Dr. Étienne Hainzelin

Biography

With an agronomist training and a PhD in genetics and plant breeding, I have worked in a wide array of contexts across multiple countries, holding long-term positions in Ivory Coast, Réunion Island, Canada, Brazil, and France. Throughout my career, I have undertaken missions in close to 40 countries. My scientific efforts have primarily focused on corn and sugar cane, and I have also assumed responsibilities as a director of research. This role sparked my interest in the links between social sciences and agronomics, particularly regarding the interaction of social dynamics and governance models in relation to global transformations in rural settings. The Millennium Objectives events in recent years have shown that agriculture has a pivotal role to play in addressing the world's major challenges, requiring regulatory mechanisms to be redesigned to operate effectively at relevant scales. For the past four years, I have worked as the research strategy director at CIRAD (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement), a research institute in France with 900 scientists and partnerships spanning over 40 southern hemisphere countries. CIRAD focuses on key issues surrounding the role of agriculture in southern hemisphere nations, emphasizing both traditional perspectives (production, transformation, food production processing) and newer angles (environmental impact, ecological services, poverty reduction, land management, multi-functionality). At CIRAD, I have actively contributed to recasting and redirecting research issues and scientific strategies in collaboration with major French, European, and international centers and institutes in the field.

Research Interests

Courses