About
Climate Action, in technical collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), hosted a three-part digital event series addressing global food, agriculture, and land use challenges in the face of our climate and health emergencies.
The series was designed in response to the growing demand for new models of multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve food security, sustainable development and other global goals outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
3-Part Series Hosted on AI-Based Networking Platform

Influence and Interact
with 3,000+ senior attendees from the public, private and NGO sectors on the event platform throughout the 3-part series.

Connect and Network

Engage during Live Sessions
through live polling and audience Q&A’s. 340+ minutes live online thought leadership sessions.
Food Security and the Global Recovery
Can we rebuild global food security to accelerate a resilient recovery?
75th World Food Day: The Future of Food
How will we feed 10 billion people in 2050?
Agribusiness and the SDGs
How can we rethink investments and financial mechanisms to align agribusiness with the SDGs?
Featured Speakers

Eric Soubeiran
CEO
Danone Ecosystem Fund
Eric SOUBEIRAN is Danone’s One Planet and Water Cycle Vice-President and member of the Cycles & Procurement Board. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s sustainability agenda and coordinating on climate change, water resource protection, regenerative agriculture, circular economy and human rights. Eric also serve as the new Chief Executive of the Danone Ecosystem Fund. Eric will promote synergies between Danone and Ecosystem to maximize the social and economic impact of the fund and ensure that innovations and best practices proven in the Ecosystem’s projects are scaled inside and outside Danone.
Eric joined Danone in 2010 in the group’s operations in the Indian sub-continent. During this period, he launched a range of nutritional products designed for the ‘bottom of pyramid’ customers, with an innovative route to market approach. In 2013, Eric joined Danone’s marketing team, in charge of Activia and Vitalinea brands for the French market. In 2014, Eric was appointed director of milk sourcing for Danone in Europe, managing a network of 4,000 dedicated farmers across six European countries during a period of deep transformation in the milk market.
Eric also serves as administrator of the Livelihoods Carbon Fund and the Gold Standards foundation.

Malachy Mitchell
Managing Director
Farrelly & Mitchell
Malachy is co-founder and Managing Director of Farrelly & Mitchell. He works with CEOs, executives and leaders from private enterprises and public sector institutions helping to grow their food sector companies and agribusinesses.
Having spent 30 years working in the European, Middle East and international food sectors in various senior management and consulting roles, Malachy knows what is required to strategically organise projects in largescale farming, consumer foods and agri-processing and logistics. His experience in supply chain optimisation across complex market geographies informs the company’s approach of working with clients from planning right through to execution and beyond.
As the Managing Director of Farrelly & Mitchell, he has developed and executed numerous domestic and international market entry, expansion and M&A transactions worldwide on behalf of corporate and government clients.
Prior to co-founding Farrelly & Mitchell, Malachy worked in various senior operational and policy roles in Ireland, UK and the Middle East in poultry meat, produce and dairy sectors for the Kerry Group, Fakieh Poultry, Carton Bros. Ltd and Irish Farmers’ Association.

Stefan Fürnsinn
Senior Vice President Digital Farming
Yara
Stefan Fürnsinn is Senior Vice President Crop & Digital Solutions, at Yara International.
Passionate about responsibly feeding the world and protecting the planet, Stefan is in charge of managing and scaling the global digital and precision agriculture business in Yara, and for innovating and commercializing digitally-enabled business models. His role is truly global, leading a dynamic and fast growing digital team across all regions and key agricultural markets. The focus lies on designing innovative services and solutions that speak directly to the farmer’s, agronomist’s and food chain’s evolving needs in a shifting world, towards more productive, prospering and sustainable food production.
Stefan holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering as well as a Master Degree in International Business. Before joining Yara, Stefan was a Partner at McKinsey & Company focusing on agriculture and food, and an entrepreneur and scientist in renewable energy.

