Key Qualifications
- Co-design and management of online platforms such as the Community of Practice on food loss reduction (CoP) which is part of the FAO hosted larger Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste
- Representation and key note speaker including at AfDB event, the AU Congress on postharvest management, the Global Pulses Confederation’s annual Convention
- Design and preparation of reports, publications, capacity building materials including online courses; co-organization of workshops and conferences with technical divisions;
- Leadership in strategy and roadmap development for fostering sustainable agri-food value chains (SFVC) and food systems through projects and programmes design and implementation with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams of national and international agricultural research and development organizations, engaging with donors including for a UN Rome-Based Agencies’ (RBA) FAO, IFAD and WFP’s joint project funded by the Swiss Development and Cooperation agency; for IFAD and the European Union-funded projects; for the international NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS) interventions funded by USAID and various financial partners in West Africa; and for the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) and other centers of the CGIAR
- Leadership and engagement with VC core and supporting actors in promoting climate smart agriculture (CSA), circular economy, gender equality and women empowerment, inclusion, and agricultural research for development, innovations
Education
PhD, Agro food science and technologies, University of Montpellier II, France, 2008.
Postgraduate degree (DESS: MSc Equivalent), Rural Economy and Agribusiness Management, Montpellier University of Law and Economics, France, 1994.
Engineering Degree, Food Industries, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Agro-Alimentaires (ENSIA), Montpellier, France, 1993.
Engineering Degree, Agricultural Sciences, Algiers National Institute of Agronomy (INA), Algeria, 1991.
Languages: French (Native); English (Fluent); Spanish (intermediate); Italian (Intermediate)
Experience
Senior Consultant - IFAD’s Sustainable Production, Markets, Institutions Division (PMI), January to June and November to December 2023
- Provided senior technical advice on sustainable agriculture, VC and food systems, knowledge management through intelligence gathering and analysis in the global arena; Contributed to and developed technical guidelines, reports, policy briefs
- Conducted supervision missions; co-developed actions for follow-up, documentation of results and impacts with Regional Offices, Country Programs, and technical experts in PMI and the Environment, Climate, Gender, and Social Inclusion Division
Senior Consultant - IFAD’s Agricultural Research for Development Unit (AR4D), Research and Impact Assessment Division of the Strategy and Knowledge Department, from May to November 2023
- Prepared the consolidated final technical report of 13 projects of the IFAD-EU co-funded programme ‘Putting Research into Use for Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture and Resilience’ (PRUNSAR) implemented from 2015 to 2023 by 13 projects led by eight centers from the CGIAR and the Internation al Bamboo and Rattan organization (INBAR);
- Led IFAD team for the development of a Catalogue of Innovations (2023) and the PRUNSAR Knowledge Directory| Knowledge for policy (europa.eu) (2024), PRUNSAR Knowledge Directory: Putting research into use for nutrition, sustainability, and resilience | Knowledge for policy (europa.eu)to facilitate access to knowledge and adoption at scale of proven innovations.
Senior consultant - Expert in sustainable milk value chain development – The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) December 2022 to January 2023
Led cross-learning, business model and multi-stakeholder strategic roadmap development based on the outcomes, lessons, and recommendations from the implementation of the IDRC funded project Enhancing the resilience of smallholder farmers in North and West Africa through upgrading of women-managed milk value chains | IDRC - International Development Research Centre (idrc-crdi.ca) in Morrocco and Senegal
Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – West Africa (covering 11 countries), February – June 2022
Provided strategic and technical leadership, engaged with donors including USAID, USDA, EU, Foundations including Master Card’s Foundation; Development of national and regional policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks; Capacity building of staff and national implementing partners
Consultant - Expert in sustainable value chains and food systems, FAO, April-December 2021
Developed a technical paper on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) presented at the conference Cultivating equality: Advancing Gender Research in Agriculture and Food Systems, 12-15 October 2021 - Abstracts; Developed the content of a ‘Gender and food loss in sustainable fish value chains in Africa’ guidelines with the FAO Fisheries Division
Manager of the FAO, IFAD and WFP joint project on food loss reduction, and postharvest management, FAO headquarters, Rome, June 2014 to September 2020
Managed the UN RBA joint project ‘Mainstreaming food loss reduction initiatives for smallholders in food deficit areas’ ; Supported and engaged with national governments, global, continental institutions including for the development and implementation of national, regional, and continental policies and strategies (e.g. the African Union Commission strategy on AU; Led and contributed to publications including the joint article: Totobesola, M., Delve, R., Nkundimana, J.d. et al. A holistic approach to food loss reduction in Africa: food loss analysis, integrated capacity development and policy implications. Food Sec. 14, 1401–1415 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01243-y; and the video on highlights of achievements and recommendations https://youtu.be/ZJ4NLUMYxDc
Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) Agriculture and livelihoods in West Africa, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – West Africa Regional Office, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, August 2010 – May 2014
- Provided strategic and technical leadership, for the design, implementation of multi-sectoral programmes and projects in Climate Smart Agriculture Climate Change Adaptation (building-livelihoods-on-the-frontlines-of-climate-change.pdf (crs.org)), livelihoods, VC development, farmers’ linkage to markets; food and nutrition security; resilience.
- Engaged with donors including USAID, USDA, DFID, various Foundations, with strategic partner organizations at nationaland international levels such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (Comité Inter Etats de Lutte contre la Sècheresse dans le Sahel, CILSS) to promote crops and livelihoods, sustainable natural resources management techniques and practices feasible in the contexts considered, and to co-develop innovative approaches, tools, and partnerships for impact at scale
- Contributed to the design and rollout of the Smart Skills Sets training workshops for strengthening the capacity of smallholder farmers for market engagement at scale
Coordinator of Development Funds, Canadian Embassy Cooperation / Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, April 2006 – March 2010.
Managed Programming Support Fund and the Fund for Local Initiatives, strategic planning, program design, implementation, monitoring & evaluation, reporting and communication
Central America Regional Coordinator and Research Associate, Rural Agro-enterprise Development Project (RADP), Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Tegucigalpa, Honduras, July 1998 – January 2001.
Contributed to strategic planning, program design, budget management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and communication; Coordinated the RADP taking in account CIAT Natural Resources Management (NRM); Contributed to several agro-enterprise development training workshops in Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua and Africa (at ICRAF in Kenya); Studied and identified more profitable, diversified, demand driven and sustainable market opportunities to improve smallholders’ incomes, linked small producers to markets and value chains.
Research Associate and Program Assistant, Africa Program and the Enterprise Development Department, Conservation International, Washington, D.C., USA, April 1995 – February 1997.
Contributed to the development of environmentally sound enterprises (e.g. nuts, spices, essential oils, honey, handicraft, ecotourism) to improve the incomes of poor people living in and around protected areas