MACE
Modern Agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe
MACE
Modern Agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe
Gertrud Buchenrieder studied agricultural sciences at the University of Hohenheim and started a Master of Sciences at the Ohio State University (OSU) in 1987 with an awarded Fulbright Stipend. In 1990, she graduated from the OSU. She received her doctor’s degree in 1994 at the University of Hohenheim and her habilitation in 2002. She was awarded with J.G. Knoll Science Award for her doctorate research. The habilitation was partly DFG-funded. Since 2006, Gertrud Buchenrieder is head of the Department External Environment for Agriculture and Policy Analysis and member of the directorate at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO). She has profound research experience in the agro-rural policy research in transition and developing countries and conducted both quantitative as well as qualitative research during the course of her career.
Jarmila Curtiss holds a doctorate in agricultural economics and currently works for the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (UZEI) in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO) in Halle, Germany. She received her PhD from the Humboldt University of Berlin (2002) and was awarded a post-doctoral Marie Curie Fellowship from the European Communities at IAMO (2003-2005), where she later continued in her research as a senior researcher till 2006. From 2006 to 2008, Dr. Curtiss was a research fellow at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (ITPS/JRC) in Seville, Spain. She has participated in various international projects such as the project ‘Comparative Analysis of the Transition Process of the Agricultural Sector in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries’ (KATO) (1997-2000), the FAO technical assistance project on ‘Competitiveness of Czech Agriculture and Food Industry in the Context of EU Accession’ (1998-1999), ‘Foresight Analysis for Rural Areas of the EU’ (FARO-EU) (2008), or the EC project on ‘Sustainability of Semi-Subsistence Farming Systems in New Member States and Acceding Countries’ (S-FARM) (2007-2008). Her research interests are in applied microeconomics, with a focus on farm level analyses of economic performance, sustainability, investment behaviour and structural development in transition countries.
Patricia Fuchs completed her M.A. in European Studies at the Cardiff University in Wales in 2005 after finishing her B.A. in European Studies at the University of Passau. During her studies she did several internships as for example in New York City at the German American Partnership Program or in Brussels at the EU office of the Goethe Institut. After her studies, she worked as a freelancer at the Institute for Cooperate Citizienship and Fundraising in Cologne. She was involved in the processing of the new edition of the book “Funding programmes of the EU”. Since 2006 Patricia Fuchs is working at KoWi (European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations). Since October 2008 she is in charge of the Specific Programmes „People“ and „Ideas“ within the 7th Framework Programme of the EU.
After studying agricultural economics Volker Hoffmann received his doctor’s degree and worked as a research assistant of E. Hruschka and H. Albrecht at the University of Hohenheim. In 1990 he habilitated in social sciences in agriculture at Hohenheim. He was appointed to the Chair of Agricultural Communication and Extension in 1991. He has been co-editor of the scientific series “Kommunikation und Beratung. Sozialwissenschaftliche Schriften zur Landnutzung und ländlichen Entwicklung.” Knowledge systems, participative methods in technical cooperation as well as their sampling, further development and possible applications and environmentally friendly land use, are in the focus of Volker Hoffmann’s research work. Volker Hoffmann is the chairperson of ATSAF, a member in Board of Trustees of IITA and a member of the DLG-committee for international partnership. He also takes part in BMBF-project Kulturlandschaft Hohenlohe.
German J. Jeub received a doctor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Bonn where he also worked as research associate in the Department of Agricultural Policy, Market Research and Economic Sociology. He worked at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry (BML) before he became Agricultural Attaché in Brussels in 1989 and again from 1991 till 1993. Dr. Jeub was Head of Public Relations at the BML from 1993 till 1998. Until 2003 he was Head of EU Co-ordination and responsible for European affairs at the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture (BMVEL). For three years he then worked as Head of the Department Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in Brussels. Since December 2006 Dr. Jeub is Head of the Subsection Fisheries, Enlargement, External Economic Relations at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV).
Elena Kashtanova is professor for international trade at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Bernburg, Germany, and program leader of the international Master Food and Agribusiness program. She graduated in economic theory and policy from the Belarusian State University in Minsk, certified by post-graduated programs for international economics and international trade by World Bank and George Soros Foundation. She was consultant for companies and governmental institutions for the investment strategy in Easter Europe, took part in European research and governmental programs for the expertise for economic policy during transition, was an expert for the finance and tax reform and incentives for international investment for economy ministry of Belarus and Belarusian parliament and for European institutions. Dr. Kashtanova teaches the courses for international business and economics and operates a students’ international project network, working for market entry strategies for German and international companies. She started to apply the communication technologies in 1998 for the development of the online master programs for professionals and for blended learning in agribusiness programs and developed a system for the collaborative international projects for online teams with partner universities in USA, Eastern Europe and China. Her research areas include economic development of the developing and transitional countries, global trade flows, country risks, global risk management, eLearning and virtual teaming.
