CEO, U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)
Jim Sutter joined USSEC as its CEO in 2010 after over 30 years of industry experience with Cargill, Inc. Since joining USSEC, Sutter has led strategy development to ensure that the organization’s key focus is on differentiating and building a preference for U.S. Soy, while also ensuring market access.
SESSION 1 09.00 - 09.40
Developing a resilient approach to food security in the context of economic headwinds: Lessons learned
Deputy Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, Trade Representative of Ukraine
Mr. Kachka is an expert in international law with extensive experience in the private sector, international environment and government. He was a member of Ukrainian negotiating team for Ukraine – EU Association Agreement.
Previously, he worked as a Deputy Executive Director and a Strategic Advisor at the International Renaissance Foundation (2016-2019). In 2014-2015, he was Vice President for Strategic Development at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
He started his career as a public servant in 2001 at the Ministry of Justice taking office of the First Deputy Director of the State Department for Legal Approximation. He also served as Director for Foreign Economic Relations at the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food.
Mr. Kachka is a lawyer; he graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a Master’s degree in International Law and the National School of Public Administration in Warsaw (Poland).
SOYABEANS 12.15 - 13.15
Soyabeans: Aspects of global trade in year ahead
Executive Director for Market Access and Strategy, Northeast Asia Regional Director, U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)
Rosalind (Roz) Leeck is the Executive Director for Market Access and Strategy and Northeast Asia Regional Director at the U.S. Soybean Export Council. She is responsible for worldwide activities, monitoring and addressing trade barriers and other market access issues that impact the U.S.’s ability to export soy and soy products. She is also the Regional Director for Northeast Asia responsible for Korea and Japan.
SESSION 2 09.40 - 12.00
Actions to overcome a Food Security Crisis Together – Maintaining Stability and open markets
Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Dr Marcel Adenäuer is a policy analyst at the OECD. He is a member of the team responsible for the annual OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook report, particularly focussing on cereal and biofuel markets. Next to this he is interested in global land markets, long term developments of the agricultural sector as well as its role for climate change mitigation. Prior to his position at the OECD he has been senior researcher at the Institute for Food and Resource Economics of the University of Bonn. There he specialised on global agricultural sector modelling. He holds a Doctoral Degree from the University of Bonn. Mr Adenäuer is an expert in agricultural sector modelling being one of the developers of the CAPRI and Aglink-Cosimo models. In his doctoral thesis he analysed the impacts of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy for sugar from 2006.
Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Digital Officer, Corteva Agriscience
Sam Eathington, Ph.D., is Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Digital Officer of Corteva Agriscience.
Eathington is responsible for leading the company’s global Research and Development organization, including its industry-leading Seed and Crop Protection pipeline, and for driving digital innovation companywide. He assumed his current role after joining the company in 2020 as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
A recognized leader in agricultural innovation, Eathington served as Chief Science Officer of The Climate Corporation (part of Bayer Crop Science) for four years before joining Corteva Agriscience, Earlier, he spent nearly two decades with Monsanto, holding multiple progressive roles in quantitative traits and molecular breeding and serving as Vice President, Global Plant Breeding.
Eathington holds a Bachelor of Science in agronomy, a Master of Science in soybean breeding and genetics and a Ph.D. in quantitative genetics and maize breeding, all from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
SESSION 2 09.40- 12.00
Deputy Head of Mission, Ethiopia Embassy, London
Mr. Beyene G/Meskel has a diverse professional and leadership background. He worked for the Ethiopian government from the level of junior expert to State Minister. He was also appointed as a board member and chairman of several businesses. He has also been a member of various committees and played active roles in systems & guidelines development. After nearly 35 years of service in government, he resigned on his own terms on October 20, 2020.
Then after, he has been appointed as Deputy Head of Mission at the Ethiopia Embassy in London since December 2021, overseeing Economic and Business Diplomacy, including trade and investment, technology transfer, tourism, and the restitution of Ethiopian cultural heritage and artefacts, primarily from the UK.
Director General, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, South Africa
Mr Ramasodi is an agriculturist with 21 years’ involvement in developmental, regulatory and international aspects of agriculture. He has been in the senior management service of the Department of Agriculture for the past 12 years.
Currently Mr Ramasodi is the Director General: Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
Mr Ramasodi has successfully carried out various positions within the Department. These positions include: Deputy Director General: Agricultural Production, Health and Food Safety, Chief Director: Inspection and Quarantine Services; Director: Inspection Service; Deputy Director: Port of Entry and Point Control; Assistant Director: Inspection Service and also Plant and Quality Technician.
Mr Ramasodi holds Masters’ degrees in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa and in Agriculture from the University of Pretoria.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Union of the Comoros
First Secretary (Trade & Eco), High Commission of India
Ambassador, Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Kingdom and Ireland
H.E. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long arrived in London in early June 2021 to take up his duties as Vietnam's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and to Ireland. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam in 1999, he was soon posted to the Embassy of Viet Nam in Rome due to his proficiency in Italian. He returned to Ha Noi four years later in 2003 to join the Europe Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as a desk officer, and then was promoted to Deputy Director-General of the department in 2008. In his position, he was in charge of the relationship between Viet Nam and the UK, and between Viet Nam and Ireland. He had been actively involved in the ASEM Summit (2004), APEC Summit (2006) and ASEAN Summit (2010) in Ha Noi when Viet Nam assumed the Chairmanship of those conferences.
By 2012, at age of 36, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long was appointed as Ambassador of Viet Nam to Italy, and non-resident Ambassador of Viet Nam to Malta, Cyprus and San Marino as well as Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and The World Food Programme (WFP), and informal contact point to the Vatican state.
In 2015, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long returned to Viet Nam and took the position of Deputy Director-General at the Department for Foreign Affairs for Provinces, which he headed as Director-General from 2016 until his appointment to the United Kingdom. In this role he was responsible for developing cooperation between Viet Nam’s provinces/cities and the international world in various areas, especially in education, culture and particularly trade and investment.
In December 2021, he has been given the rank of First Grade Ambassador of Viet Nam.
He graduated from the Milan Bocconi University, with a degree in economics of public administration and international organizations. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He attended various courses of leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, Oxford Said Business School, Princeton University and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. In 2014, he was selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as Young Global Leader (YGL). He has been awarded the Order of Grand Officer of the Italian Republic for his important contribution to the Viet Nam-Italy relations. He also received the Vietnamese Order of Labor of Third Degree and multiple Vietnamese Medals of Merit of the Prime Minister.
Counsellor (Agriculture), Australian High Commission
Kieran Macdonell is Australia’s Representative on Agriculture at the Australian High Commission in London.
He has extensive expertise in agricultural policy particularly in the crops, meat and livestock areas.
He leads on Australia’s interests in international negotiations of agricultural policy in multilateral and bilateral fora, including in the Australia/UK Free Trade Agreement.
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA
Director Strategy and Policy analysis, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Since 1 January 2023, Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle has been Director Strategy and policy analysis at DG AGRI (European Commission).
From 1 September 2020 to 31 December 2022, she was Director at the General Secretariat of the Council, responsible for Veterinary and Plant Health Questions, Food and Forestry. Between December 2019 and August 2020, she was Deputy Head of Cabinet of the EU Commissioner responsible for agriculture and rural development. From July 2018 to June 2019, she was the candidate of the EU for the position of Director general of the FAO. Between 2013 and 2018, she was responsible for the implementation of the CAP in France, in her capacity as Director general for Economic and Environmental Performance of Enterprises at the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Between 2006 and 2013, she was Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). From 2003 to 2006, she was Regional Director of Agriculture and Forestry for the Ile de France region. Prior to that, she was Director General of the Food Department within the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. She also worked at the European Commission from 1991 to 1993 as Seconded National Expert at DG III (DG Industry and Internal Market) in the area of food safety.
