Mavroudis Voridis, Minister of Rural Development and Food of the Hellenic Republic

Geoffrey Pyatt, U.S. Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic

Carla Tanas, Co-Founder of ID-GC, Future Agro Challenge

Firechat:

Mavroudis Voridis, Minister of Rural Development and Food of the Hellenic Republic

Petros Efthymiou, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

Blockchain in food supply chains and agriculture is estimated to be USD 60.8 million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 429.7 million by 2023. Blockchain also helps to keep tabs on abundant commodities and reduce cases of illegal harvesting and shipping frauds.  The United Nations reveals that food frauds cost the global economy around $40 billion per year because of illicit trades. Transparency and food integrity become a solution through this technology revolutionizing the industry through procurement tracking, crop and food control, weather crisis control, and managing agricultural finance?  How does this influence data and real time management and enhance the role of the farmer? How can the consumer check the quality of food before they eat it? Could tracking information about our food become our near future?  How do we address the challenges regarding blockchain technology, such as business implications and cost benefit limitations, due to the complexity of the technology?  What regulatory constraints are we facing?

• Christopher Brewster, Senior Scientist at TNO, and Professor in the Application of Emerging Technologies at the Institute of Data Science, Maastricht University
• David Davies, Founder and CEO at AgUnity, Winner of the 2018 Future Agro Challenge Global Championships
• Erol User, President and CEO, User Corporation
• Augustas Alesiunas, CEO StopFakeFood.com

The fusion of agriculture and technology is changing how food is created.  All over the world, software developers, data scientists, agronomists and farmers are joining forces to enhance food production with the use of technology and especially the cloud, sometimes with very dramatic results.  Quantum computer,” a totally mind-bending machine that takes advantage of the fact that tiny particles like electrons can be in many states at once — not just a “one” or a “zero” but everything in between would allow you to more quickly and accurately analyze catalytic processes among other problems like it with equally large impacts.  For example, scientists and engineers have been working for decades to improve this process of fertilizers by experimenting with different catalysts, but little progress has been made because there are so many possibilities – a nearly infinite number.  With the use of quantum computers these challenges no longer take centuries to achieve, rather a few experimentations.

• Ioannis Athanasiadis, Associate Professor at Wageningen University
• Claudia Mauresan – Policy Officer, Space Data unit of the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), European Commission
• Vladimir Crnojević - Director of the BioSense Institute
• Moderator: Apostolos Maggariadis, Political Correspondent for SKAI TV and Editor-in-Chief of HISTORIES

An overview and update of the agrifood automation market, its challenges, opportunities and developments in AI & Robotic technology that will affect the industry over the next years.  What is available in terms of technologies nowadays?  How to apply clever automation strategies and deep learning for smart data collection?  What successful advances and remaining challenges are rising in order to wide-scale adoption? How do you scale automation and robotics?  What should we start planning for in 2030 in supply chain innovation?

• Andrew Bate, Founder of SwarmFarm Robotics and Director of Bendee Farming Queensland, Australia
• Sotiris Bantas, Founder and CEO Centaur Analytics
• Nuria Garcia, AI and Robotics for AgriFood Programme at Eurecat
• Deepak Pareek, Serial Technopreneur in Agritech companies (see if he changes from big diata to here)
• Yahoel Essen, Founder of Eleos Robotic
• Moderator: Spyros Fountas, Editor-in-Chief in the ELSEVIER journal “Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and Associate Professor at Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering

A number of global trends are influencing food security, poverty, and the overall sustainability of food and agricultural systems. To meet these challenges will require a concerted effort by governments, investors, and innovative agricultural technologies.  How fast are corporates reacting to the exponential change in the global food chain?  Are they adapting well?  What new models have they strategically incorporated to keep up with fast changing trends?  What advances will we foresee in the food supply chain now and in the future?  What new models will the food logistics industry absorb?  How do we see relationships between corporations and small-scale farmers transforming?

