Webinar: Rethinking Agri-food Systems through Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency: Barriers, Innovations and Learnings by EU SWITCH-Asia

About This Webinar

The webinar will showcase innovative approaches and impacts of SWITCH-Asia grant projects and circular business models and technologies that help address resource inefficiencies in the agri-food chains. The panel session will also facilitate information exchange among agri-food chain actors on business opportunities, trends, and approaches to address issues of circularity in agri-food systems, and to promote investment into new business models and disruptive technologies for the transition towards a more circular economy in the agri-food sector.

Full Agenda: https://bit.ly/39TDM0b

Agenda

Session I: Catalyzing the transition towards circular economy at scale in the agri-food system
Session II: Circular economy strategies in the agri-food sector
Session III: Showcase of circular business models and technologies in the agri-food sector
Session IV: The enablers for circular economy and resources efficiency in the Agri- food system

Presenters

Uran CHEKIRBAYEV

Head of Department of Cluster Development, Ministry of Agriculture Kyrgyzstan

Zinaida FADEEVA

Team Leader, SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility

Zinaida Fadeeva is the Team Leader of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Facility (SCP Facility) of the SWITCH-Asia Programme. Zinaida has over 25 years leading international professional experience in policy for and practice of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and Education for Sustainable Development, amongst others working with the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Studies of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). Her work has focused on diverse topics such as tourism, plastics, construction, small and medium enterprises, procurement and lifestyle. Zinaida has worked extensively with governments, private sector, international organisations and academia in East, South East, South and Central Asia.

Miroslav BOŽIĆ

EU Representative, EU Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)

Cosima STAHR

Key Expert, South Asia

Cosima is the Key Expert for South Asia at the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility. For the Facility, she also coordinates the topics of buildings, plastics and finance. Working on SCP topics since 2007, she is also Co-Lead of the Finance Programme at adelphi and acts as Director of the consultancy’s representative office in Asia. She has led and contributed to numerous projects in the field of SME development, SCP, sustainable finance, and clean-tech innovations both in Europe, South Asia and other regions of the world.

James LOMAX

Food Systems and Agriculture Adviser, Biodiversity and Land Management Branch, Ecosystems Division, Secondee to the UN Food Systems Summit Secretariat

James Lomax is currently food systems and agriculture adviser in UNEP’s ecosystems division and part time secondee to the Secretariat of the UN Food Systems Summit. James has been leading efforts on sustainable food systems and agriculture at UNEP since 2009. He has pioneered the idea of systems thinking in the food and agriculture sector where nutrition, waste, environmental externalities and livelihoods must be considered if a shift to more sustainable food systems is to be realized. Currently, James is partly seconded to the Food Systems Summit and is also focusing on sustainable land-use finance mechanisms, repurposing farmer fiscal support, regenerative and net-positive agriculture and coordinating UNEP’s internal work on food systems and agriculture. A tropical agriculturalist by training (MSc Reading University), before joining UNEP James had a varied career in the private sector in farming, small holder development, food processing and export in East Africa and Europe.

Phaivanh CHANGNAKHAM

Program Director, Care International Lao PDR

Ms. Phaivanh is a seasoned program leader with an 18-year career in the Laos PDR INGO sector including Concern Worldwide, Caritas Luxembourg, ChildFund and CARE International in Lao PDR. Her technical and operational expertise ranges from health, livelihoods, and nutrition to monitoring and evaluation, human resources, and financial management. Ms. Phaivanh currently serves as the CARE Lao PDR Program Director, overseeing multiple donors funded initiatives across various thematic areas, including the EU funded SWITCH-Asia • SuPER WE Coffee - Sustainable Production and Ethic Responsible & Women Empowered Coffee value chains in Lao PDR.

TUAN Nguyen

Helvetas Vietnam

Experienced Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in agriculture production and export in Vietnam. Skilled in Rice Industry, Sustainable Development, Corporate Finance, International Shipping, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and Policy Analysis. Currently managing the SWITCH-Asia Circular Economy Cocoa: From Bean to Bar in Vietnam.

