Maria Suomela

Leading the EU- funded projects department in GAIA EPICHEIREIN. I work as a Senior Project Manager with more than 10 years’ experience in managing EU Research and Innovation projects focusing on Rural Development and Digital Agriculture.

I am experienced in the implementation of national co-funded projects in the field’s of development and enhancement sustainable agriculture. Projects related to climate actions linked to sustainable agriculture and innovative actions are my main interests.

More than 25 years of experience in sustainability assessment in agriculture with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon credits in livestock systems. Definition, application and implementation of new assessment systems and parameters for livestock farms. Many years of experience in EU projects (Interreg Grand-Region, Interreg NWE, Life+, Horizon Europe). Scientific publications and participation in agricultural congresses as well as organisation of seminars for consultants and farmers.

Head of Service for Advisory Support in the Use of Rural Development Measures at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Has a master’s degree in Agribusiness and Rural Development.

In her professional work, she focuses on providing expert advice in the field of financial management of agricultural holdings, investment planning and risk management, as well as on the availability of quality sources of financing.

She also provides advisory support on rural development measures from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and national measures for rural development support programs.

Innovation Broker in Agriculture, with broad experience working with farmers and advisors (providing advisory services, initiating Soil Living Lab, development of EIP Operational Groups), national policy makers (evaluations of Rural Development Programmes, CAP Strategic Plan) and the EU services (SCAR AKIS, CAP Network EIP Support Facility, EIP Subgroup for Innovation). I am involved in several EU funded HE projects.

I work as a senior research fellow at Széchenyi István University (SZE). I am national coordinator, task leader, CSC and project manager of the CSA project in Hungary.

My main activities at the university are the coordination of international projects in the field of extension, sustainable agriculture, innovation transfer and climate-smart agriculture, and I am also involved in university teaching. I manage the Demonstration Farm Network of the SZE Albert Kazmer Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár.

Dimitar has been working in the field of rural development for 19 years. He holds a post-graduate specialty: “Economics and Management of agro-industry”. He is specialized in Strategic management, Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural policy development. Dimitar worked for nine years at the Rural Development Directorate to the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Since 2010 Dimitar Vanev works at the Bulgarian National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS).

Master Degree in animal husbandry. 12 years of experience. Head of training department in Agricultural Adisory Center Branch Office in Radom

I’m working at the Research Centre of Animal Production in Reggio Emilia (Italy) and I am involved in national and European projects dealing mainly with crop production, soil health and reducing the environmental impacts of agricultural systems. The activity consists managing projects, planning research activities at farms, organising demonstration initiatives for both farmers and consultants. I’m the national coordinator in the ClimateSmartAdvisors project.

Carolanne is the Teagasc Project Advisor for the Climate Smart Advisors project. She holds an MSc. in Science and Health Communication and has focused her studies on the development of innovative communication approaches that support rural communities in taking greater climate action. Having previously worked in Brussels on EU agricultural projects (Horizon) Carolanne is passionate about creating effective communication tools to help farmers transition to Climate Smart Farming.

Master Degree in renewable energy systems and technical energy management. Experienced in project management of photovoltaic plants and large scale solar thermal systems. In the current position in the Department Energy, Climate and Bio-ressources at the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry in Styria I am responsible for National and International projects but also as an energy consultant for farmers in Styria.

I am a project expert at ZLTO, a advocacy organization for farmers and horticulturists in the southern region of the Netherlands. I hold a BBA from HAS University of Applied Sciences in International Food & Agri Business. Presently, I am engaged in various national and international projects that center around sustainable agriculture, with a specialisation on carbon farming and carbon footprinting.

Project manager of projects financed by EU funds at national and European level. Master’s degree in Public Management

I am a special consultant in the team of Climate and Nature as well as the international advisor at ICOEL. I coordinate internally 4 EU projects mostly related to implementation of innovative climate actions in agriculture, and more specifically into the organic farming sector.