• Christina Legaki, President and General Manager, Corteva
• Athanassios Savvakis, President, Federation of Industries of Greece
• Svetlana BOYANOVA - Institute for Agrostrategies and Innovation
• Anagnostis Argiriou - Senior Scientist, Deputy Director
• Moderator: Cecilia Wessinger, Community Manager, Kauffman Foundation

The first generation alternative proteins are products based on soy. The second generation of alternatives are selling the value proposition of bringing to the market a plant-based product that looks like meat. Insects are an additional source of natural proteins, in addition to sufficient minerals.  Cultured meat, meanwhile, is a fairly new concept that refers to the concept of meat, but is produced via cell structure, rather than from a slaughtered animal. While animal protein sources, such as meat, poultry, eggs, fish and dairy, are considered complete protein sources, containing all the amino acids needed for optimal bodily function how is the livestock industry working to improve its environmental impact?  What does the future of protein look like?

• Xavier Marcenac – CEO of Nasekomo (animal feed)
• Daniela Arias – CTO of CRIC (alternative protein food consumption)
• Benjamina Bollav – Co-Founder and CEO of Higher Steaks (cultured meat)

This talk will discuss the current state of climate breakdown and the implications for the use of technology in agriculture and food production. Rapid climate change including collapse of usual weather patterns is resulting in extreme drought and floods across many food producing regions including within Europe. We will discuss how priorities need to change in this context to help ensure human survival. This also may necessitate a rethink of the nature and form of innovation. Data driven climate smart agriculture is one such approach where we take the priorities of agroecology and agroforestry as primary, and seek to identify what role a range of agritech technologies can play to support environmentally sustainable agricultural production. A range of existing and emerging technologies will be discussed from this perspective. We expect our approach to provoke a debate on the prioritisation of investment choices in specific technologies, as well forcing a rethink of our approach to ICT in the agrifood sector.

• Christopher Brewster, Senior Scientist at TNO, and Professor in the Application of Emerging Technologies at the Institute of Data Science, Maastricht University.

• Carlina Toledo, Founder of Credifomento
• Omar Warraich, Founder of Go Agrimart
• Natalie Miller, Founder of GreenFingers Mobile
• Paul Kidner, People’s Trust
• Ioannis Chaniotakis, Senior Director Agricultural Sector, Piraeus Bank

There are two truths today about African agriculture: significant progress has been made, and there is potential for much more.  Yet there is vast room for improvement. Africa remains a net importer of food, although it has 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. As its population has doubled overall and tripled in urban areas in the past 30 years, agricultural production and food security have struggled to keep pace. Africa is the only continent where the absolute number of undernourished people has increased over the past 30 years.  Africa will have a population of 2 billion by 2050, and agriculture will be central to feeding all of those people. Agricultural transformation must build social cohesion, create beneficial continental trade, provide a platform for global exports, and, most importantly, help create millions of jobs while pulling subsistence farmers out of poverty.  Transforming the agricultural value chain must take place at three leves – farmer, market, and cluster – will this be feasible by 2030?

• Agata, Managing Partner at DEV Mozambique
• Apeh Omede, CEO and Co-Founder at The Greenrise Innovation Hub Nigeria Limited
• Alhousseini Tambo Djibo, CEO of Empower SME’s
• Hamed Besheti, Founder of Boreal Light GmbH
• Flo Mosoane, CEO of Foodmakers Africa

An economic transformation has occurred in much of rural Asia translating into dietary shifts.  The rural economy has increasingly linked to a rapidly integrating world economy and rural Asia faces new opportunities and challenges. Due to the region's rapid growth, a productive rural economy is the best safety net for the rural poor.  The failures of agricultural and rural public policies have led to the marginalisation, if not the exclusion, of rural areas from development processes.  Today, it is clear that migratory phenomena are the ultimate consequences of these complex situations of poverty and unequal access to wealth, combined with political conflicts.  How is Asia reinventing its rural economy?  How can agripreneurship provide an opportunity to rebuilding the rural economy?

• Carl Pray, Director of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economic Department at Rutgers University
• Deepak Pareek, Serial Technopreneur of many agritech companies
• Omar Majid Warraich, Founder, GO AGRIMART(Pvt) Ltd.
• Andre Laperriere– Executive Director at the Global Open Data Initiative for Agriculture and Nutrition
• Ramy Boujawdeh, Deputy General Manager at Berytech
• Hayk Asriyants, CEO of Tbilisi Startup Bureau

A global economic growth fuelled by accessible and cheap resources provides opportunities for many Latin American countries.  Increased migration changes and displacement is leading a redesign of benefits where governments are tempted to inflate away debt to reduce social inequality.  How can agripreneurship contribute to this economical shift and would could this be translated into?

