulatory area for agricultural pesticides for 13 years, specializing in the Biopesticides segment. Currently, she is the manager of regulatory affairs at the Vigna Brasil group, a consulting company established in the market for 26 years.

26 October 2022, Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology
Biocontrol in Brazil: What is in force, and what is to come
 

Antoine Martin, Global Technical Development Manager at Agrauxine

Antoine Martin is an agronomist graduated from ENITA of Bordeaux with 12 years experience in the biocontrol industry. Antoine started his career in a start-up, Agro-Levures et Dérivés, beeing in charge of the technical development of yeast based products from Lesaffre, for biocontrol and biostimulant markets. In 2014, he joined Agrauxine by Lesaffre division as global technical development manager to develop biosolutions portfolio worldwide. He has been working on cerevisane active ingredient and Romeo product for over 10 years.

24 October 2022: Bernard Blum Award
5 years after Bernard Blum Award overview of Cerevisane development and key learnings

Ketan Mehta, Ecosense Labs. (I) Pvt. Ltd.

25 October 2022, Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world
Case study of biocontrol in India

Alessandra Moccia, Director Regulatory Affairs at Suterra

Alessandra strongly believes in a future where our farming practices become more sustainable. In 2012 she joined Suterra where she directs the Regulatory Affairs department, ensuring the registration of semiochemicals active substances and products globally. Since 2018 she is chair of the IBMA semiochemical professional group.

25 October 2022, Chair Session 1: Innovation for IPM and biocontrol
 

Marcelo Augusto Boechat Morandi, Senior Scientific Research – Embrapa Environment, Jaguariúna/SP, Brazil

Agronomist, master and doctorate degrees in Agronomy/Phytopathology by Federal University of Viçosa, with an internship at the University of Guelph, Canada. Was a professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and is since 2001 a researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa. Develops research & innovation on agriculture and environment, with emphasis on the areas of sustainability assessment and bio-inputs development. Coordinated Embrapa's Pesticide Rational Management Project Portfolio and the Working Group on Biological Control of the Southern Cone Plant Health Committee (COSAVE). Is a member of the Work Task RenovaBio – National Biofuels Policy, responsible for building the metrics and tools for the decarbonization credits program in Brazil. Act as Embrapa's representative on the Environment Committee of the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) and on the National Executive Committee of the Sector Plan for Consolidation of a Low-Carbon Economy in Agriculture (CENABC) – ABC+ Plan. Coordinate the Work Group for methodological harmonization for low carbon products at Embrapa. He is advisor of the Superior Council of Agribusiness (COSAG/FIESP) and member of the Council of Agrogalaxy Institute and the Superior Council of the Forum Campinas Foundation for Innovation. Occupied the deputy heads of Technology Transfer and Research & Development at Embrapa Environment, being the General Director of the unit from 2015 to 2022.

26 October 2022, Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology
The Brazilian Programme for Bio-inputs: enhancing biological inputs for a sustainable agriculture
 

Sabine Navis, Senior project Scientist, ARCHE Consulting

Sabine Navis has a background in ecotoxicology, based on a Master's degree in Earth System Science (specialization Environmental Toxicology) at Wageningen University and a PhD in Biology at KU Leuven. She worked for several years in industry on the preparation of REACH dossiers and environmental monitoring studies. Since 2015 she is working at ARCHE Consulting, focusing on environmental exposure, risk assessment and sustainability projects.

25 October 2022, Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol

Oluwatobi E. Oni, Consultant, Exponent International Limited

Dr Oni is a consultant at Exponent International Limited, United Kingdom. He specializes in strategies for the registration of Ag-Chem products in Europe. Dr Oni draws on his expertise in Biochemistry and Environmental Microbiology to support clients in the registration of Ag-Chem products of biological origin (e.g., microorganisms and natural compounds) as well as conventional chemical-based products. Dr Oni has experience in supporting clients through all stages of Ag-Chem product registration and life cycle management.

25 October 2022, Session 1: Innovation for IPM and biocontrol 
Exploiting RNA interference to achieve target specific pest control via plant protection products

Andrew Owen-Griffiths, Head of Unit Plants and Organics Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission

Andrew Owen-Griffiths has worked in food safety in both the public and private sectors in the UK and Dubai prior to joining the European Commission in 2000. He has worked as an auditor on a range of issues including Food Hygiene, Import Controls, HACCP, Pesticides, Contaminants and Plant Health and is currently Head of the Unit "Plants and Organics" which has responsibility for the application of the F2F pesticide targets and the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive and its revision. 