Froukje Kruijssen obtained her Masters Degree in Agricultural Development Economics from Wageningen University, Netherlands, in 2003. She worked as junior researcher in the department of development economics of Wageningen University, as a junior program officer at the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CTA), as Research Manager with FairFood, a Dutch NGO working on fair product chains, and as Associate Scientist (under the Netherlands Associate Expert Program) in the Asia, Pacific regional office of Bioversity International in Malaysia. There, she was involved in research on the use of agro-biodiversity for livelihood improvement in Thailand, Indonesia and India (2005-2008). After returning to the Netherlands Froukje Kruijssen conducted a number of consultancies including the external review of the Young Professionals’ Platform on Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD) and a study on youth engagement in agricultural research, with a focus on Sub-Sahara Africa. She is presently in the final stages of completing her PhD thesis entitled ‘Integrating income improvement and on-farm biodiversity management of tropical fruits’ with the Centre for International Development Issues of the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Kelly Labar studied development economics at the Center for Research and Studies in International Development (CERDI) at Clermont Ferrand, France. She obtained there a master in Development Economics and one in Development Project Analysis in 2004 and her Doctorate degree in 2008, with a specialization on Chinese economy. Since September 2009, she holds a post-doc position at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO) in the department External Environment for Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe. She is a member of the China International Research Group and focuses her research on social inequalities and educational system in China. Kelly Labar has also developed an expertise in CAP implementation and farm advisory system in Bulgaria, being consultant for the World Bank and expert in Twinning project.
Cees Leeuwis is professor of Communication and Innovation Studies at Wageningen University, Netherlands, and chairman of the MSc programme Management of Agro-ecological Knowledge and Social Change (MAKS). He regards innovations as a balanced whole of technical devices, mental models and organisational arrangements, resulting in coordinated action in a network of stakeholders. His research focuses on (a) the value of new interactive and cross-disciplinary approaches to bringing about coherent innovations, (b) the analysis of social learning and conflict management in networks, and (c) the way in which the privatisation of research and extension institutions affects public sphere innovation processes.
After studying sociology at the Free University of Berlin and Stanford University and obtaining a Master's degree in rural development at the Technical University of Berlin, Uwe Jens Nagel worked between 1972 and 1993 at the Technical University of Berlin as a research assistant. In 1979 he received the doctor's degree. From 1983 to1987 he worked for the German Agency for Technical Cooperation in Benin. Since then he has been engaged in different fields of knowledge transfer. This includes methodical aspects of research planning and research control as well as the work for participatory arrangement of praxis-sciences-ratio. In 1993 he was appointed to the Chair of Agricultural Extension and communication studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin, where he was dean of studies from 1996 to 2002, then dean between 2002 and 2006. In 2006 Uwe Jens Nagel has been assigned the duties of the Vice President for Academic and International Affairs at the Humboldt University. In 2008 he was elected Vice President for Academic and International Affairs.
Oliver L. Oliveros is currently the Vice-Chair of the Young Professionals’ Platform on Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD). He is a Senior Officer in charge of development, partnerships and international relations at Agropolis Fondation (Montpellier, France). Prior to this, he was the Global Coordinator of the DURAS Project (2004-2008), an international initiative which aimed to promote sustainable development in agricultural research systems in the South. Oliver L. Oliveros was formerly a Programme Officer (1999-2004) at the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) in FAO in Rome where he worked on issues related to research partnerships, knowledge systems and civil society organizations. Before coming to Europe in 1999, Oliver worked for five years at the Ministry of Socio-economic Planning in Manila (Philippines) where he was extensively involved in project evaluation and investment programming in the agriculture, rural development and natural resources sector as well as is the formulation of the country’s Agenda 21. He studied Human Ecology (Philippines), management (Italy), and is taking up geography (France).
Balasubramanian Ramani (Bala Ramani) is currently the Global Coordinator of the Young Professionals’ Platform on Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD). He is Advisor, India Relations at the Leibniz Universität Hannover. He is also working as post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Botany, Leibniz Universität Hannover. Bala Ramani got his Dr.rer.nat. in Plant Biology (focus on stress physiology) at the Leibniz Universität Hannover in 2004. He did Master studies in Marine Biology and Oceanography at Annamalai University, India.
William Rivera specializes in agricultural knowledge and information systems. His field work in the developing countries has covered extension institutional reform, building linkages between research and extension, and developing institutional capacity. His current research and writings focus on contemporary strategies being employed internationally to reform and develop agricultural knowledge and information systems. As Professor retired from University of Maryland (College of Agriculture and Natural Resources) and now working as international consultant, Prof. Rivera has nearly 40 years of international experience. He has worked for the UNESCO, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and World Education Inc. He has consulted for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, as well as for the private sector. His consultancies include missions to Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He has served as either chief of party or team member in numerous project missions aimed at achieving policy and institutional goals to advance agricultural outreach extension services, including development of U.S. and international extension staff.