She is an agronomist with a Master of Science from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon and from the Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, South Africa
Mrs Rosemary Zoleka Capa is a member of the South African Parliament and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). She was appointed as the Deputy Minister of the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development in 2021, after serving as Deputy Minister in the Department of Small Business Development from May 2019 to August 2021. She is a former Member of the Executive Council responsible for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform in the Eastern Cape Province, a former Executive Mayor of Oliver Reginald Tambo District Municipality as well as National Deputy Chairperson of South African Local Government Association (SALGA). She also held the positions of chairperson of the Justice Correctional Services and Social Development Portfolio Committees in the National Assembly. Honourable Capa holds a Masters Degree in Health Sciences from the Hawkesbury University in Australia.
Head of Cabinet, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Algeria
Mohamed LAMINI is Head of Cabinet at the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He has a wide range of experience in agriculture and other related fields, particularly in the management of agricultural projects and crisis management at decision-making and operational levels.
Mr Lamini previously held a number of positions in Algeria's agricultural sector, including Inspector General of the Ministry, Advisor to the Minister and Central Director of the General Directorate of Forests.
His experience in Algeria includes positions as Adviser to the Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts and Adviser to the Minister of Water Resources and the Environment.
He has a degree from the Ecole Nationale d'Administration of Algiers, and a Magister in Administration and Finance from the Institute of Law and Administrative Sciences in Algiers. He has taken further courses in Management and Communication, Results-Based Management and Decision Support Systems.
Mr Lamini has considerable international experience gained through his active participation in the work and discussions at summits of the FAO, UNDP, IFAD, WTO and COP 21.
He is married with two children.
Deputy Head of Unit, Plant Products Unit, German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)
Oliver von Ledebur started his career in the Thuenen-Institut for Market Analysis (part of the former German Federal Agricultural Research Centre) as a research fellow in 2000. His work involved agricultural market analysis (cash and derivatives), regional integration and trade policy analysis, market modelling and policy scenario analysis. In doing so, he worked with academics and colleagues from the OECD, FAO, DG-Agri, JRC-IPTS, LEI, INRA, USDA, ILRI, Embrapa, and others. Since 2014 Oliver has been with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture where his initial occupation focused on agricultural trade policy issues in the framework of the EU structures, accompanying WTO agricultural negotiations, SPS, TBT and related market access issues. Currently Oliver serves in the unit for plant production focussing on monitoring and regulating arable plant crop markets. Oliver grew up in Brazil where he also received his master's degree. He has a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Halle.
Counsellor (Agriculture), Embassy of France
An agronomical engineer by training, Heloïse Pestel joined the French ministry in charge of agriculture in 2006.
From 2006 to 2010, she was in charge of the trade negotiations on agriculture (WTO and FTAs). Then she became head of the agriculture and nature unit in Nice (south of France), in charge of local implementation of agricultural and environmental policies.
Back in Paris in 2012, she headed the team responsible for the finance at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
Before being appointed agricultural counsellor at the French embassy in London in January 2020, she was for 3 years head of the International department of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Global Engagement Manager, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank
Julian is the Manager for Global Engagement in the Agriculture and Food Global Practice and Adjunct Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His World Bank responsibilities include strategic planning, donor outreach, and oversight for global knowledge and advisory programs in Agriculture and Food. Previously, he managed the Agriculture and Food program in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Julian used to be based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and he has published books and journal articles on a broad range of topics including poverty, economics, agriculture, food security, logistics, and energy. At Georgetown University he teaches a course in Food Systems Transformation. Julian has a PhD in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s in Natural Resources Economics from Duke University.
Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, UK
Mark Spencer was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 7 September 2022.
He was previously Lord President and Leader of the House of Commons from 8 February 2022 to 6 September 2022. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) between July 2019 and February 2022, Comptroller of HM Household (Government Whip) between July 2018 and July 2019, and Vice Chamberlain of HM Household (Government Whip) between January and July 2018. He was Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip) from June 2017 to January 2018. He was an Assistant Government Whip from 17 July 2016 to 15 June 2017.
Director of International Affairs Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Italy
Graziella has been working for the Italian Government since 1999.
She was the Chair of the G20 Agriculture Deputies and Chief Scientists under the G20 Italian Presidency.
She contributes to define the Italian position on agricultural policies and represents the Ministry at high-level meetings of OECD, FAO, G20, G7, WTO, and European Institutions.
She has provided technical and political advice in several cooperation projects (Tunisia, Israel, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Mozambique, and Egypt).
From 2009 to 2014, she held the position of Director of Rural Development and from 1999 to 2009, she was Administrative Director of the Experimental Oenology Institute of Asti. She has a Master’s Degree in Law (University of Siena) and a Master in Performing Arts (University of Urbino).
High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Permanent Representative of Canada to the International Maritime Organization
Ralph Goodale assumed his responsibilities as High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in April 2021.
Raised on a family farm near Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Mr. Goodale received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Regina in 1971, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1972. He has practical experience in business, law, agriculture and broadcasting, as well as federal and provincial politics.
Ralph Goodale was first elected to the Parliament of Canada in 1974 at the age of 24, representing Saskatchewan’s sprawling rural riding of Assiniboia. In the 1980s, he served as leader of the provincial Liberal Party, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in 1986.
Mr. Goodale returned to the House of Commons in 1993 as the Member of Parliament for Wascana, and was subsequently re-elected seven consecutive times, becoming Regina’s longest-serving MP. A member of the federal Cabinet under three Prime Ministers, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (1993-1997), Minister of Natural Resources (1997-2002), Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (2002), Minister of Public Works and Government Services (2002-2003), Minister of Finance (2003-2006), and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (2015-2019).
In March 2020, Mr. Goodale became a special advisor to the Prime Minister for Canada’s response to Iran’s shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which claimed the lives of 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents of Canada and dozens of others with Canadian links. This role is on-going in pursuit of transparency, accountability and justice for the families of the victims.
Mr. Goodale is accompanied by his wife, Pamela.
Chair of Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS)
Dr. Seth Meyer was appointed USDA’s Chief Economist in January of 2021, returning to USDA after two years. Prior to his return, Seth was a Research Professor and the Associate Director for the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri. FAPRI is well known for its agricultural policy and market analysis, being called on by Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its insight into commodity production, price, farm income and trade impacts from various agricultural policies including Farm Bill proposals, trade agreements and disruptions, and crop insurance.
Dr. Meyer was previously the head of the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) in the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), the agency at USDA charged with bringing together USDA resources in the assessment of crops around the world. The OCE also publishes those finding in the ‘WASDE’ report which is closely watched by agricultural markets here and abroad.
Previously, Dr. Meyer served as an economist with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and as a visiting scholar at several research institutions around the world. Dr. Meyer grew up in eastern Iowa and has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri.
Session 2 09.40 - 12.00
Director, Agrifood Economics Division, FAO
Mr David Laborde Debucquet joined FAO as Director of Agrifood Economics Division in 2023. His research interests include globalization, international trade, measurement and modeling of protectionism, multilateral and regional trade liberalization as well as environmental issues (climate change, biofuels). He has developed the MAcMapHS6 on tariffs as well as the TASTE software. He is a contributor to the GTAP database and a GTAP research fellow since 2005 and received the Alan Powell award in 2018. Since 2015, he has been focusing on costing the roadmap to achieving SDG2 in a globalized context while considering the role of goods, capital, and migration flows.
Beyond his work on databases, he has developed several partial and general equilibrium models applied to trade policy and environmental issues, including the MIRAGE and MIRAGRODEP models and their extensions.
He is also engaged in various capacity strengthening exercises by delivering training sessions for researchers and policy makers in several developing countries, with a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa and is actively involved in the AGRODEP network.
Prior to joining FAO, he was Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade and Institutions Division and the Theme Leader on Macroeconomics and Trade for IFPRI.
Session 1 09.00 - 09.40
Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)
Jean-Marie Paugam is Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva since 2021. Before this, he was Permanent Representative of France to the WTO. Mr. Paugam has held various Senior Management responsibilities on Trade, Development and International Finance, with the French Treasury and with the UN system (International Trade Center). He also was Senior Research Fellow with the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), France’s leading think-tank on international affairs. M. Paugam graduated in 1993 from the French National Administration School (ENA) and holds a Master Degree in Business Law as well as a Diploma of Political Sciences from the University of Aix-Marseille.
UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI)
Mr. Dashti retired in 2021 from the Kuwaiti armed forces at the rank of Vice Admiral, and he brings 40 years of experience in the areas of naval operations, leadership, and management both within Kuwait and multinational deployments. From 2019 to 2020, he was the military defense attaché of Kuwait in Belgium and the Kuwaiti mission's representative to NATO.
From 2015 to 2019, he was the Commandant of the Mubarak Al-Abdullah Joint Command and Staff College of Kuwait overseeing and developing policy and strategy and managing personnel and infrastructure. Prior to that, he was appointed Director of Studies at the College (2011-2015) and the principal advisor to the Commandant.
Previously, he served as the Commander of the Combined ships Task Force 152 (2012-2013) overseeing the planning and execution of operations in the Gulf, Director of Kuwait Naval Institute (2009-2011), Deputy Flotilla Commander (2007-2009), and Commander of Squadrons 72,73 and 74 (2005-2007).
Starting from 1981, Mr. Dashti served in various capacities ranging from principal warfare officer, executive officer, training officer and liaison officer within the Kuwaiti armed forces, including in regional and international deployments.
Mr. Dashti holds a Master’s in International Studies from King’s College, London. He has attended the Naval Staff College of Newport, USA, the Joint Staff College of Norfolk, USA, and the Royal College of Defence Studies, UK. Mr. Dashti also holds a B.Sc. in Education and Teaching from the University of Technology in Sydney.
He speaks English and Arabic.
Rice 14.30 - 15.30
Rice: Examining markets for short- and medium-grain varieties
Director Europe, Middle East, and Africa, USA Rice Federation
Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice’s Director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, is based in Hamburg, Germany and has been proudly working for the U.S. rice industry for nearly two decades. She has developed strategies and promotional activities in support of all types of U.S. origin rice in high priority markets in the region including the UK and Germany in Europe, as well as several Middle Eastern markets like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the West Bank. Eszter graduated from the joint study program of the University of Pécs (Hungary) and the Middlesex University of London with a Master of Science Degree in International Business Management in 2001. Prior to working for USA Rice, she was employed by Kraft Foods focusing on marketing chocolate and coffee brands in Hungary.
Secretary General, Federation of European Rice Millers
Marco has extensive experience in association management. While his core expertise is in the field of European Regulation and Public Affairs, he works as a bridge-builder between different environments, sharing complicated legal knowledge with different audiences in an understandable manner. Marco knows how to monitor policies and how to craft strategies for associations in order to make change happen, ensure membership growth and increased awareness of specific topics. After several years in Brussels, he has built a unique contact base across different sectors and policy areas in Brussels and beyond.
Marco serves as Secretary-General for FERM, the European Federation of Rice Millers, as Secretary-General for TomatoEurope, which represents the tomato processing industry in the EU and as Executive Director of APEP, the European Potash Producers Association.
Marco holds a Master’s degree in Law (L.L.M.) from La Sapienza University of Rome. Before working for Kellen, he worked as a legal consultant both in Rome and London before moving to Brussels in 2015 to work for FoodDrinkEurope.
Team leader, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and Professor, Open University of Japan
Prof. Gen FURUHASHI, Team leader, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan / Professor, Open University of Japan.
Gen Furuhashi is a team leader of the food supply and demand projection team at the Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (PRIMAFF) of Japan which publishes the world food supply and demand projection report in Japanese annually. He is also a professor of Society and Industry, at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at the Open University of Japan.
Gen has over 15 years’ research experience in global food supply and demand projection and its model development. He has worked in PRIMAFF as an economist since 2008 on projection modelling including the development of Asian markets and global agricultural commodity markets. From 2015-18 he also worked as an agricultural policy analyst at the OECD in Paris as a team member for the annual OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook report, particularly focusing on the rice market.
Prior to joining PRIMAFF, he worked as an expert on Asian agricultural markets at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Indonesia with Indonesia’s government officials, and also as a short-term expert in Thailand. He holds a doctoral degree in agriculture from the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Global Crop Strategy Lead, Rice & Oilseeds Crop Science Division, Bayer AG Monheim, Germany
Amit Trikha leads the global strategy for rice & oilseed crops at the Crop Science division of Bayer covering seeds and traits, crop protection & digital farming solutions. Prior to this, Amit headed operations for Bayer Seeds & Traits for the Asia Pacific region.
With a career spanning over two decades, Amit has successfully led teams through various leadership roles across marketing, business operations and strategy in Asia & Europe. Over the years, Amit has gained in-depth insights into customer needs and successfully advanced business growth through a customer-oriented approach.
Amit’s vision is to enable farmers to live a better life by bridging the technology gap through innovation, digitally enabled decision making and advancing sustainable solutions to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. Amit holds a post-graduate degree in agriculture. He is an avid table tennis player and likes to learn about diverse cultures through travelling and interacting with people.
Senior Market Analyst, Areté – The Agri-food Intelligence Company
Filippo Roda has a Ph.D. in law and economics with strong skills in quantitative research and solid teaching experience.
He is Analyst and Markets Manager at “Areté – The Agri-food Intelligence Company”, conducting market analysis and price forecasting for agricultural and agribusiness commodities.
Wheat 10.15 - 11.15
Wheat: Prospects for the milling sector amid changing trade dynamics and logistics
President, U.S. Wheat Associates
Vince Peterson joined U.S. Wheat Associates in 1985 and was elected by the USW Board of Directors to serve as President beginning in 2017. Peterson became the fourth president of USW since the organization was formed in 1980.
His three-plus decades of service with USW include nearly eleven years of directing operations in Europe and the Former Soviet Union and three years managing export market development programs in the Middle East and East Africa. Peterson also served as USW's vice president of marketing in Washington, DC from 1988 to 1993.
As an executive and export grain merchandiser with Garnac Grain (Andre & Co., Lausanne, Switzerland) and a domestic grain procurement manager and merchandiser with General Mills before joining USW, Peterson brought a dozen years of practical trade and commercial experience to USW. Additionally, his past industry leadership positions include having been elected president and member of the board of directors of both the Portland Merchants Exchange and the Pacific Grain Export Association. Peterson has also presented expert witness testimony before Congress and has served on a CFTC investigative subcommittee.
Independent Milling Sector Consultant
Fabien Varagnac is an independent milling sector consultant.
Fabien is offering consultancy and support to the milling sector, as well as upstream and downstream. His services cover wheat sourcing strategy, investment and operational strategy, R&D and innovation management for the industry, trade sector, institutions and public sector.
After graduating from the French Milling School, Fabien did a vocational training as a baker, before joining Mühlenchemie’s team as an R&D baker, serving the milling industry with additives and services to help them managed their flour quality.
He then moved to a technical sales manager position, before becoming area sales manager for the Francophone countries.
After more than 10 years supporting his customers and helping them solve problems and develop their business through creative solution, Fabien switched to a global position as head of Strategic development, developing new services to deliver more added value to millers around the world mostly through deeper insights in the wheat market, new market development and digital solutions.
Fabien is able to serve the whole wheat, flour and bread sector thanks to a thorough and holistic approach associated with knowledge gathered along 20 years of extensive travelling and service to the milling industry.
Director, IAOM Eurasia & Chairman of Board, Ulusoy Milling Company
Chairman of the Leadership Council of International Association of Operative Millers(IAOM) Eurasia
In April 2022 Mr. Ulusoy was appointed as Chairman of Black Sea Grain, Pulses and Oilseeds Exporters’ Association.
He previously held the position of Chairman of the Executive Board of the Turkish Flour Industrialists’ Federation (TUSAF) (2015- April 2022).
He is also currently the Chairman of the Executive Board of Ulusoy and Söke Milling Companies and served as position of CEO
He has a degree in Economics and Administrative Sciences, and a Masters and Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics.
Managing Director, EUROGERM, Senegal
Commodities Products and Business Development Manager, EURONEXT
Alexandre Bobylov has more than 15 years of experience in the commodities space with knowledge of derivatives, investment, finance, and financial markets. He joined Euronext, the pan-European leading market infrastructure in September 2022 as Commodities Products and Business Development Manager to further develop the Euronext MATIF franchise.
