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Urs Niggli
Director, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland
Mr. Urs Niggli is Director of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland since 1990. He is responsible for the overall scientific, financial and administrative co-ordination of the institute with 170 staff and 80 students. He is also president of FiBL Germany and FiBL Austria (50 scientific staff).
Mr. Urs Niggli is an Honorary Professor at the University of Kassel in Germany where he teaches organic farming policy and research strategy in the EU. He was appointed an Honorary PhD by the University of Life Sciences in Estonia.
He holds both an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in plant production. He started his career as a weed scientist in grassland, arable and horticultural crops at two Agroscope Federal Research Stations.
He serves on boards of national, European and international committees for research, agro-ecology, sustainability and organic farming. Among others, he is president of the Technology and Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) and of the Sustainable Organic Agriculture Action Network of IFOAM (SOAAN). He has published 240 papers.
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Nadia El-Hage Scialabba
Senior Natural Resources Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy
Ms. Nadia El-Hage Scialabba is a Senior Natural Resources Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy, since 1985. Over the years, she held different positions in the Fisheries, Agriculture and Environment Departments of the Organization, always aiming to mainstream environment and sustainable development considerations in food and agriculture systems. Since 1999, Ms. Scialabba is responsible for the cross-sectoral programme on organic agriculture, in addition to other “green” tasks, where the challenge is to address the dual need to conserve natural resources while providing for an ever more demanding global population. Work includes technical backstopping of field projects in Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Pacific countries, as well as normative and policy advice to FAO member countries. Ms. Nadia El-Hage Scialabba has a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies and is a mother of two children and one grandchild.
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Dr. Martin H. Entz
Professor, Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Canada
Dr. Martin Entz is professor of Cropping Systems and Natural Systems Agriculture in the Department of Plant Science at the University of Manitoba. He studied at the University of Manitoba (BSc; MSc - horticulture) and the University of Saskatchewan (PhD in plant physiology), working in various industry positions between degrees. He has taken study leaves at Adelaide University and the University of Western Australia. He teaches several courses involving Integrated Farming and Food Systems plus he has an active graduate student program. Dr. Martin H. Hentz leads the Glenlea study – Canada’s oldest organic vs conventional farming systems experiment now in its 25th year. This study has become a beacon for several exciting international collaborations. Dr. Martin H. Hentz really values his graduate students. Together with his students, staff and collaborators, he has published 104 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 8 book chapters.
Dr. Martin H. Entz enjoys working with farmers and learning from their experiences. He participates in ecologically-integrated farming system research and education in development work. Him and his family enjoy “Shady Maple Lane Shared Family Farm” near Libau, Manitoba - as a place for working, thinking, teaching and building community.
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Monique Bestman
Animal Husbandry, Louis Bolk Institure, The Netherlands
Ms. Monique Bestman studied biology with the specializations in animal ecology and animal behaviour. Since 1999, she works for the Louis Bolk Institute (The Netherlands) in the Animal Husbandry section. She is responsible for projects in animal welfare and animal health, especially in (organic) egg production. Her research themes are feather pecking, health problems caused by production, rearing conditions, environmental enrichment, design of the free range area, poultry production in an agroforestry context, targeting challenges with avian influenza risk birds and predators. These topics have been addressed in national and European research projects, demonstration projects and several publications and lectures for farmers, students and scientists.
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Derek H. Lynch
Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Canada
Mr. Derek H. Lynch is Associate Professor at Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture (DAL-AC). From 2005-2015 he held the position as Canada Research Chair in Organic Agriculture. His academic training is in agronomy (B.Sc., M.Sc.; McGill University) and soil science (Ph.D; University of Guelph). His research program has spanned sectors as diverse as organic field crop, organic dairying, and organic blueberry production. Much of this research is conducted directly in partnership with commercial organic farms and producer groups and typically combines an assessment of the productivity and environmental or ecological impact of the production system. Derek teaches on soil management, organic field crop management, and agroecology at the undergraduate and graduate level at DAL-AC. He has served for many years on national sector committees such as the Organic Value Chain Round Table and the CGSB committee on organic production standards. In 2014-15 he was president of the Canadian Society of Agronomy.
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Ralph C. Martin
Professor, Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Canada
Mr. Ralph C. Martin grew up on a beef and hog farm in Wallenstein, ON. After 4-H, his formal education includes, a B.A. and an M.Sc. in Biology from Carleton University and a Ph.D. in Plant Science from McGill University. His love of teaching grew unexpectedly when he began teaching at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, in 1990, and realized how students teach him too. In 2001, he founded the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (www.oacc.info) to coordinate university research and education pertaining to organic systems, across Canada. In 2011, he was appointed as Professor and the Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production at the Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph.
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