EU40, FAO Liaison Office to Brussels and the RUMRA and Smart Villages Intergroup have organized an informal MEP meeting with Ms. Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (a position within FAO’s core leadership structure). The meeting will take place in the European Parliament on Wednesday, 22 June 2022 from 9:00 to 10:00am, SPINELLI A5F385 (BRU).
Ms. Elouafi will be pleased to present FAO’s vision and mandate about Science, Innovation and Technology, and how this may fit into the European Union work in the area, and to answer questions from MEPs. She will meet some MEPs bilaterally after the informal discussion. Please feel free to read more about Chief Scientist’s role within FAO, and more broadly about the recently adopted FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031, which seeks to support the 2030 Agenda through the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
About Ms. Ismahane Elouafi and the FAO:
Ms. Elouafi has held the position of Chief Scientist at the FAO of the UN since September 2020, a new position created within FAO’s core leadership structure. From 2012 until her appointment, she was Director General at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture based in the UAE. In this role, she spearheaded the development and implementation of the center’s long-term strategy and expanded its mandate to marginal environments, an agroecosystem concept which she helped to mainstream in the global research and development discourse.
Ms. Elouafi had previously held senior scientific and leadership positions, including Senior Adviser to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Branch in Canada (2006-2007); the National Manager of Plant Research Section (2007-2010); and Director of Research Management and Partnerships Division at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (2010-2012). She is a strong advocate for diversifying into neglected and underutilized crops and rethinking food systems as a whole. Ms. Elouafi is also internationally known for her work on promoting use of non-fresh water in agriculture and empowerment of women in science.
FAO is a close partner of the European Parliament, establishing the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition in 2016 and then institutionalizing it in December 2019 under the current parliamentary term 2019-2024. It is a cross-party platform of MEPs which raises awareness on the right to adequate food for all, the eradication of hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition and agricultural sustainability and resilience.