25 October 2022, Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol
Update on SUD

26 October 2022, Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology
EU Green Deal

Keith Pitts, SVP-Sustainability and Regulatory Strategy at Bioceres Crop Solutions

Keith Pitts has served in numerous senior legislative, administrative, regulatory and public policy roles for more than three decades and has been actively involved in shaping domestic and international policies regarding pesticides, organic agriculture, agricultural biotechnology, invasive species, climate change, specialty crops and food safety. Keith was recently appointed as SVP-Sustainability and Regulatory Strategy for Bioceres Crop Solutions (NASDAQ: BIOX) following its acquisition of Marrone Bio Innovations in July of 2022.  Prior to his appointment at BIOX, Keith served as Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP-Regulatory and Government Affairs at Marrone Bio Innovations from 2008-2022, after working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a special assistant to Deputy Secretary Richard Rominger, and to Secretary Dan Glickman from 1997-2001.  

Prior to serving at USDA, Keith was a staff director for subcommittees on the House Committee on Agriculture from 1991-1997. Prior to joining Marrone Bio Innovations in 2008, Keith served as the Director of Public Policy for the Pew Charitable Trust’s Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. 

Over the years, Keith led several key agricultural, environmental and food safety initiatives for the USDA and with the House Committee on Agriculture. His career work has focused on issues such as the President’s Initiative to Ensure the Safety of Imported and Domestic Fruits and Vegetables, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Montreal Protocol and phase-out of methyl bromide, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, major reform of U.S. pesticide policy and agricultural biotechnology policy, the WTO and NAFTA, and several U.S. Farm Bills. He was also the USDA leader on developing and implementing the president’s Executive Order on Invasive Species and the president’s National Invasive Species Management Plan.  

Keith has served on the National Research Council’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Biological Products Industry Alliance.  

25 October 2022, Workshop 4: The role of biocontrol in sustainability and SDGs (for IBMA members only)
 

Guido Ramirez Caceres, Marketing and Development Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Rizobacter

Guido joined the company in 2013 as Technical Service Leader, coordinating field trials worldwide. He also served as Portfolio and Business Development Manager, where he played an active role in the strengthening of the biocontrol and specialty nutrition segments, developed relationships with some of the largest global agribusiness corporations and supported the regional and local teams in diverse business initiatives. Before Rizobacter he worked at INTA, Argentina’s Agricultural Technology Institute, a seed production and R&D contractor and a local fertilizer and seed retail business. He has an Agronomy degree from Universidad Catolica Argentina in Buenos Aires and a Master in Agricultural Science (Soil Science and Plant Nutrition) from the University of Western Australia in Perth. While in Australia he was awarded the ‘Agribusiness Connect’ scholarship by the Western Australian government for his research on soil amelioration and chickpea production.

Guido is happy to be part of a team committed to help farmers grow in a sustainable way. He’s enthusiastic about the future of agriculture and passionate about untangling some of the complex interactions that occur in farming systems which can lead to optimal biological product positioning to scale up adoption. Collaboration with multiple stakeholders across the agricultural value chain is something he really values and shares with the company’s views.

Rizobacter is a company with 45 years of experience in the world of biologicals. Today, it is part of Bioceres Crop Solutions, which has recently merged with Marrone Bio Innovations. The combination of two powerful legacies positions Bioceres Crop Solutions as a leader in the segment with the potential to deliver multiple value addition opportunities for farmers around the globe.

25 October 2022, Session 1: Innovation for IPM and biocontrol
Disrupting the seed treatment market with a biological: the Rizoderma experience

Gustavo Ranzani Herrmann, Commercial Director at Koppert Brazil

B.S., Major in Agricultural Engineering, University of São Paulo (USP, Campus of Piracicaba)
Post-Graduation (Lato Sensu) in Business: MBA Investment, Management and Planning on Sugar Cane Industry Market (PECEGE/ESALQ/USP)
President of ABCBio (National Association of Biocontrol Industry) - 2013/2014 and Vice-President - 2017/2018
Board member CropLife Brasil (2020-2021 /2022-2023)