Coordinator of 20+ national projects & programs in animal nutrition & related fields; partner/country responsible in 10+ european projects; 20 years experience in top management of research activity (science secretary / scientific director / director general of IBNA); 20 years experience in technology transfer of the research results; Editor in Chief of Archiva Zootechinca journal; experience in organising events/trainings, experience in scientific / institutional evaluation, etc.

Head of Innovation Support Service at LAAS, coordinator of innovation projects, member of the EU CAP Network Subgroup on Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (SoIKE). I am responsible for coordinating national and international innovation projects, developing of LAAS collaboration with advisory, research and innovation institutions, representing LAAS at national and international events. I am a national coordinator in the ClimateFarmDemo project.

Master of Engineering in Energy. I work at farmers’ organisation Boerenbond, advising farmers on sustainable energy management and supporting those with innovative ideas. In projects, I often serve as an intermediary between research and the farming community addressing their specific needs. I am involved in several European projects (ATTRACTISS, modernAKIS, Climate Farm Demo, ClimateSmartAdvisors) focusing on networking and enhancing skills and competencies of advisors and other AKIS actors.

Branko Sikoparija, has PhD in Biology and works as senior researcher at BioSense Institute and Quality manager at Laboratory for palynology (ISO17025). He is a highly-conscientious, self-motivated and practiced researcher with a strong background in aerobiology, environmental science, ecology, entomology, modelling & forecasting. His current interests are real-time detection and identification of bioaerosols and exploring relationships between in hive products and honey bee health status.

As commercially-aware researcher, Branko Sikoparija is skilled in raising research funding and he also acted as the coordinator and principal investigator on a number national and international research projects (Ministry of Science-Serbia,, Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, SNSF-SCOPES, INTERREG-IPA, WUS-CEP&CDP+, EC-HORIZON2020, EC-HORIZON EUROPE). He coordinated the registration of Protected Designations of Origin for “Fruska Gora Lime Tree Honey”. Dr Sikoparija utilizes excellent communication skills and is very successful in developing networks and collaborations both interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary.

Theodor is the national project coordinator for REAS. He has extensive experience of rural development and the Swedish grant system. He holds a masters degree in international law. He has previoulsy worked in grant application at the Swedish board of Agriculture, and has experience from a large number of projects on the EU, national as well as the regional level.

I work as European project manager at the French Chamber of Agriculture, giving administrative and technical support to the regional Chambers of Agriculture involved in various Horizon Europe project on interactive innovation, climate smart farming and circular economy.

Project manager in the field of grassland science and climate adapted farming, with a focus on connecting stakeholders in areas such as grazing systems, grassland biodiversity, and the valorization of grassland ecosystem services. I am interested in strengthening the link between practical farming and scientific research. I currently co-ordinate the EU-Horizon project “Grazing4AgroEcology”.

A Newcastle graduate, geneticist and ex dairy farmer, Richard joined Innovation for Agriculture in 2016 to co-ordinate the Horizon 2020 project Data Driven Decisions for Dairy farmers. Advocating the welfare and economic benefits of making real time management decisions based on sensor data he was involved in other projects on antibiotic reduction (DISARM) and farm demonstration (FARMDEMO). Currently he is coordinating the UK involvement in two major projects aimed at reducing the climatic impact of livestock farming – Climate Farm Demo ( setting up a network of 130 climate demo farms in the UK – 1500 Europewide), and Climate Smart Advisors.

Andreia Carvalho is a Sustainability Consultant at CONSULAI with an international background in research, innovation, and production systems. She holds a Master’s degree in Materials Engineering from NOVA School of Science and Technology and has experience managing European R&D projects focused on climate adaptation, digital transformation, and sustainable agriculture.

I work at COEXPHAL, an advisory center with over 20 years of experience in the fruit and vegetable sector, fostering a local risk-sensitive culture to climate change, with a special focus on soil management and the control of pests and plant diseases. I am a passionate research scientist with 8+ years of experience in Plant Pathology and Crop Protection, and I have a strong commitment to promoting sustainable agriculture.