Speakers

Ms Bartels has been working on financial instruments for SMEs and related policies since 2011. Prior to that, she worked in the area of chemicals legislation, where she was instrumental to setting up the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. Before joining the Commission in 2002, she was a consultant for Bain & Company and also a corporate client relationship manager at Deutsche Bank. She holds a Vordiplom in economics from the University of Hagen and obtained an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Kenan Flager Business School, USA.

Antonella Rossetti is a Senior Advisor at Farm Europe in Brussels, where she provides policy analysis on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and sustainable agriculture. Previously, she served as an Agricultural Specialist at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, advising on European agriculture legislation and analyzing U.S.-EU trade relations. Antonella also has extensive experience in the European Parliament, where provided political and strategic guidance to the Chair of the Agriculture Committee.

Dr. Philip Lyons is the global manager of aquaculture research for Alltech. In this role, he develops, coordinates and executes the company’s global aquaculture research program from Alltech’s European Headquarters in Dunboyne, Ireland. He previously served as a nutritional researcher on the research and development team at Alltech Coppens in The Netherlands, before assuming responsibility for all aquaculture research projects within Alltech globally. Lyons holds a bachelor’s degree in applied freshwater and marine biology from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Ireland, and both master’s and doctoral degrees in fish nutrition from the University of Stirling in Scotland. His doctoral research focused on the impact of dietary factors on the structure and function of the intestinal microbiome of farmed salmonids. He is also passionate about education and is responsible for Alltech’s link to academia through the supervision of multiple undergraduate and postgraduate research projects in industry-applied topics within the field of fish nutrition.

Fabrizio Fabbri holds a higher education diploma in Agriculture and Forestry and a university degree in Natural Sciences. He has 28 years’ experience in environmental sciences and policies and has extensive knowledge of the European Institutions having served as Environment Attaché of the Italian Permanent Representation to the EU and as Environment Policy Adviser with a political group of the European Parliament. During his mandates, he took part in, among others, the revision of Directive 2009/128/EC on the safe use of pesticides, Regulation 2018/848 on organic farming and Regulation 2018/841 on in-land use, land use change and forestry. He has authored six books on environmental issues and has written several position papers and documents including on biotechnologies and nanotechnologies.

Gaëlle MARION is the Head of Unit for Environmental Sustainability in the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission. Before that, she was the Head of Unit for Conception and consistency of rural development. She has been involved in the development of the Common Agricultural Policy since 2007, both on rural development and farm income support, and horizontal aspects such as governance, delivery models and networking. Her past career as Secretary General of Euromontana, a European association for the development of mountain areas, gave her in-depth expertise on territorial challenges, local development and interlinks between agriculture and the environment. She is an agro-economist from Agro-ParisTech (1993), France.

Dr. Peter Benko is Minister Plenipotentiary, SCA Spokesperson, Head of Agriculture and Environment Unit at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the European Union.

Ana Sofia Santos has a degree in Zootechnical Engineering, an MSc in Animal Production and a PhD in Animal Science. She is currently Secretary General of Animal Task Force (ATF) and Head of Research and innovation of FeedInov CoLAB and mother of three aged 22, 20 and 8 years. Her research areas currently focus on the sustainability of animal production systems, innovation in animal feeding, ecosystem services linked to animal production, feeding strategies, digestive physiology and management practices. She is currently particularly interested in issues related to communication in the area of animal science.

Piroska Kállay is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) since 2015, from the Workers’ Group, representing Medosz, the Trade Union of Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Water Supply Workers in Hungary. She is currently a member of the NAT section and President of the Permanent Group on Sustainable Food Systems, and her work focuses in particular on sustainable food systems and territorial development of rural areas.

Lea Bauer studied agricultural engineering and environmental management at Szent István University, Gödöllő, then oenology and wine management at Corvinus University in Budapest. She is working as a Regulation Consultant for IFOAM Organics Europe. Her expertise related to EU Organic Regulation and horizontal legislation in the field of agriculture and food has been gained during her involvement in the work of different IFOAM structures and her previous job at the control body, Biokontroll Hungária being in the position of Head of International Department. She gained experience in organic certification, national and international accreditations, quality management, and standard setting.

The event will be moderated by Anya Sitaram.

Anya Sitaram is a documentary producer, conference host and communications consultant specialising in health, environment and international development.