Diane Holdorf
Managing Director, Food & Nature
WBCSD
Diane Holdorf is Managing Director of Food and Nature at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), based in Geneva, Switzerland, since December 2018.
Before joining WBCSD, Diane was Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer for Kellogg Company. She joined Kellogg in May 2008 as Senior Director, Environmental Stewardship and in 2009 was promoted to Vice President, Environmental Stewardship, Health and Safety. In 2011, she was promoted to Chief Sustainability Officer, Vice President Environment, Health & Safety and in 2015, in recognition of the increasing importance of sustainability across the Kellogg business, became Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer to focus full time on advancing Kellogg’s sustainability leadership efforts.
In addition to her role at Kellogg, Ms. Holdorf served on the Advisory Board of We Mean Business, and on the Executive Advisory Board of the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan.
Prior to joining Kellogg, Ms. Holdorf served as vice president for Delta Consultants (now Antea), a U.S.A-based environment, health and safety and sustainability consulting firm. During her 17 years with Delta Consultants, she served in numerous management and consulting roles, based in the US and in the UK, where she worked with many consumer packaged goods, forest products and manufacturing companies in development and implementation of global programs for corporate responsibility, environmental management and risk management.
Diane’s board experience includes serving as a corporate officer during her years as Managing Director of a UK-based joint venture while with Delta, as well as serving as secretary of the board for Inogen Environmental Alliance, a global business of which Delta was a member.
In 2015, Diane was recognized as a Maize and Wheat Super Woman by CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) as part of the United Nation’s International Women’s Day in 2015. She is also recognized as an Oxfam Sisters on the Planet Ambassador.
Ms. Holdorf received Bachelor’s degrees in Public Communications and in German from Syracuse University. She also completed the Executive MBA Program at the University of St. Thomas.

Maria Helena Semedo
Deputy Director General
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Maria is an economist and politician from Cape Verde. A leading expert in global development issues, she has worked in public service for over thirty years. Over the last decade, FAO has contributed to a new narrative, one where agriculture features more prominently in addressing increasingly complex emerging global issues– from climate change to conflict. By promoting a systematic integrated approach that takes a more inclusive view, Ms Semedo has fostered cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder exchanges, resulting in greater engagement and stronger strategic partnerships to better position FAO in its role to promote the transition towards sustainable food and agriculture systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Before taking up her current duties in 2013, Ms Semedo gained valuable experience and insight in Africa, first as FAO Representative in Niger (2003-2008), then as Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and Sub-regional Coordinator for West Africa (2008-2009) and Regional Representative for Africa (2009-2013). Prior to her international career, she worked as an economist for the Cabo Verde Ministry of Planning and Cooperation before becoming Secretary of State for Fisheries, then in 1993 Minister for Fisheries, Agriculture and Rural Affairs – the first-ever woman Minister in her country. After serving as Minister for Tourism, Transportation and Marine Affairs from 1995-1998, she became Member of Parliament, a position she held until 2003.
Honors and awards
November 2019:
• Receives the Crans Montana Forum Prix de la Fondation
December 2018:
• The Government of Brazil bestows the honorific Order of Rio Branco
• The Universidade Aberta in Lisbon confers the Honoris Causa doctorate for her work in global
sustainable development
March 2018:
• Named “Woman of the Year” at the commemoration of the 2018 Women Diplomats Day in
Portugal
May 2008:
• Receives the Order of Niger for her distinguished service to the field of agriculture.

Margarita Astrálaga
Director of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Margarita Astrálaga is the Director of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division (ECG) at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). She leads a dynamic team to mainstream environment, climate, gender and social inclusion solutions in IFAD’s operations and policies, while ensuring that the highest social, environmental and climate safeguards are applied. Examples of her leadership are found in her coordination and mobilization of environment and climate finance and the engagement with international trust funds, her participation and dedication to policy making, partnership development and program supervision in Member States.
Astrálaga joined IFAD’s team in Rome in June 2015 from Panama where she was UNEP’s Regional Director for Latin America & the Caribbean. Her career began as a devoted member of the Colombian Environmental Agency which led to over 25 years of experience and wide range responsibilities in several international organizations working toward environmental sustainability from many different perspectives.
Astrálaga is a Colombian biologist, specialising in Environmental Management from the Danish Water Institute, with a master’s in Regional Planning and Development.