Prior to joining Euronext Alexandre gained experience of physical and derivatives commodities markets working at S&P Global Platts, Linhope Commodities and CME Group in London and Agritel in Paris.
Early in his career, Alexandre worked in commodities structured finance at Société Générale and BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking.
Alexandre Bobylov graduated from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris with a Master degree in Finance and Strategy.
President, European Flour Millers
Francesco VACONDIO is the President of the European Flour Millers’ association since 2022. He also serves as a Board member for the Italian milling association (ITALMOPA) and he is owner and Managing Director of Molini Industriali spa, a milling company in Italy. Mr Vacondio holds a PhD in electrical engineering from Laval University (Canada) as well as a master’s in electrical engineering from Università di Parma (Italy).
Maize 11.15 - 12.15
Maize: How will livestock feed sectors navigate changing economic conditions?
General Director, UkrAgroConsult, Ukraine
Sergey Feofilov - Director General of UkrAgroConsult, Ph.D. Economics. Founder of UkrAgroConsult - the first Ukrainian consulting agency specializing in agricultural sector of Ukraine and Black Sea region (since 1994).
Sergey Feofilov has more than 25 years of expertise in analysis of agricultural market of Ukraine and the Black Sea countries. He has broad international contacts in trading, banking and investment communities, is a recognized speaker at the major international agri conferences.
UkrAgroConsult serves global agribusiness operators from 50+ countries worldwide, delivering deep and comprehensive market analysis for effective decision making. The Company provides analytical reports on grains, oilseeds and pulses market, market research, investment consulting, business planning, is an organizer of the major international conferences on grains and oilseeds.
The Company is trusted by farmers, large scale grain and oilseeds producers, traders, processors, investors, banks etc. UkrAgroConsult cooperates with the leading global and intergovernmental organizations.
Coordinator of Economic Estimations, Rosario Board of Trade, Argentina
Tomás Rodríguez Zurro, an economist specializing in agricultural markets. Tomás graduated from the Rosario National University and currently work as a Coordinator of Economic Estimations at the Rosario Stock Exchange. He has participated and delivered numerous talks on agricultural commodity markets and has written several articles that have been cited in the media.
He is passionate about contributing to the industry's knowledge and developing innovative strategies.
Purchasing, Trading Manager, John Thompson and Sons
John Cunningham manages the purchasing and commodity trading desk for J Thompson the Belfast based animal feed compounder. He has over 35 years experience purchasing over 800k tonnes pa over 30 commodities including the organic sector. He has a wealth of experience gained through close working relationships of integrated poultry business, pig, dairy and beef production systems. In addition he manages fertiliser trading for his company, ex Chair of Ulster Arable Society and has served on various grain committees for the NIGTA and served on the board of UK Home Grown Cereal Authority.
As a major cereal importer we have experience on using maize based diets across all species for many years.
Market Analyst, Itaú BBA Agribusiness Consultancy, Brazil
Agribusiness and food sector market analyst with over 17 years’ experience in commodities and farming. Bachelor’s in Agronomist from São Paulo State University (FEIS/UNESP) and Master’s in Applied Economics from São Paulo University (Esalq/USP). Joined Itaú BBA Agribusiness Consultancy Team in 2019.
Director, Danish Bacon & Meat Council
Knud Buhl has held the position of Director, Danish Bacon & Meat Council, Copenhagen and Brussels Department for International Trade since 2003.
Previous positions include Director of International Affairs at the Danish Bacon and Meat Council, Agricultural Attaché at the Danish Embassy in Bonn and Civil Servant in the Danish Ministry of Agriculture.
He has a Master’s degree from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Denmark.
SESSION 4 14.05 - 15.05
Improving productivity and sustainability in the grains sector
High Commissioner for Project 3 N, Niger
Mr Ali Bety is leading the High Commission for the 3N Initiative, which is a Niger Republic President’s Office Based institution in charge of reforms, governance, multisector coordination and resources mobilization for the implementation of the National Strategy for Food and Nutrition Security, and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) also called 3N Initiative “Nigeriens Nourished Nigeriens “. He works closely with Government institutions, smallholder farmer organizations, the private sector, donors and technical agencies including specialized UN agencies such as FAO;
As the National Convenor of the Food Systems dialogues, Mr Ali Bety has been leading the pre-summit and post summit food systems dialogues, and the development and dissemination of the 7 main pathways to food systems transformation in Niger by 2030, to be carried out through the action plans implementing the 3N Initiative;
Prior to his appointment by the President of the Republic of Niger, in May 2017, Mr Ali Bety had been working for almost 13 years with AFD, the French Development Agency as “Rural, Environment, Agriculture, Climate, Water, Biodiversity, and Regional Development Projects Sector Expert” where he had successfully conducted a portfolio of numerous projects related to food security, nutrition, agriculture, environment, climate, integrated water resource management, conflicts, rural development and natural resources management. He has also worked with major national and international NGOs based in Niger managing projects from donors such as GIZ, KFW, the EU, USAID, the WB, NORAD, DANIDA, AFD ;
Mr Ali Bety started his carrier within the Ministry of Agriculture, in 1987 as a field agent at district level, then as a coordinator of various major donor funded rural development programmes supervised by the Ministry.
He has a Master in Agricultural Policy and Development Administration - Rural Development and Projects – France, 1997 and a Degree in Agronomy (Agricultural engineer), Morroco, 1986
Grains Production Outlook 15.30 - 16.30
Grains production outlook: Evaluating the swings in 2023/24 output
Meteorologist, Aura Commodities Ltd
Tom Whittaker is head of Weather at Aura Commodities based in London. He leads a team that provides regular in-depth analysis and commentary on weather disruption risk across agricultural commodities to a variety of market participants. Tom expertise is on translating the impact of short, medium, and long-term weather/climate patterns and events on agricultural production. He holds a MSc in Applied Meteorology from the University of Reading.
Director, NASA Earth Observations for Food Security and Agriculture Program (EOFSAC)
Dr. Becker-Reshef, is the Director of NASA Harvest which is NASA’s global program on Food Security and Agriculture. It is made up of a diverse consortium of over 50 partners from the public and private sectors and is focused on advancing the use of satellite observations across the agricultural sector. She is a Research Professor at the department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland and a visiting Professor at ICube – Laboratory of Engineering, Computer Science and Imagery at the University of Strasbourg. Her work is focused on the application of satellite observations for agricultural monitoring from the field to global scales, supporting decisions in food security, sustainability, and agricultural markets. She worked closely with national and international partners to initiate the G20 GEOGLAM (GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring) Program, where she is a Program Scientist leading the Crop Monitor initiative. Her background is in soil sciences and remote sensing and she received her Ph.D in 2012 from the University of Maryland.
Senior Analyst, Commodities Content & Research, LSEG
Dong Soon Choi leads the forecasting of area, yield and production of several major grain and oilseed crops in the United States, Brazil and Argentina for Refinitiv Agriculture Research. Prior to joining London Stock Exchange Group/Refinitiv he worked at LG Economic Research Institute as a senior agricultural and natural resource economist in charge of microeconomic research and market analysis for LG Corporation. Dong Soon earned his undergraduate degree from New York University and completed graduate studies at Columbia University and Penn State University.