26 October 2022, Session 6: Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute
Positive impact of Biocontrol to food industry in Brazil

Wolfgang Reinert, Policy Officer Plant Health at European Commission Directorate General for Health and Food Safety

Wolfgang Reinert graduated as a biologist and was trained in zoology, ecology, soil biology and earned a PhD studying detection and dissemination of phytoplasmas associated with grapevine diseases in Germany. He was working with the German federal institute for plant protection in agriculture and forestry (BBA) and with an agricultural station of the German land Rheinland-Pfalz, in research, education and advisory service in plant protection and plant breeding.
In 2002, he joined the European Commission to deal with plant protection products. Leading the sector ‘pesticides – placing on the market’ from January 2014 onwards, he moved to his current position in the unit on plant health in June 2018. His current focus of activities are phytosanitary requirements regarding the import of wood, emergency measures against fruit flies of the family Tephritidae and invertebrate biocontrol agents.

25 October 2022, Session 3: The changing regulatory environment for biocontrol
The Commission report on use and options for invertebrate biocontrol agents in the EU – an update
 

Fanny Rolet, CEO Antofénol

Fanny Rolet obtained her Master’s degree in Biotechnology, Biotracability and Biodiversity from the University of Montpellier in 2011. Curious, she deepened her studies in 2012 by conducting entrepreneurial studies at the IAE of Montpellier.

In 2014, she founded and became the CEO of Antofénol, a company that valorizes plant biomass with an innovative eco-extraction technology to develop biocontrol products. Antofénol focuses its work on the valorisation of viticultural waste and develops it further to bring new environmentally friendly fungicides for crop protection to the market.

25 October 2022, Session 1: Innovation for IPM and biocontrol 
Antoferine®, a new natural fungicide for crop protection

Philippe Rothgerber, Owner of Jus de fruits Rothgerber

Philippe Rothgerber grows fruits and vines close to Strasbourg in France. To avoid food waste as much as possible, he recently joined Moi Moche et Bon a young start-up to transform any kind of food waste into juices you definitely should taste. Philippe studied at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland to become an environment responsible grower. He believes that all around him belongs to God’s creation and love to work with his great Master. For him, being a farmer does not mean to follow the mainstream. He is the former president of FREDON Alsace, a crop protection and environment active farmer federation. He is also a board member of the regional organic growers association Bio en Grand Est. About 10 years ago, together with another wine grower and a viticulture technician he managed to register 3 different kind of pheromone dispensers for French vineyards. This brought him to be involved in CBC Biogard division France. He will always be willing to welcome a visitor on his farm to exchange ideas.

25 October 2022, Panel discussion
Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet
 

Karin Sartorius-Brüschweiler, Manager Life Sciences at Economic Development at Office of Economy and Labour, Canton of Basel-Stadt

Department of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs of the Canton of Basel-Stadt

24 October 2022, Welcome note

Deepak Singhal, President – International Business Development, IPL Biologicals Ltd.

Deepak has been associated with IPL Biologicals Limited, the world technology leader in biological agri-inputs., for over 12 years. He has been responsible for turning IPL into a technology powerhouse renowned for innovation, high quality products, and customer solution-provider. After making IPL the market leader in India, he has carved out a niche for IPL in the international market as a much respected technology leader in the agri-bio space. He is currently focussed on expanding IPL into the global market through business alliances, product innovation, and effective solutions to customers via a crop-based Total Crop Management strategy.

25 October 2022, Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world
Case study of biocontrol in India
 

Anne Steenbergh, Policy officer at Dutch Board for the Autorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb)

Anne is a microbial ecologist. She obtained her PhD working on microbial communities in marine sediments (Utrecht University & Netherlands Institute of Ecology). Six years ago she joined Ctgb (the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides); first as an assessor and currently as policy officer. In these capacities she has worked on both biopesticides and conventional pesticides. As a member of the Ctgb GreenTEAM she enjoys working on any challenges related to the assessment of biopesticides.

25 October 2022, Workshop 1: Registration best practice (for IBMA members only)
 

Joanna Sullivan, founder and CEO of Conscience Consulting

Joanna is founder and CEO of Conscience Consulting, the trailblazer sustainability agency in Brussels, which since 2001 advises European and global institutions, business and civil society on building bridges for inclusive sustainable societies.