Arianna Giuliodori
Secretary General
World Farmers' Organisation
Ms. Arianna Giuliodori was appointed Secretary General of the World Farmers’ Organisation, WFO, in December 2017. After her degree in Communications Sciences, Ms. Giuliodori got a Master in Economics and Rural Development at Siena University in Italy. Farmers and Agriculture have always been part of her working life: she spent 10 years serving at the Italian farmers’ organisation Coldiretti, first in Rome and then in Brussels, acting as Economic Officer, Secretary General of Young Farmers, Head of the President’s Technical Secretariat and finally as Senior Policy Advisor at the European Representation. Four years’ experience in an American multinational research and consulting company in Paris and an executive MBA at Sorbonne University complete her profile, giving her a strong business-oriented approach.
In her present position as WFO Secretary General, she has been strongly promoting a solid governance of the association and a wide set of international partnerships to ensure that the farmers can fully play their fundamental role in the Sustainability challenge.

Emma Chow
Lead Food Initiative
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
With the technical collaboration of the

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With over 194 member states, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. We believe that everyone can play a part in ending hunger.
Join us in creating a #ZeroHunger world.
Supporting Partners

Quorn Foods is the leading global meat-free foods brand and manufacturer based in North Yorkshire, UK. Quorn products are made from Mycoprotein – a nutritionally healthy protein that is meat-free and has a low environmental impact. Quorn Foods has a mission to make better protein for you and the planet. We make the world’s diets healthier and more sustainable by helping you to create great tasting meals every day.


Yara
Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. Supporting our vision of a world without hunger, we pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth, promoting climate-friendly and high-yielding crop nutrition solutions for the world’s farming community and food industry.
Yara’s ambition is to be the Crop Nutrition Company for the Future. We are committed to creating value for our customers, shareholders and society at large, as we work to develop a more sustainable food value chain. To achieve our ambition, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming, and work closely with partners throughout the food value chain to improve the efficiency and sustainability of agriculture and food production.
Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has established a unique position as the industry’s only global crop nutrition company. With our integrated business model and a worldwide presence of around 16,000 employees and operations in over 60 countries, we offer a proven track record of responsible and reliable returns. In 2019, Yara reported revenues of USD 12.9 billion.


Ward Labs
Ward Laboratories, Inc. is an agricultural testing laboratory dedicated to serving agricultural producers throughout the world. We specialize in analyses related to soil, soil health, plant tissue, feed, forages, water, manures, fertilizers, and other special testing products. We aim to provide information needed to make critical production decisions. Participation in proficiency programs and trained, educated personnel ensures accurate, precise, and reliable test results. Ward Laboratories, Inc. is committed to excellent analytical results and service through the dynamics of its quality assurance system, the integrity of its people, and the professionals we employ. Our goal to fully serve the agricultural sector is accomplished through consultation with professional staff before, during, and after testing.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Climate Action as the world battles with climate change, biodiversity loss and COVID-19. These digital dialogues will help us convene and connect together to address The Global Food Challenge and build back better for climate-resilient and sustainable food systems.”
"Climate Action’s digital Roadmap to COP26 has created a platform to help organisations from across the stakeholder spectrum to honour their pledges at a time when face-to-face meetings are not an option. I look forward to the evolution of Climate Action’s Roadmap towards COP26 next year."
"Their events are fantastic because they help bring together all of the people from across different sectors. Whether its different industry sectors, whether it's NGOs, whether it's government, whether it's science and research, they all have lessons to learn from each other."