Baldissera Giovani

We talk to Baldissera Giovani, Coordinator of the Euphresco Network for phytosanitary research coordination and funding

Baldissera GIOVANI holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics and worked for a number of years as a researcher in world leading universities, governmental agencies and private companies. Since 2008 he has been interested in research funding, international research cooperation and transnational public-public partnership.

When did you join FACCE-JPI StAB?

I joined FACCE-JPI StAB in December 2020

Who do you represent and what are the goals of your organisation?

Euphresco is a network of more than 70 members (policymakers, research funders and research organizations) in 5 continents interested to collaborate in plant health research activities. The aim of Euphresco as a plant health research forum is to help organizations interested in plant health research to share information on their plant health priorities and to facilitate collaborative research to develop knowledge and produce research evidence that support the activities of national and international policymakers.

What do you work on within the StAB and can you mention any key achievements or highlights?

The most recent Euphresco strategic research agenda (SRA) has the running title ‘Plant health research coordination, cross-sectoral collaboration and learning’. My participation in the FACCE JPI StAB is an opportunity to increase the profile of statutory plant health in the broader agri-food sector and to identify opportunities for collaboration on topics of common interest. The plant health research community is interested to work more on climate change, and hopefully, FACCE-JPI will catalyse opportunities. So far, my presence in the FACCE JPI StAB has allowed the Euphresco Secretariat to join the Green ERA-Hub consortium, and I am delighted to work in the next four years with European colleagues on activities for knowledge transfer and capacity building.

What is your vision for sustainable food systems?

We all know the adage ‘Prevention is better than cure’. This is very true in agriculture too. Preventing the entry of a pest in an area that can negatively impact agriculture and the environment is the least expensive and the most sustainable approach. It avoids both the costs (e.g. linked to losses in productivity, or to pest management measures) and the negative effects of the pest or management measures (especially when chemically-based) on the environment and on consumer health. We should not just focus on a problem here and now, but we should have a forward-looking approach that is only possible through global communication: a problem today abroad can be my problem tomorrow.