Valeriya ORLOVA

Project Manager, Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC)

Valeriya is a specialist in the field of Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency. She manages the EU SWITCH-Asia funded Project Recourse Efficiency in Agri-food Production and Processing (REAP), implemented by CAREC and partners.

Anshuman DAS

Program Manager, Welthungerhilfe India

Anshuman Das is associated with Welthungerhilfe India as Program Manager and looks after Agriculture, NRM and Economic development portfolio. Anshuman has more than two decades of experience in working with issues of the small holders in India starting from rights, production and marketing issues. He had played a pioneering role in setting up framework for promotion of Integrated Farming System in India and the SWITCH-Asia BhoomiKa network – a multistakeholder platform to create small holder friendly food systems.

Amaia URIARTE

Project Manager, SWITCH-Asia Towards Energy Efficiency in Agri-Food Cold Chain logistic in China

Since 2007 Amaia is working in the R&D area of Inkoa. Her research and innovation interests are in the fields of sustainability in agri-food systems, focusing on environmental footprint methods and tailor-made environmental calculation tools to help MSMEs take the first step towards low carbon. Amaia has been involved in different collaborative initiatives at an international level involving the private sector, research institutions and other stakeholders to help MSMEs transition to a low-carbon economy and to deliver on global challenges. She is the Project Manager of the SWITCH-Asia project Towards Energy Efficiency in Agri-Food Cold Chain logistic in China

Tamal SARKAR

Senior Advisor, Msme Foundation

Dr. Sarkar is D. Phil in the Economics of Cluster Development. He has 27 years of experience in industrial development, with special reference to MSME. He has extensive hands on experience of over two decades in cluster development and specializes in cluster development and poverty alleviation, sustainable development and innovation. He has authored a number of policy and methodology documents in the area of cluster and value chain development, poverty alleviation and resource based planning. He is also a pioneer trainer in the area of cluster development and has over 50 publications in MSME cluster economics. Dr Sarkar is Senior Adviser to the SWITCH-Asia project - Promote Bamboo MSME Clusters for Sustainable Development in India.

Lkhagvasuren (Lucky) GALBADRAKH

Senior Programme Manager, People in Need Mongolia

Lucky is a national supply chain expert with nearly two decades of experience working in the development sector. She is a passionate believer in green development and has been proud to support Mongolia in its transition to a more circular economy. Lucky currently manages the SWITCH-Asia Switching on the Green Economy project.

HOA Duong Piyaka

Strategic Partnerships Senior Advisor, East-West Seed

Hoa Duong Piyaka is a Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships at East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer, a corporate foundation dedicated to improving the lives of 1 million farmers over the next 5 years. In this role, she leads multi-stakeholder engagements on climate resilience, economic development, women & youth entrepreneurship, and nutritional security in emerging markets and conflict-sensitive environments in Asia and Africa. Prior to EWS-KT, she held leadership roles in policy and grant making for the U.S. government and led East and Southeast Asia investment portfolios at several global philanthropic foundations.

Jeremy PREPSCIUS

Managing Director, PwC, Asia Pacific Sustainable Supply Chain

Jeremy has worked across Asia on the pressing issues of sustainability and global supply chains. His experience has spanned the highlands of Papua New Guinea to plantations in SE Asia, from manufacturing floors in China, Cambodia, and Vietnam to board rooms in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. His work has been on sustainable supply chains and the key ESG issues of these supply chains: human rights, women’s empowerment, climate and energy, ESG strategy, stakeholder engagement, migration and modern slavery, supplier development and due diligence, worker engagement, traceability and transparency.

Jack WANG

Advisor Agribusiness, SAP

With SAP for 10+ years, Jack is an Industry Advisor specialising in driving Information Technology adoption and Digital Transformation in Agribusiness in ASEAN. He has been engaging and advising clients such as Wilmar, Sinarmas Agri and CP Food on their journey towards Intelligent Enterprise.

Matthew MC GARVEY

Chief Investment Officer, Pacific Rim Investment and Management

Matthew has over 25 years experience working throughout Asia, including 15+ years in China. He has launched multiple startups, and advised on or overseen the development of several economic development projects in emerging markets. Matthew specializes in concept development, the sourcing and placement of capital, and creating capital and organizational structures that maximize societal and environmental impact.