Berkeley, CA — For the second year in a row, the International and Executive Programs at UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources will host its executive workshop on Strategic Perspectives on Innovation in Agrifood Supply Chains on April 18 to 20, 2017. With ever-shifting consumer preferences and global socioeconomic, political and market realities, innovative supply chain design is crucial to effectively introduce new products to market, revitalize existing products and enter new developing markets.
This program design leverages the experience of industry experts, including Professor David Zilberman of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley, and the Agrifood Business Scientific Advisory Board, which is led by Professor Thomas Reardon, a CNR alumnus and Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Fellow at Michigan State University, and Professor Justus Wesseler, head of the Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy Group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Together, they bring a wealth of academic and real-world experience in the areas of value chain development, innovation, technology, and sustainable agriculture.
The overarching vision of UC Berkeley’s Agrifood Business program is to link industry executives, prominent academics, and leading policy analysts together to exchange best practices and build networks to take advantage of the opportunities in agrifood sectors across emerging markets in Asia and Latin America and evolving mature markets in the United States and Western Europe.
The 3-day workshop will convene specialists from industry, finance and academia to share their collective expertise. Current and former leaders from companies such as Costco, Mars, Bunge, Fresh Express, Solidaridad and Woolf Farming who will offer insights into innovating on fresh production, moving from niche commodities and introduction of new products. Executives from World Bank and RaboBank will present on technical support services to supply chain financing. Experts from UC Berkeley and Alibaba will focus on opportunities for supply chain innovation and reaching the last mile. Speakers will also delve into the role of biotechnology and public-private partnerships. The complete program agenda is available here.
“This program is the first of its kind, combining case studies and formal theory of supply chains, and past attendees have gotten a lot from their time at Berkeley,” said Prof. David Zilberman.
This program is targeted at senior leaders, researchers and professionals associated with the agrifood and agribusiness sector. Previous participants in the program have turned the information and networks into successful businesses proposals and networking opportunities. Throughout the program, attendees will have multiple opportunities for mutual learning and idea exchange through interactive panels and networking receptions.
This program is organized by the International and Executive Programs (IEP) at the College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley in collaboration with Germany’s Food Industry Association (Die Lebensmittelwirtschaft), Giannini Foundation, Mars, Inc., and Solidaridad. This program is part of the Global Food Summit, a collaborative initiative with Die Lebensmittelwirtschaft. It aims to provide high-level conferences and workshops with global business leaders, academics, and policymakers to explore challenges and opportunities in international agrifood supply chains. For any questions, please contact Dr. Mio Katayama Owens. (iep@berkeley.edu; +1-510-643-4200)