Deputy Head of Unit Food Security, Joint Research Centre - European Commission
Bettina Baruth is Deputy Head of the Food Security unit of the Directorate for Sustainable Resources at the Joint Research Centre, which is part of the European Commission. She holds a PhD in Physical Geography and has more than 20 years of working experience in the agricultural research domain and the use of earth observation data for vegetation monitoring. Bettina’s expertise is on agricultural production monitoring, crop growth modelling, implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and transition to sustainable food systems. She worked many years as an analyst and editor of the MARS Bulletins, the European Commission’s system for crop monitoring. She holds one of the GEOGLAM co-chair positions, a GEO Flagship Initiative to increase market transparency and improve food security by strengthening the international community’s capacity to utilize coordinated, comprehensive, and sustained Earth observations
SESSION 5 15.05 - 15.50
Examining the role that e-commerce plays in achieving food security in volatile markets
Global Co-Chair of the ePhyto Industry Advisory Group and e-Documentation Working Group
Shawna co-chairs the ePhyto Industry Advisory Group (IAG) to IPPC, is a member of the CPM Focus Group on Sustainable Funding for the IPPC ePhyto Solution, and global co-chair for e-Documentation global working group. In collaboration with industry & governmental colleagues, she has actively supported global implementation of the e-Phyto project across global trade flows while educating regulatory officials for adoption and use. She has supported the Covantis blockchain project since 2017 at its’ inception with a highly successful North America Go Live in 2022.
Senior Manager, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
Mr Josiah Syanda is senior Manager at Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS). He has for over 20 years led KEPHIS team and has made immense contribution to the development of Phytosanitary systems in Kenya and the African region. Through their contribution Kenya has been recognized as the centre of Phytosanitary excellence and a reference for the region.
Syanda is an expert in Agricultural Information and Communication Management as well as Phytosanitary applications, with more than 15 years experience in Phytosanitary processes and compliance. He currently serves on the ePhyto Working group of the IPPC as the Inter African Phytosanitary Council (IAPSC) representative.
Syanda has hands-on field experience in creation and development of National Certification Systems integrations and their applications. Mr Syanda has participated in the establishment of set up systems in Republic of South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Ghana through IPPC. Mr. Syanda is currently working on implementation of ePhyto in Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia. Me Syanda is also involved in development of food loss application Funded by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Thailand.
Economic Affairs Officer, Standards and Trade Development Facility, WTO
Since joining the Secretariat of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007, Simon has managed a US$ 15 million portfolio of more than 40 projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America, aiming at supporting developing countries to improve their food safety, animal and plant health capacity to facilitate safe trade. Simon leads on priority knowledge topics, such sharing good practice from electronic SPS certification and trade facilitation to cross-cutting issues on gender and the environment across STDF's global network. Simon has worked on international trade at the WTO for over fifteen years. He holds a Master's degree in International Economics and Development from the University of Namur and a Master's in economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, in Belgium.
CEO, Ways To Cap, Afreximbank
International Trade, Market Access, Paraguayan Grains and Oilseeds Traders Association (CAPECO)
She is currently head of international affairs and market access at the Paraguayan grains and oilseeds traders’ association (CAPECO), Director at Single Window Consortium (CONVUE), member of the Paraguayan Product Exchange Commission and Professor on international trade at the Paraguayan-German Chamber.
Has more than 20 years’ experience as negotiator for market access policies, free trade and environment agreements and export market analysis.
Actively participates in public/private commissions: National Committee for Trade Facilitation, National Committee for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Agricultural Advisory Council at the Ministry of Agriculture, SENAVE Advisory Council, National Climate Change Commission, Sustainable Development Objectives Commission No12, as well as at international associations such as the International Soybean Growers Alliance (ISGA), the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) and the Latin American Business Forum at FAO.
Head of Market Research, AgRural, Brazil
Daniele Siqueira started her career in agriculture in 2002, as a reporter and editor for AgRural, a consultancy based in Paraná, Brazil. After a break in 2005-2006, when she worked for the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, Daniele assumed AgRural’s market intelligence service for corporate clients and helped establish the consultancy’s office in the United States. Nowadays, Daniele leads AgRural’s fundamental analysis team and is in oversees their international service “Brazilian Update”. Daniele holds a BA in Journalism and two MBAs (Agribusiness and Economic Development) from the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil.
President, Argentine Chambers of Edible Oilseeds Industry and Grain Exporters (CIARA-CEC)
CIARA-CEC Associations represents exporters and crushing industry reaching 48% of national exports and 30 billion u$d trade on annual basis. Gustavo Idigoras has a degree on political sciences and a master degree on international affairs and business and a PhD in Agricultural Business Administration.
He used to work as Public Affair manager for MONSANTO as well as he was Director of Business Issue Management (A Consultant group on agribusiness and bioenergies in Argentina) working for different chambers and companies related to food business and biofuels. He is also International Consultant working for WTO, IDB and FAO on SPS and agriculture trade including sustainability.
He was government negotiator for 18 years on market access negotiations at WTO, MERCOSUR, FTAs, CODEX, OIE, IPPC, IGC, OECD as well as he served as Argentine Agricultural Minister at European Union, based in Belgium, for 5 years.
Senior Director, Global Sustainability, Bunge
Michel Santos, originally an agronomist from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (ESALQ/USP), has a career of 30 years working for global companies in agribusiness. Since 2006, he has been dedicated to sustainability governance in the value chain of Bunge, a leading player in global food and agribusiness segments. Today, Michel is a Senior Director in Global Sustainability, working from the company’s global headquarters in the U.S. and his major driver is the enhancement of sustainable agricultural supply chains. He continuously engages directly with stakeholders and peers, and leads projects, policies and strategies related to sustainable supply with focus on grains and oilseeds.
08.45 - 08.50
IGC Chairperson (Kenya)
Dr Florence Kaibi is a Minister Counsellor and the Agriculture Attaché at the Kenya Embassy in Brussels which is accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium, the European Union and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. Additionally, she covers the EU region on issues of Agriculture while supporting the Trade docket in the Embassy. Prior to joining the diplomatic service, Florence worked as a Director for Nuts and Oil Crops at Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) a Regulatory Authority in Kenya that regulates, develops promotes and markets scheduled crops value chains. Prior to this, she served as a Deputy Director, Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives. Dr Kaibi is an experienced Public Policy Analyst and has represented the Government of Kenya in various regional and international Fora. She is a researcher with interests in Agricultural Biodiversity and Food Security. She holds a Post graduate Diploma in Food and Nutrition Security from Wageningen UR and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Stellenbosch University-South Africa.
08.50 - 09.00
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Head of R&D Crop Technology, Bayer Crop Science
Elzandi Oosthuizen serves as a member of the Research & Development (R&D) Leadership Team as Head of Crop Technology – Corn, Soy & Cotton for the Crop Science division of Bayer. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, she leads a global team in the development and steering of an integrated crop technology pipeline, working on technologies to improve corn, soy & cotton farming practices worldwide.
Elzandi has 25 years of experience working in the agriculture industry and academia. She held various roles in the Sales and Commercial organization since her tenure with the company began in 2004. Prior to her current role, she served as the Head of APAC Regional Marketing & Market Development as well as the Global Strategy Lead within Crop Science Commercial Operations. In 2017, Elzandi completed the Chi-Xing Eisenhower Fellowship, a highly selective program designed to help business leaders broaden and enhance their global perspective and partnerships.
Elzandi regularly advocates for STEM education and is passionate about inspiring and developing people. She is committed to improve diversity and inclusion, focusing on improving the professional development of women, fostering leadership growth, and creating a sense of community to enhance success
Elzandi holds a Master of Science in Natural Sciences Plant Breeding from the University of the Orange Free State, South Africa, and a Master of Business Administration from North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
SESSION 6 16.00 - 17.00
Trade finance: Boosting opportunities for importing countries
Managing Director, Bryce SA
Filipe is the managing director of Bryce SA, a Swiss-based commodities trading firm, he also owns GreenEmissions, a Swedish-based carbon trading platform. Previously, he was in trade finance as the Vice President for the American and European continents at a Nasdaq-listed multinational, leading business development and trade finance structuring on behalf of clients in the region. As an entrepreneur, in the past, Filipe created the world’s first token of grains, as well as a platform for grain trading using blockchain.
He holds a bachelor's degree in business, a master's in environmental sciences, and is currently working towards a doctorate in business focusing on sustainability. He speaks Portuguese, English and French fluently, with working knowledge of Spanish and German, also learning Korean and Russian.
Director and Global Head Trade Finance, Afreximbank
Broker, Senior Account Executive, EYSSAUTIER-VERLINGUE
Jean-Patrick Caumont, is Broker, Senior Account Executive, at EYSSAUTIER-VERLINGUE group. This company is one of the French leaders in marine insurance brokerage.