• Luis Salazar, Founder at Investa VB
• Emmanuel Gutierrez, Chief Educational Consultant
• Carlina Toledo, Founder of Credifomento

Australia, North America, Europe and the GCC are taking lead in the agrifood innovation scene.  As frontier markets what role are they playing for the future farmer 4.0, the consumer, and all stakeholders involved?

The aim of this debate is to showcase the fundamental roles of the Future Farmer 4.0 and what this will mean?  With AI & Robotics supporting much of the farmers daily tasks, we begin to define which of these tasks can be substituted, those that need be complimentary with AI & Robotics, and those that must remain as the role of the farmer (if any).

For the sake of a debate, we plan to have two sides, those who may substantiate that the future role of the farmer will be substituted by AI & Robotics and those that may substantiate that the role of the farmer must not be substituted.

The aim of this debate is to showcase the relative merits of each approach and discuss the opportunities and threats of a multifaceted global discussion signifying if the powerful cocktail of gene-editing, microbials, and synthetic biology will create the necessary opportunities to feed the growing population by 2050 or may regenerative agriculture do the same?

Big Data is expect to have a large impact on Smart Farming and involves the whole supply chain.  Smart sensors and devices produce big amounts of data that provide unprecedented decision-making capabilities.  What is major shifts are expected in roles and power relations among traditional and non-traditional players.  How is the farmer being empowered?  What does this mean for corporations and consumers?

• Andrew Laperriere, Executive Directors at the Global Open Data Initiative for Agriculture and Nutrition
• David Blazevski, Founder of Fresh Agriculture Technologies
• Matteo Vanotti, xfarm
• Stavros Tekes, CTO of Agroapps

With a clear climate crisis and a rate of over 30% of global GHG emissions due to food production, it is high time to make our food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted. To meet these challenges and create a strong agrifood industry we need to know not only the existing reality, but also what consumers want and need and how we can build their trust in the food sector. This transformation will be achieved focusing on innovation, education, entrepreneurship and joint efforts. So we need to reflect - Are we making the right choices? Do we know how to make the right choices? – and – Can we deploy the technologies to create better food solutions for human and planet health?

• Begona Perez-Villarreal, EIT Food Innovation Hub for Southern Europe

Greek primary sector Is contributing the 3% of the Gross Domestic Program. It Is double the EU average. Still, there Is room for further development, especially In the exports contribution. Based on the aforementioned research from Διανέοσις, distinguished members of the Industry comment on that and on the new model to be Implemented.

• Alkis Alexandrou, Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Sector, Piraeus Bank
• Konstantinos Baginetas, General Secretary of Agriculture Policy & Management of European Funds
• Emmanouil Dermitzakis, Professor of Genetics, University of Geneva; Director, Health 2030 Genome Center
• Moderator: Nektarios Notis, Founder at Notice Content and Services

The agri-food sector is an important driver of development at the regional and local level. How do local and regional food systems relate to the circular economy? What are the challenges for societies and the environment? What is the role of the state and what is the role of private initiative? Good examples both internationally and in our country present opportunities for learning and inspiration and harness the agri-food sector’s potential in further contributing to the sustainability of local communities.

• Antheia Kotsi, Art Curator and organizer of Lemnos Philema Gastronomy & Wine Festival
• Carl Pray, Professor of Rutgers university, Director of Agricultural, Food and Recource Economic Department)
• Prodromos Kalaitzis, Policy advisor, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania
• Jessica Fealy, Board Director with Northern Gulf Resource Management Group; Advisor at Agrifutures Australia and Regional Economies Centre of Excellence
• Moderator: Effie Lazaridou,

• Konstantinos Skrekas, Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Foodstuff
• Konstantinos-Evaggelos Aravosis, General Secretary of Natural Environment and Water, Ministry of Rural Development an Food
• Angeliki Kosmopoulou, Executive Director A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation
• Moderator: Nikos Ypofantis, Journalist, SKAI TV

World Hunger is on the rise; yet, an estimated one-third of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste.  Food loss refers to any food that is lost in the supply chain between the producer and the market. This may be the result of pre-harvest problems, such as pest infestations, or problems in harvesting, handling, storage, packing or transportation. Some of the underlying causes of food loss include the inadequacy of infrastructure, markets, price mechanisms or even the lack of legal frameworks. Food waste, on the other hand, refers to the discarding or alternative (non-food) use of food that is safe and nutritious for human consumption.  We all have a part to play in reducing food loss and waste, not only for the sake of the food but for the resources that go into it.  What innovations and technologies do we have in hand to accelerate this process?