Joanna is passionate about connecting likeminded progressives across business, NGOs, think tanks and institutions, to build resilience against the uncertainty and complexity of global challenges. As Professor of Climate Diplomacy at the European Institute in Nice, author and speaker on sustainability engagement, and moderator of Green Deal, SDG and ESG policy debates, Joanna shares decades of  knowledge and insights on sustainability leadership and inspires collaboration for good.  

25 October 2022, Moderation Keynote speech and Panel discussion
Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet

Susanne Sütterlin, Head of Unit, directorate Plant Supply Chains and Food Quality at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Netherlands

She is responsible for plant protection and phytosanitary issues, including propagation material and biotechnology. Working twelve years at the ministry, Susanne previously also worked for the directorates of Nature and that of Animal Supply Chains and Animal Welfare.

Susanne is a biologist by training. Her PhD concerned first steps into biological control in ornamentals. The next steps in her career included working for the area of plant resistance to pests, leading an R&D group and working with the Inspectorate for Plant Health. 

In the past, Susanne represented the Netherlands internationally at the Standing Committee for Plants Animals Food and Feed within the EU, and at OECD. 

26 October 2022, Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology
Dutch Agriculture Vision for 2030

Lucius Tamm, CEO of ABIM AG and Head of Crop Science Department at FiBL 

Member of the Board of IBMA Switzerland
Member of Steering Committee of ABIM since the first edition of ABIM in 2006 and CEO of ABIM AG since 2020
Dr. Lucius Tamm is Head of Department of Crop Sciences at the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Frick. He holds a degree in agricultural engineering from ETH Zurich and has more than 25 years plant pathology R&D experience working on cereals, potatoes, grapevine and horticultural crops. Lucius has published > 100 papers and book chapters and been a partner or coordinated in EU projects since 2001. He is also guest lecturer at several universities. He leads FiBL’s R&D activities for the development of crop protection solutions and has also been involved in the development of improved registration procedures for novel plant protection products.

www.fibl.org

24 October 2022, Welcome note

25 October 2022, Poster session

26 October 2022, Chair Session 6: Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute

Manuele Tamò, Principal Scientist - Entomologist and Benin Country Representative, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Cotonou, Benin

Vice-President, Member of the Executive Committee of the Governing Board and Newsletter Editor, International Association of the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS)

Manuele (Manu) is an insect ecologist based at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Benin. Since 2008, he is also the IITA Country Representative for Benin (formerly Officer-in-charge), and as such he has been instrumental in the establishment of the Biorisk Management Facility (BIMAF) on the IITA-Benin campus, and the signing of a Host Country Agreement between the Government of Benin and IITA in 2018. As an entomologist, he keeps an active research portfolio of several projects targeting the ecology and control of insect pests in cereal-legume systems (including cowpea and maize), and vegetable systems in West Africa including Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
Manu has been collaborating with national and international research institutes in several African countries and advanced research labs in Europe, Asia and America. Throughout his 35 years of service at IITA, he has developed and fostered excellent collaborative links with farmer organizations, community-based organizations, public and private NGOs, the private sector, and policy makers.
He has been the principal investigator of several special projects totaling in excess of US$ 14 Million. Manu has supervised 26 PhD students (5 on-going) and 19 MSc/DEA students (2 on-going). He has published over 240 written reports, including 118 Thomson-indexed journal articles, and edited 4 books.

25 October 2022, Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world
Science-driven, nature-based plant health management for African smallholder farmers

Mark Trimmer, Managing Partner at DunhamTrimmer LLC

Mark Trimmer, Ph.D., has more than 35 years of experience in research, product development, registration, technical service, and technology licensing in the crop protection industry. Early in his career, Mark led international product development at American Cyanamid. Following the acquisition of Cyanamid by BASF, Mark continued as leader of new technology acquisitions for the agriculture division. In 2006, Mark established Trimmer Consulting providing new technology assessment, R&D strategy, regulatory, and product development services to companies in the global agricultural chemical and biological markets. Mark co-founded DunhamTrimmer in 2011 with William Dunham to provide independent market research and strategic consulting for the global biopesticide, biostimulant, and biofertilizer markets. Mark’s training is in agronomy, plant physiology, and plant pathology and he provides the primary technical inputs on all DunhamTrimmer projects. Mark currently leads the Membership Committee and serves on the Board of Directors as Board Chair for the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA).

