About
Since 1998, through concrete applications in agriculture, science and politics, Biovision works towards a world with enough food for all, produced by healthy people in a healthy environment and consequently on how food systems – from production to consumption – can be made sustainable. We develop, test and disseminate solutions and approaches to overcome hunger, poverty, adapt and mitigate the consequences of climate change and prevent biodiversity loss. We are also committed to promoting an enabling political and economic environment for agroecology. Through well-founded information, the inclusion of diverse food system actors – from civil society organisations to the private sector and research – and exchanges between decision makers, knowledge about the potential of agroecology to transform the food systems is strengthened.
Biovision is an official partner organisation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Biovision’s international projects are supported by the SDC.
The Agroecology Info Pool
The Agroecology Info Pool website was originally developed with support of the Mercator Foundation as part of the programme “A4A – Advocacy for Agroecology”, which aimed at scaling scientific and applied research on agroecology by analyzing current lock-ins and leverages. The evidence created was subsequently used for consulting with key decision makers from the donor and research communities. A second part of the project addressed the role of agroecology as a solution to adapt and mitigate climate change. The purpose of the Info Pool was to make the findings and outputs of the programme accessible to all and serve as a reference tool for evidence around agroecology. The A4A programme was concluded at the end of 2021, however, the website still continuously collects current findings from project work and science and makes them publicly available to support a sustainable transformation of food systems.
Biovision's Policy & Advocacy Team
Stefanie Pondini
Co-Head Policy and Advocacy, Biovision Foundation
For the past 12 years, Stefanie has been working for Biovision, and as a result has a large network consisting of various partner organizations as well as renowned experts in the field of sustainable agriculture. In the last years, Stefanie worked on strengthening investments into agroecological research and was one of the lead-coordinating authors of the “Money Flows Report”. This report analysed what is holding back investments in agroecological research. Stefanie co-created the iABC programme and now leads the development of the B-ACT tool, the assessment of agroecological enterprises, the Agroecology Coalition and the coordination of the Advisory Board.
Before joining Biovision Foundation, Stefanie has worked for GIZ in India with the aim of strengthening the participation and awareness of slum dwellers in the area of water and sanitation.
Dan da Silva
Programme Manager P&A, Biovision Foundation
Dan has worked in the development field in Nigeria and Tanzania since 2004. His experience is in and with Integrated Community Development, PME, rights-based approaches and Knowledge Management. His focus since 2015 has been on Business Development Services, Value Chain (VCD) – and Market Systems Development. Furthermore, he had overall management responsibility for a Belgian Food Security Project in Tanzania in which he guided a Regional Bank and a training NGO. He has also been involved in the coordination of Microfinance with BDS and VCD. His last position was as Senior Agribusiness Advisor with the World Vegetable Center in Arusha, Tanzania. Dan joined Biovision’s Policy and Advocacy team in February 2022. Here his focus lies on strengthening the business development activities of agroecological enterprises, the building of an enabling environment, the Agroecology Accelerator (AA) and the assessment of impact investors in East Africa.
Fabio Leippert
Co-Head Policy and Advocacy, Biovision Foundation
Fabio worked in Biovision’s Policy & Advocacy Team for 6 years on issues relating to agroecology and climate change on international level as well as in partner countries (A4A-climate). In the “Beacons of Hope” Project, Fabio together with an international team of experts, has analysed the impact and transformation pathways of 21 “lighthouse initiatives” that represent inspiring examples that promote a shift to sustainable food systems around the globe, including private sector initiatives. He has co-created the iABC programme and has been in the lead for initiating the agroecology accelerator in Uganda.
He is particularly interested in the dynamics between biodiversity, climate change and agriculture and a systemic approach to sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation.
Charlotte Pavageau
Programme Manager P&A, Biovision Foundation
John Garcia Ulloa
Programme Manager P&A, Biovision Foundation
Hans von Zinkernagel
Project Officer P&A, Biovision Foundation
Francis Shivonje
Project Officer P&A, Biovision Foundation
Francis is a food and farming systems professional with more than 18 years’ experience in the agriculture sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. His career has revolved around supporting smallholder farmers and agriculture enterprises strengthen the resilience of their businesses through adoption of sustainable practices. Francis has varied experience, having worked with government, private sector and civil society. He joined Biovision in 2021 on consultancy basis supporting Biovision’s policy, advocacy and investment work in Kenya. Currently, his main focus is on supporting advancement of agroecology and climate smart agriculture through multisectoral platforms. He also supports development of agroecological enterprises through the iABC programme and the Agroecology Accelerator (AA).
Alessandra Ramacci
Project Officer P&A, Biovision Foundation
Alessandra joined Biovision’s Policy and Advocacy team in February 2022. Within the iABC programme she dedicates herself to strengthening the gender lens and developing the Knowledge Product for donors and investors. Furthermore, she is working on outreach, communications, and event activities for the programme. Before joining Biovision, she has worked at WWF Switzerland, managing a portfolio of climate and community projects and with a London based NGO on sustainability standards.
Since January 2022, the Policy & Advocacy Team at Biovision is implementing two new programmes:
Enabling policy frameworks for agroecology
The objective of the programme is to increase the sustainability of food systems in Sub-Saharan African and beyond by creating coherent and equitable policy frameworks that enable an agroecological transformation of food systems. Current crises such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the global food crisis show that we need to align the way we produce and consume food with agroecological principles. However, the formulation and implementation of supportive policies for this transformation remain a major challenge within the agroecological agenda.
To address these challenges, the programme aims to sensitize and engage new actors l in the potential of agroecology, while supporting existing champions that already implement agroecological approaches. At the national and subnational level, it provides tailored guidance to decision makers and supports multi-stakeholder platforms. Internally, it promotes peer-to-peer exchanges through policy forums and engages in global networks.
Investing in the Agroecological Business Case (iABC)
The iABC programme wants to increase the availability of suitable capital and build an enabling environment for agroecological enterprises (AEEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa. AEEs are key in supporting the agroecological transformation towards strengthened availability and access to healthy nutrition, resilience, local value generation and sustainability, however, these enterprises are still heavily underfunded.
To address this underfunding, the programme focuses on sensitizing donor and investor communities with convincing arguments and research evidence about agroecology and AEEs. Innovative matchmaking events that connect donors and entrepreneurs will be organized. Furthermore, tools such as the Business Agroecology Criteria Tool (based on the current ACT Tool), which enables investors and donors to identify inspiring and promising agroecological enterprises and understand their benefits and contributions towards sustainable food systems, will be developed.