• Raisa Segura – R&D Coordinator of Ento Piruw (food waste)
• Olumayowa Salu – Founder of FoodHubs Preservative Store Limited (post harvest)
• Aikaterini Kandiliari, Prosper
• Kiki Zinoviadou, Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
• Moderator: Vee Bougani, CEO Sustainable Food Movement

Women play key roles as entrepreneurs and in the workforce throughout the agri-food systems. Yet, despite these contributions and their significant influence on household nutrition and wellbeing, women generally have less voice in decision making at multiple scales and face more severe constraints than men in accessing information, financial and technical services, and markets. The reorganization of the agrifood system in both the global North and South contexts demonstrates how new developments in family farming and industrial agriculture (particularly concerning labour), as well as the emergence of new alternative forms of farming, go along with shifts in gender relations and identities which may or may not provide opportunities for the empowerment of women.  How can we work for a gender-smart system?

• Irina Taka, Vice President EVYP LLP
• Machi Simeonidou, Managing Director at Draxis
• Katerina Pramatari, Partner at uni.fund
• Agata, Managing Partner at DEV Mozambique
• Goretti Cortina, Partnerships Coordinator at the LadyAgri Impact Investment Hub
• Moderator: Cecilia Wessinger, Community Manager, Kauffman Foundation

What are the challenges and opportunities for the agrifood sector as a key driver for rural development in Greece? How can food production systems intertwine with culture, tourism and gastronomy while creating value for local communities? What role can PDO and PGI products play in rural development? What are the prospects for agrotourism and gastronomy tourism in Greece?

• Gianna Balafouti, Professor of Gastronomy
• Vicky Krystallidou, Agronomist, Project Leader ‘‘Sheep & Goat Farming’’
• Serko Haroutounian, Vice Rector, Professor, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquaculture, School of Agricultural Production, Infrastructure and Environment, Lab. of Nutritional Physiology and Feeding
• Stavros Benos, President of Diazoma
• Moderator: Nana Darioti, Journalist

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for financial diplomacy and extroversion, talks about promoting economic diplomacy as a key pillar for growth, employment and export enhancement, as well as, the proposals for implementing a national extroversion strategy and the perspectives of Greek agricultural products.

• Konstantinos Fragkogiannis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Presentation of a study that was developd from the research and analytics organization "διανέοσις".  (https://www.dianeosis.org/), In May 2019

• Marianna Skylakaki, Founder & Editor at aθηΝΕΑ

In agriculture, sustainability is a complex idea with many facets, including the economic (a sustainable farm should be a profitable business that contributes to a robust economy), the social (it should deal fairly with its workers and have a mutually beneficial relationship with the surrounding community), and the environmental.  A key theme connecting many of these practices is diversification; however, can sustainable agriculture be a feasible way forward?

• Spyros Kouvelis, Program Director, Sustainable Development Goals Center on Goals Center on Governance & Public Law
• Chrysoula Michailov, Post Doctorate Researcher, Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I) Research Programme
• Irina Taka, Vice President EVYP LLP
• Christos Stamatis, CEO Stevia Hellas Cooperative

CEO of Athenian Brewery, Heineken’s subsidiary, sheds light about the barley contract program, cooperation with Greek farmers and the initiatives on sustainable sourcing

• Alexandros Daniilidis, CEO of Athenian Brewery
• Moderator: Apostolos Magiriadis, Political Correspondence, SKAI TV

Registration - (doors officially open to all attendees)

Welcome Address

Blockchain: The Future of Global Agricultural Supply Chains

Food Safety, Quality,& Innovation with Next Generation Sequencing

Uncovering Cutting-Edge Innovations from Around the World

Gene Editing in Agrifood: Its Promise and Prospects

Lunch Networking

FAC Global Championships 3rd & 4th Place

AI & Robotics: the Next Generation of Farmers

Creating Result Oriented Policies in the Food Supply Chain

FAC Global Championships 1st & 2nd Place

Panel: New Funding Structures in the Agrifood Industry

FAC Global Championships Award Ceremony

Ask the Experts: Stakeholder Questions about Gene-Editing

Coffee Networking

Designing Collective Intelligence for Food & Agriculture

Exclusive B2B Session - (VIP attendees only)

Closing

Georgia