His added value is mainly based on his experiences as a logistics manager especially in soft commodities especially grains, oil seeds and vegoils products, originated from Europe, Black sea, Asia and South America to any destinations around the world.
After a few years as a physical commodity trader, a few major claims turned his experience towards risk management and prevention.
He joined the insurance industry in 2014, bringing this strong experience to the benefit of his insureds through risk analysis and insurance policy innovations.
Global Head Agri Commodities, Trade & Commodity Finance, Rabobank
Michiel became the CNCA, Trade & Commodity Finance in September 2021. This role consists of three responsibilities: Head Innovation TCF, Head TCF Netherlands & Head Core Agri Traders.
Michiel’s previous roles include Vice President, Structured Trade Finance at Banco Bilbao and Relationship Manager Commodities Metals and Mining at ABN AMRO Bank.
Research Director – Emerging Risks, and Director – Environment and Society Programme, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House
Professor Tim G. Benton leads the Environment and Society Programme at Chatham House. He joined Chatham House in 2016 as a distinguished visiting fellow, at which time he was also dean of strategic research initiatives at the University of Leeds. From 2011-2016 he was the ‘champion’ of the UK’s Global Food Security programme which was a multi-agency partnership of the UK’s public bodies (government departments, devolved governments and research councils) with an interest in the challenges around food.
As a leading advocate on food systems transformation, he has worked with UK governments, the EU, G20 and a range of other governments around the world, as well as leading businesses and civil society organisations. He has been a global agenda steward of the World Economic Forum, and was an author of the IPCC’s Special Report on Food, Land and Climate (2019), and the UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment (2017, 2022).
He has published more than 200 academic papers, many tackling how systems respond to environmental change. His work on sustainability leadership has been recognized with an honorary fellowship of the UK’s Society for the Environment, and a doctorate honoris causa from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. He also remains a (part time) Research Professor at the University of Leeds.
Executive Director, Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia (IDACA)
Hirofumi Kobayashi has over 30 years' experience of monitoring international agricultural policy and development cooperation at the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Zenchu) in Japan. In 2019, was co-opted as Executive Director, Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia (IDACA). Wrote a book on “Agriculture in Japan in Response to the Progressive Globalization of the World” (Sakuhin-sha) in 2022.
SESSION 7 17.00 - 18.00
Regional snapshot on East Africa
Agricultural Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Makiko Taguchi is an Agricultural Officer focused on cereal cropping systems with the Plant Production and Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. She holds a MSc in Agronomy from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and has 20 years of experience working in agricultural development, with field experience in Africa and Latin America.
Makiko currently serves as the Lead Technical Officer for the implementation of the International Year of Millets 2023, while providing technical support to various projects focused on rice, food systems and diversification.
Vice President - Logistics & Trade Development, DP World, U.A.E
Raveen Guliani is a B2B business developer, marketer and corporate intrapreneur pursuing opportunities to enable global trade. He has over 20 years of management and leadership experience within the logistics, maritime and shipping industry, and has proven expertise in trade & industrial development, maritime, ports & zones, shipping & logistics.
Mr Guliani joined DP World in 2010 and has led various business verticals including, Business Intelligence, Marketing & Communications. Since 2022, he leads the Logistics & Trade Development division for DP World’s UAE portfolio.
Previously, as the Regional Sales Manager at Dubai Maritime City, Raveen was responsible for sales and business development for the Asia Pacific region, and prior to that, he has been in several commercial and operational roles with Maersk Line within Asia, Middle East & Europe.
Raveen has an Executive MBA from the IE Business School and a Postgraduate Certificate in Business from the University of Wales. He also holds a Diploma in Port Management from Lloyds Maritime Academy and is Graduate in Engineering.
PULSES 9.15 - 10.15
Pulses: How to supply an expanding global market?
Executive Director, Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC)
Gerald is the Executive Director of EAGC since 15th March 2011. He is the former Managing Director of Kenya Wines Agencies Limited (KWAL) and the Kenya Planters Cooperation Union (KPCU). He has also worked for British American Tobacco, New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (NKCC) and Acumen Business Consultants. Gerald holds a Master of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics –Marketing Major and a Bachelor of Arts Degree both from Egerton University, Kenya.
CEO, Global Pulse Confederation
Randy Duckworth is the CEO of the Global Pulse Confederation – formerly known as CICILS/IPTIC- which is based in Dubai. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a law degree from Seattle University School of Law. Duckworth is former Chairman of Protected Harvest (https://www.protectedharvest.org/), which promotes and certifies sustainable agriculture production and marketing. He has 23 years of experience in association management and international food marketing. Over the last 20 years, he has overseen marketing, promotion and research activities in over 75 countries.
Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Pulse Canada
Greg Northey is the Vice President, Corporate Affairs for Pulse Canada. Before joining Pulse Canada in 2014, Greg was the Director of Environmental Policy with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, a position he began in 2008. Prior to this, Greg worked with United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna and with the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union in Brussels. Greg is focused on resolving issues and identifying opportunities for the pulse sector in the areas of market access, trade, sustainability and transportation.
Head of Unit, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, Arable crops and Olive Oil, European Commission
Koen Dillen started his career in the European Commission as a research fellow in its Joint Research Centre. Since 2013 Koen works in the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. He started as an analyst doing market outlooks for arable crops and biofuels, worked in international negotiations and for several years worked as an assistant to the Director-General of the European Commission. Since June 2022 Koen leads the unit monitoring and regulating the markets for arable crops and olive oil. Koen Dillen holds a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Leuven.
SIDE EVENT 08.15 - 09.15
Side event
arly in his career, Alexandre worked in commodities structured finance at Société Générale and BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking.
Moderator
Chief Executive, Rochester Productions, Former BBC Business Presenter
Philip Hampsheir spent 24 years in journalism, working at Bloomberg and the BBC. For two years, he was a reporter on Middle East Business Report, based in Dubai, before anchoring World Business Report on BBC World TV and then on World Service radio. He's reported from more than 40 countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Oman, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Indonesia. He's been published in the Economist, Independent and South Africa's Business Day, among others. He is currently working with a Ukrainian team headed by Alexey Semenov. They're bidding to use Russia Today's forfeited broadcasting licences in the US, EU and UK to allow transmission of a new English language TV channel, broadcasting the voice of the Ukrainian people to the wider world.
Managing Director, Magnus Communications Ltd
Juliette Foster is a radio/television journalist and founder of the media services company Magnus Communications Ltd. As Managing Director, she brings more than 30 years experience gathered in news, documentaries, and current affairs. Juliette has worked for some of the leading names in UK and international broadcasting including Sky News, Bloomberg Radio & Business Television, BBC Radio, BBC News Channel, BBC World Service Television and Share Radio, the UK’s first national radio station dedicated to business, finance, and money matters. As a conference moderator, Juliette has worked with many high-level organisations including The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development (OECD), The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the multi-national professional services company PWC, Swift International Banking Operations Seminar (SIBOS) and King Salman Relief (Saudi Arabia). Juliette is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce).
Session 3 12.00 - 13.00
Organised by the International Grain Trade Coalition Association (IGTC) will discuss the main priorities for grains traders
Director - Global Trade Execution, Bunge
As a member of the Bunge team for more than 20 years, he has held a variety of roles across Finance and Trade Operations in the U.S., Latin America, Asia, and Europe. In his current role, he is responsible for the execution of Bunge’s world-wide, cross border flows.
President and CEO, National Grain and Feed Association, USA
CEO, Grain Trade Australia
Pat is currently the CEO of Grain Trade Australia, which is a leading trade organization in the Australian grains industry. Pat has vast industry experience in trading, risk management, policy and government relations, having spent more than 25 years in the grains industry in Australia and USA. He has a diverse experience across the entire value chain, gained from working for trade houses, financial institutions as well as customer service and information focused businesses. He currently serves as Secretary of the International Grain Trade Coalition.