25 October 2022, Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world
Biocontrol market update/analysis

Lieselot Van der Veken, PhD, Founder Pro Terra Agro

Lieselot has more than 20 years Applied Research experience in Biocontrol in Tropical Production Systems. She has been active in the Biocontrol sector (Regulatory, R&D and Business Development) and IBMA for over 12 years.

Combining broad technical knowledge of Biocontrol and Business Sustainability Management (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), she co-develops more sustainable production systems with farmers and interacts with stakeholders of the food value chain to facilitate the transition from extractive to regenerative food production systems. With a strong focus  on tropical regions she strives to combine ecological and social sustainability gains.

25 October 2022, Session 2: Best practices and opportunities in biocontrol from across the world
Biocontrol in Bananas in Latin America and the Caribbean

Jacobijn van Etten, Project manager at Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb)

Jacobijn is an all-round expert in the area of sustainable use of natural resources. She is a Wageningen University graduate with a degree in land and water management and her previous employers include an NGO, an international research institute, local government and consultancy. Currently Jacobijn is project manager and GreenTEAM coordinator at Ctgb (the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides). She has extensive experience with biocontrol dossiers for both substances and products. Jacobijn likes the challenges of innovative dossiers and seeks to be supportive to the green ambitions of notifiers.

25 October 2022, Workshop 1: Registration best practice (for IBMA members only)

 

Herman Van Mellaert, IBMA President

Starting his career as an agronomist and with a PhD in insect physiology, Herman has a solid understanding of the technical issues facing the worldwide biocontrol industry. Three years as an EU official gave him first-hand experience of how EU regulations take shape and valuable in-sight into how stakeholders can contribute to the legislative process.
Herman has also held various senior leadership positions within the European life-sciences and biocontrol industry. In his current role - as Director of Strategic Alliances at the Biobest Group – he has built successful alliances with business partners on all continents. 
"The need for a more sustainable agricultural and horticultural industry, operating in harmony with a clean and biodiverse environment, has never been more pressing," says Herman Van Mellaert. Policy makers, in formulating ambitious goals - such as the European Green Deal and ‘Farm to Fork’ Strategy - show their trust in the biocontrol industry’s capacity to deliver new solutions.
"I am grateful to be given the opportunity to assist the IBMA in rising up to meet these unique challenges and opportunities. Working with all our members, together with other stakeholders and authorities, the IBMA is well placed to be the catalyst that enables our vibrant industry to deliver its full potential."
"IBMA is delighted to welcome Herman Van Mellaert to the role as President," says Jennifer Lewis, IBMA Executive Director. "His broad technical experience and insight into the regulatory process - together with proven business leadership, entrepreneurial and networking skills will be invaluable in helping IBMA deliver the very best for its members, as well as helping to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems while building back biodiversity with a neutral or positive environmental impact."

25 October 2022, Panel discussion
Feeding the growing global population while investing in the health of the planet

26 October 2022, Chair Session 5: Enabling and nudging policies for the transition from chemistry to biology

Jeroen Weststrate, Sustainability and Data Specialist at Fresh Produce Centre of the Netherlands

Jeroen contributes and leads several projects for the fruit and vegetable sector in the field of sustainability measurement, with life cycle assessment (LCA) at the core of his work. Jeroen is strongly engaged in the development of a PEFCR for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry and further focusses on how this methodology can be applied in industry as accelerator in the transition towards a more sustainable food system.

26 October 2022, Session 6: Food industry work in agriculture and what biocontrol can contribute
Measuring environmental impacts of fruit and vegetables from a life cycle perspective

Dmytro Yakovenko, Head of International Department at BTU-CENTER

Since 2017 he developed presence of company`s products in 18 countries, including the EU, where 8 biologicals of BTU-CENTER are registered. Dmytros background is Economics (MS) and Biotechnologies (BS). With an experience of an investment analyst, he is bringing focus on economics of implementation of biologicals. He is also significantly involved in R&D and strategy of the company, leading research and trials data analysis directions. Dmytro is actively sharing BTU-CENTER “Healthy LandTM” philosophy toward large-scale implementation (> 4 mln ha for now) of biologicals for healthy and rich harvest on fertile soil.

25 October 2022, Session 1: Innovation for IPM and biocontrol
Microbial polysaccharides to improve uptake of biocontrol and not only