2025 Aligning policy, practice and innovation for sustainable agriculture

Margherita Genua is a Project Manager at the RISE Foundation, where she supports initiatives advancing sustainable agriculture, the circular economy, and resource efficiency. Before joining RISE, she served as Communication and Community Manager at the Biorefine Cluster Europe (Ghent University), where she led communication strategies and stakeholder engagement for European research and innovation projects. With over a decade of experience in European projects on circular economy and renewable energy, Margherita previously worked as Communication Officer at the European Biogas Association (EBA). Earlier in her career, she gained valuable institutional experience at the European Parliament and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was also editor of ‘Partnering Europe’ and currently contributes to the publication as a regular contributor.

Tassos Haniotis recently retired, after a 33-year career in the Commission, as the Director of Strategy, Simplification and Policy Analysis in the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Commission. Tassos is Sustainable Productivity Adviser for the Forum for the Future of Agriculture and a Senior Guest Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He previously held posts as Head of Unit in the Agricultural Policy Analysis and Perspectives unit and the Agricultural Trade Policy Analysis unit in the same Directorate General, as Member and subsequently Deputy Head of the Cabinet of former European Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler (with respective responsibilities the preparation of the 2003 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, and the agricultural chapter of the Doha WTO Round and the EU-Mercosur negotiations), and as the Agricultural Counsellor of the European Commission’s Delegation in the United States. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Georgia, USA, and a B.A. in Economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business, in his native Greece. Before joining the European Commission, he spent six months as a visiting Fellow at the Centre for European Agricultural Studies, Wye College, University of London, focusing on EU-US agricultural trade relations in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. He hold a Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Thessaloniki. Active in the ag research community, he is a member of the International and European Associations of Ag Economics, the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, and the EU Nitrogen Expert Panel.

With over 35 years' experience working as a technology, sustainability and innovation manager, Ludwig is the co-founder and former CEO of ASH DEC Umwelt AG, the co-inventor of technologies for decontaminating minerals and ash, and for efficiently converting renewable energy resources. He has authored and co-authored numerous patents, reports, papers and book chapters on the recovery of critical materials, nutrient recycling and renewable energy. He currently works as a senior researcher and advisor at Proman Management GmbH in Vienna and serves as secretary and board member of the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) in Brussels. He sits on the Steering Committee of the IWA Resource Recovery Cluster in London and is a member of expert groups focusing on climate, soil and water protection, and the extraction and management of critical raw materials and NORM residues.

Stephanos Kirkagaslis, based in Brussels, BE, is currently a Policy Officer at DG AGRI. Stephanos Kirkagaslis brings experience from previous roles at European Commission, BRF, Agrospecom LTD and Mondelēz International. Stephanos Kirkagaslis holds a 2001 - 2003 Master of Business Administration in Management at University of Pireaus.

Erik Meers is a professor at Ghent University in Belgium. He is specialised in the biobased circular economy, and in that frame also on mineral nutrient recycling (nitrogen, phosphorus and other minerals). He founded collaborative platforms such as Biorefine Cluster Europe, the European Sustainable Nutrient Initiative and End-of-Waste.

Ana Rocha currently leads the Policy team at the ELO and follows policies affecting agriculture and forestry in Europe. She holds a degree in agricultural engineering, having studied in Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. She has consolidated professional experience in EU lobbying, representing the interests of European landowners and land managers for more than ten years, in Brussels and in London. She remains involved in a small family farm in Portugal.

Dr. Gerard Ros is a senior research associate at Wageningen University and data scientist at the Nutrient Management Institute. He is a well-known expert in the field of soil science and plant nutrition, with special reference to soil quality, nutrient cycling, and risk assessment. He is specialized in carbon and nutrient dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems and is leading the development of a NutriKPI framework to monitor, stimulate and valorise sustainable farm management across Europe. He led more than 100 projects on agronomic perspectives of innovative nutrient and soil management solutions optimizing nutrient efficiency of agricultural farm systems.

Laura van Schöll is senior expert on circular fertiliser regulations at the nutrient management institute NMI in the Netherlands. She holds a PhD from Wageningen University and has a background in soil quality and plant nutrients. She is consulted by shalkeoplder in the complete value chain, from the European Commission to SME producing recycled fertilising products.

Tiffanie Stephani is heading the Government Relations and External Communications at Yara Europe, the market leader in plant nutrition in Europe. Truly inspired by Yara’s vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, Tiffanie works actively to promote climate-friendly crop nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions such as green ammonia and green fertilizers. She joined Yara Region Europe in January 2021.

Prior to this, Tiffanie has been working as Senior Agriculture and Environment Manager at Fertilizers Europe, representing the interests of the mineral fertilizer manufacturers in the European Union, between March 2016 and December 2020. She started her career in European Government Relations and in the agriculture sector 17 years ago as policy officer in the European & environmental affairs department of the German Farmers’ Association (Deutscher Bauernverband, DBV) in Brussels. Tiffanie (French native) holds a university degree in political science from “Sciences Po Lille” and a master degree in European public management.

Katja Weiler is a Research Associate at IZES. She is the coordinator of the NWE ReNu2Cycle project.