Welcome speech: Florence Kaibi, IGC Chairperson (Kenya)
Opening speech: Kei Takagi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Panel: Jean-Marie Paugam, World Trade Organization (WTO) Sam Eathington, Corteva Agriscience Taras Kachka, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, Trade Representative of Ukraine Mark Spencer, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
With food security highly dependent on economic stability, this session will focus on the impact of wider trends in the global economy on grains, rice and oilseeds markets, particularly in developing countries. Prior to the economic turbulence unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical crises, rising incomes in much of the world had underpinned changing consumption patterns, including increased uptake of meat and a switch from rice to wheat-based products in parts of Asia.
Lessons learned from the experiences of addressing the crisis will become a foundation for global efforts to avoid and overcome food security crises in the future. In this session, speakers from governments, international organizations, and the private sector will present their perspectives on the challenges they encountered during the recent food security crisis and the lessons learned from the experience to address them.
Panel: H.E. The Honourable Ralph E. Goodale, High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission Dhoihir Dhoulkamal, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Union of the Comoros Ernst-Oliver Freiherr von Ledebur, German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) Graziella Romito, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Italy Mohamed Lamini, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Algeria Beyene G Meskel Mada, Ethiopia Embassy, London Kieran Macdonell, Australian High Commission Daniel Whitley, Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA Héloïse Pestel, Embassy of France Julian A. Lampietti, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank Jaspreet Singh Sukhija, High Commission of India Rosemary Zoleka Capa, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, South Africa H.E. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long, Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam H.E. Yeocheol Yoon, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United Kingdom and Ireland Abdullah Dashti, UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) Marcel Adenäuer, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) David Laborde, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
During the food security crises in 2022, market uncertainty and supply disruptions of staple grains and fertilizers caused global food insecurity and prices to soar. In the event of future food security crises from crop failures, geopolitical crises, or caused by other unprecedented events, and in order for the international community to overcome it together, it is important to act in a concerted manner to maintain stable and open global agricultural, food and related markets, in addition to promoting efforts to enhance the resilience of the food system during normal times. In this regard, we will deepen mutual understanding on what actions would be expected and recommended for governments, international organizations and the private sector in the face of food security crises.
Principles of actions for each country in case of Food Security Crises
In order to minimize the adverse impact of food security crises derived from unforeseen circumstances, it is important for exporting and importing countries to avoid restrictive trade measures, speculative actions, and actions that obstruct the stable flow of agricultural and food markets. It is also important to act in concert to maintain the stability of the global food market, circulation and supply chain during crises. To this end, we will deepen the discussion on the course of actions that are expected or recommended to be taken by governments and international organizations.
Necessary Preparedness to Act as Good Consumers and Good Producers in the face of Food Security Crises
In order to take desirable actions and responses in the event of a food security crisis, it is essential to prepare for a crisis under normal circumstances such as efforts to ensure the transparency of markets and policies for staple grains and to ensure food trade and supply even during crises. Based on the lessons learned from the recent food security crisis, we will deepen the discussion on how governments, international organizations and the private sector should work to prepare for future food security crises.
Closing remarks by IGC and AMIS Chair
This session organised by the International Grain Trade Coalition Association (IGTC) will discuss the main priorities for grains traders.
IGTC is a coalition of national and international not for profit trade associations, councils and corporate stakeholders which are active in the international trade of grain, oilseeds, pulses and derived products (agri-bulks). The mission of IGTC is to provide advice on the impacts of policy decisions on commercial requirements and economics of the world's food, feed and processing industries.
Panel: Jeremy Cheon, Bunge Iliana Axiotiades, COCERAL Pat O’Shannassy, Grain Trade Australia Mike Seyfert, National Grain and Feed Association, USA
Lunch provided by the Government of Japan, G7 Presidency
Panel: Elzandi Oosthuizen, Bayer Crop Science Tim Benton, Chatham House Hirofumi Kobayashi, Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia Michel HR Santos, Global Sustainability, Bunge Ali Bety, High Commissioner for Project 3 N, Niger
Grains, rice and oilseeds value chains are implementing sustainability schemes to respond to societal demand and the challenge of climate change. However, this comes amid sustained increases in requirements as population growth and dietary changes underpin rising consumption. With limited prospects for an expansion of acreage in key producers and exporters, gains must ultimately stem from yield improvements which, at times, may be in conflict with sustainability criteria. Panelists will discuss this nexus of productivity and sustainability in the context of limited arable land, as well as the vital role trade must play in meeting global needs.
Panel: Simon Padilla, World Trade Organisation Shawna C. Enz-Cross, ePhyto Industry Advisory Group and e-Documentation Working Group. Josiah M. Syanda, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Niama El Bassunie, Afreximbank
Digitalization has become a central aspect of commodities markets development – disrupting longstanding practices, fostering efficient and competitive environments and opening the door to new entrants. Central to the changing landscape over the past decade and more has been a freer flow of information and data – disseminated across both public and private sector platforms – thereby boosting transparency and providing participants with up-to-date and real-time signals on current and future market trends. As an aside, the ePhyto digital solution, an official electronic phytosanitary certificate, has been important in enabling trading partners across the globe to quickly and efficiently exchange documentation as a means of facilitating trade in agricultural products. Panelists will assess developments in digital tools and the way in which these will further shape and enhance the broader trading environment in future years.
Panel: Jean-Patrick Caumont, Eyssautier-Verlingue Michiel Teunissen, Rabobank Filipe Pohlmann Gonzaga, Bryce SA Gwen Mwamba, Afreximbank
The broader global economic and financial landscape has changed dramatically over the past year and more, particularly as Central Banks around the world pursue tighter monetary policy as a means of combatting inflation – in large part stemming from elevated energy values. And with currency market swings often a key influence, this has added to the costs of trade in many regions. More recently, insurers have also demanded higher premiums for vessels traversing the Black Sea region given the ongoing conflict. In this Panel, experts will assess the challenges facing importers in ensuring food security, while examining ways in which buyers can mitigate risk via the use of new tools and trade practices.
Panel: Makiko Taguchi, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gerald Masila, Eastern Africa Grain Council Raveen Guliani, DP World, UAE
Economic development and demographics are key in supporting growth in demand for agricultural commodities and products across the African region. Additionally, given that domestic production is, in some cases, insufficient to meet local consumption requirements, the region has become increasingly reliant on trade – rice being a perfect example. With Africa becoming increasingly connected to the global trading arena, it is imperative that local markets are both transparent and function efficiently. The African Continental Free Trade Area, established in 2018 under the leadership of the African Union, has been an important initiative in promoting freer trade. With this in mind, the Panel will highlight the recent development of markets in East Africa and the potential for future growth, touching on the role that local institutions and stakeholders must continue to play in achieving food security.
Concluding remarks by Jim Sutter, CEO, U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)
Traders Lounge
Building on the successful format of past events, day two of the Conference will be devoted to commodity-specific workshops, covering topical issues affecting world markets for grains, rice, oilseeds, pulses and related sectors. In assessing the challenges confronting specific sectors, each Panel will be chaired by the IGC’s analytical team and comprise a number of leading international experts.
Hosted by Glyphosate Renewal Group
With the EU due to decide on the renewal of the registration of glyphosate in the European Union at the end of 2023, this session will provide an update on the ongoing regulatory process, discuss the link between glyphosate use and crop productivity for some key commodities and the importance of maintaining MRLs to enable global trade.
Panel: Gerald Masila, Eastern Africa Grain Council Randy Duckworth, Global Pulse Confederation Greg Northey, Pulse Canada Koen Dillen, European Commission Diana Sarungbam, IGC
While Asia remains central in shaping broader global consumption trends, underpinned by expanding populations and rising incomes, the uptake of pulses is growing in other regions, too, notably in Europe and the Americas. To a large extent, this is linked to the increased awareness of the health benefits of pulses, with a wide range of innovative products now available to consumers in the fast-growing, plant-based protein food sector. According to IGC figures, total production of key pulses, notably dry peas, lentils, chickpeas and broad beans, has risen by around two-fifths in the decade through to 2022/23. Against the backdrop of the need to promote sustainable food systems, panellists at this workshop will highlight the challenges facing farmers in boosting production in future years to satisfy anticipated growth in demand.