A former BBC World news anchor, Anya is a founding director of Rockhopper Media an award-winning television and film production company. Anya has overseen scores of television documentaries which have run on channels around the world including BBC World News, PBS, Discovery, Nat Geo and Al Jazeera among others.

Sponsorship opportunities

Want to get your company featured where it matters? Feel free to check out our sponsorship opportunities available here.

If you have any ideas, please reach out to eduard.tsvetanov@ipiff.org.

In partnership with

Divaks, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, is a fast-growing food-tech company specializing in innovative insect-derived ingredients for the food and food service markets. With a fully automated, vertically integrated production system, Divaks ensures complete traceability and sustainability from insect breeding to final products. The company’s flagship offerings, Textured Insect Protein (TIP) and Textured Insect Protein Powder (TIPP) provide high-quality, sustainable alternatives to traditional proteins. These products are ideal for a wide range of food applications, delivering excellent nutritional profiles and functional versatility while minimizing environmental impact.

ENORM is a Danish company, which raised DKK 500 million in 2022-2024 for the construction of its industrial factory facilities. Significant loan financing was secured through EIFO and Nykredit Bank, while DLG became part of the ownership group. Additionally, Enorm raised over DKK 20 million in soft funding from sources such as the MUDP fund, GUDP fund, and H2020. Enorm processes agricultural and food industry by-products, such as residuals from beer, potato starch, and cheese production. By recycling these by-products into larvae feed instead of using them for biogas or fertilizer, nutrients are returned directly into the food value chain. The larvae are harvested and processed into valuable ingredients. Enorm Biofactory produces insect meal and insect oil for use in feed for fish, poultry, pigs, and pets, and believes in a near future of insects, including BSFL, for food.

Better Insect Solutions (BIS) is the insect farming concept and solution hub of the Big Dutchman group, comprising the sister companies Big Dutchman, INNO+ and SKOV. For decades, they have provided cost-efficient and robust solutions for a wide range of technologies applied in animal farming. Since 2020, BIS has been active in the insect sector offering a one-stop hub solution for insect production to our customers that is based on in-house products and systems including, e.g. a unique climate control system, insect housing, innovative air cleaning and heat recovery as well as specialized logistics- and feeding systems.

VDL Insect Systems, part of VDL Groep, offers a complete range of modular and scalable feeding solutions and services for each production phase and factory capacity size. Our goal is to provide insect growers innovative solutions to scale up their production to meet the growing demand for alternatives for the classic protein sources.

By using the broad network and industry activities of VDL Groep we can actively contribute to the industrialization of the insect sector. VDL Groep, headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, is an international industrial family business with 105 operating companies, spread throughout  19 countries, with 15,000 employees.

Insect Engineers has the ambition to make BSF farming as commercially attractive as possible. We do this by not only supplying turnkey systems, but also sharing knowledge through our Insect School. We have developed and delivered a unique alternative to trays. ZOEM racks are a patented solution for vertical BSF farming. They offer flexibility with efficiency of scale whilst addressing the ecological aspects of insect farming.

LIVIN Farms offers modular and scalable, automated Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) technology and 360°
services, to transform organic by-products into premium insect proteins, oils, and fertilisers. We
introduced the Hive PRO insect factory, featuring turn-key industrial modules for scalable insect farming.
This innovative approach enables local communities and industries to create a more resilient food system.

We partner with agricultural corporations and farmers to establish insect farming facilities, offering comprehensive support and services. LIVIN Farms conducts bio feasibility analyses, provides engineering expertise, and delivers BSF rearing and breeding factories along with Seedlings™ deliveries. We are dedicated to equipping businesses and farmers to efficiently turn losses into profit by converting their organic waste into high quality insect products.

Insect Academy makes learning about insects as food, feed and non-feed applications accessible to all.

The company provides research-based learning resources to help consumers and agribusiness professionals grow their knowledge about the insect industry.

Insect Academy’s enthusiasm for the insect industry is primarily fueled by its crucial role in promoting sustainable development within the insect industry.

Intersect is the first digital marketing agency 100% dedicated to helping insect companies develop winning marketing strategies.

We help insect SMEs and trade associations (developing products for the food, feed, and pet food markets) build impactful brands and communities.

Intersect develops state-of-the-art websites, pitch decks, promotional videos, and social media campaigns to help insect companies grow their online audiences, acquire leads, and enhance their visibility towards customers and investors.