Early warning system Hosted by MED-Amin
The Mediterranean region is one of the most exposed to price volatility, trade and climate change induced tensions. Countries on both shores of the Mediterranean are working together to find joint solutions to strengthen the resilience of their agricultural production systems and food security. MED-Amin, the Mediterranean Agricultural Market Information Network, launched in 2014 by the Ministries of agriculture, provides tools, information and analyses on agricultural markets, mainly grains (wheat, barley, maize and rice).
This side event will address the main objectives and products of the MED-Amin network a joint initiative of CIHEAM Member Countries, in particular its pilot activities towards a better crop monitoring and early forecasting of production, and the development of an Early Warning System in/for the Mediterranean region. Spain, as Chair of the network in 2023, will introduce these issues of particular relevance for the country.
Panel: Amadou Seck, EUROGERM, Senegal Vince Peterson, U.S. Wheat Associates Eren Günhan Ulusoy, Ulusoy Milling Company Francesco Vacondio, European Flour Millers Alex Bobylov, EURONEXT Fabien Varagnac, Independent Milling Sector Consultant Alexander Karavaytsev, IGC
The world wheat milling industry has proven to be resilient in the face of COVID-19-induced supply chain shocks. While the protracted impact of the pandemic is still being felt in some countries, especially those traditionally dependant on tourist flows, flour producers worldwide have to cope with elevated volatility in wheat prices and inflated energy costs, partly stemming from the Black Sea conflict. As the rising cost of living curbs disposable incomes, the resultant increase in wheat product prices – as manufacturers try to secure production margins – threatens to dampen demand in some regions, including net importers of wheat or flour. This may also amplify pressure on national budgets in countries, which implement significant food subsidy programmes, adding to broader macroeconomic challenges.
While world trade in milling wheat and wheat flour depends, to a large extent, on local grain production, qualitative information on wheat supplies remains key for the milling sector, where such data is often heterogeneous and available only after the completion of the harvest. Much also continues to hinge on logistics, with recent reports suggesting a potential emergence of new distribution hubs in some major importing regions.
This workshop will aim to highlight prospects for the world wheat milling industry, focusing on production and demand in developing countries, as well as possible consequences for global trade in milling wheat and wheat flour.
Trading Millet Hosted By GAFTA and IGC
At its 75th session (March 2021), the United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). The IYM 2023 will be an opportunity to raise awareness of, and direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions. The initiative will also promote the sustainable production of millets, while highlighting their potential to provide new sustainable market opportunities for producers and consumers. GAFTA and IGC jointly propose a 45-minute discussion with companies trading various varieties of millet in order to identify the bottlenecks along the supply chain and opportunities to increase trade. The main drivers of demand will also be considered, focusing on direct human food uses as well as animal feed, particularly for pets.
Panel: Tomás Rodríguez Zurro, Rosario Board of Trade, Argentina Sergey Feofilov, UkrAgroConsult, Ukraine John Cunningham, John Thompson and Sons Cesar Castro-Alves, Itaú BBA Agribusiness Consultancy, Brazil Knud Buhl, Danish Bacon & Meat Council Miriam Morath, IGC
Maize (corn) is a critically important livestock feed ingredient, providing an excellent source of energy and starch. Annual feed maize consumption has averaged close to 700m t over the past five years, more than twice the volume of other coarse grains and wheat combined. Despite a long term uptrend in demand for animal proteins, global feed maize uptake is forecast to weaken in 2022/23, seen about 4% lower compared to the year before.
The unusually sharp y/y contraction is partly explained by elevated market prices, tied to tightening maize supplies, with a series of smaller harvests also limiting amounts available for on-farm consumption. The high cost of feed has aggravated inflationary pressures across the livestock production chain, resulting in efforts to better improve compound feed efficiency and the inclusion of more competitively-priced alternatives. Challenging economic conditions have also been a factor, with the squeeze in household incomes driving some changes in consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products. In addition, animal health disease concerns, especially related to highly pathogenic avian influenza, and drought-related herd reductions in some countries have also been a drag on feed demand.
Heading into 2023/24, the forum will provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss these unresolved challenges with key industry stakeholders.
Panel: Gustavo Idígoras, Argentine Chambers of Edible Oilseeds Industry and Grain Exporters Sonia Tomassone, Paraguayan Grains and Oilseeds Traders Association Daniele Siqueira, AgRural, Brazil Rosalind R. Leeck, U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) Darren Cooper, IGC
After reaching a record of almost 170m t in 2019/20, world soyabean trade has retreated in more recent seasons, dropping by a net 14m through to 2021/22, in large part stemming from a reduction in shipments to China, the world’s largest market. Based on the evidence to date, global import demand is set to return to growth in 2022/23; in addition to a likely rebound in China’s arrivals, a range of other buyers are expected to secure more to meet local feed and food sector requirements. Brazilian suppliers will be key, with this season’s huge crop having boosted availabilities for export in a year in which US volumes are set to retreat, also in light of a poor harvest in Argentina. In what is always a key consideration, can the market rely on China to fuel future demand growth or will other importers in Asia, Africa and the Americas increasingly take on the baton? Furthermore, given rising US domestic market needs and an associated expansion of processing capacity, does this mean that South American suppliers must occupy an increasingly dominant share of global shipment flows? Panellists will assess these and other key issues likely to shape the pattern of trade in future.
co-hosted by BAYER - IGTC
Panel: Eszter Somogyi, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, USA Rice Federation Amit Trikha, Bayer Crop Science Gen Furuhashi, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Filippo Roda, Areté – The Agri-food Intelligence Company Marco Baldoli, Federation of European Rice Millers Peter Clubb, IGC
Despite accounting for a relatively small share of global production, medium-grain (Japonica) rice forms a central component of several culturally important dishes, such as sushi and risotto. It is also the primary type of rice purchased by several importers, such as Japan, South Korea and Egypt. However, world market availabilities are typically small, accounting for an estimated 5% of trade. Consequently, any shortfall in export availabilities can have significant ramifications for the market, as evidenced by steep gains in international values. Moreover, the past year saw reduced crops in the US and the EU, both key suppliers, although China has emerged as a notable exporter in recent seasons. Furthermore, market information is relatively sparse, including the absence of a specific HS code to track shipments, nor is there an internationally agreed definition of Japonica rice. Nevertheless, medium-grain varieties have sometimes been a key part of trade negotiations, with a significant portion of global shipments mandated by WTO commitments. Against the backdrop of record prices, this session will examine the importance, unique features and challenges in the medium-grain sector given what is sometimes an opaque and thinly traded market.
The Republic of Korea's experience on Green revolution – example of Rice, hosted By Republic of Korea
Panel: Tom Whittaker, Aura Commodities Ltd Bettina Baruth, European Commission Dong Soon Choi, Commodities Content & Research, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Inbal Becker-Reshef, NASA Earth Observations for Food Security and Agriculture Program (EOFSAC) Nathan Kemp, IGC
There have been huge swings in global grain production in recent seasons, both to the downside and to the upside. While 2022/23 maize (corn) and sorghum crops were smaller compared to the year before, the world wheat harvest was the largest on record, while there was a recovery too, in barley and oats output. Some variations can partly be explained by the impact of the multi-year La Niña weather event, but other climatic drivers have also played a role. Geopolitical considerations, not least of all tied to the Black Sea conflict, as well as broader movements in fertiliser, seed and energy markets have also influenced production.
Incentivised by high prices and, assuming that weather conditions are conducive for fieldwork, total grains acreage is set to hold at historically high levels in 2023/24. However, as in all years, final planting decisions will also be shaped by input prices, rotational needs and seeding conditions, as well as national policy considerations.
This session will focus on grain cropping prospects in the northern hemisphere, especially in those countries exhibiting variability in crop production in recent seasons. Discussions will also be centred on ENSO climate drivers, efforts to better understand Black Sea prospects, as well as latest developments in yield monitoring, including through remote sensing technology.
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