Agroscope welcomes proven expert in organic farming and agroecology Lucius Tamm on board. Tamm will be responsible inter alia for the strategy process as preparation for the new 2026–2029 Work Programme, as well as for the further development of international collaborations. Most recently, Lucius Tamm headed the Department of Crop Sciences at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL.
As of 1 June 2023, Lucius Tamm will take on a role in Agroscope’s Corporate Strategy Division, which reports to Head of Agroscope Eva Reinhard. One of Tamm’s main tasks will be to manage the strategy process for the new 2026–2029 Work Programme together with the Executive Board. He will also continue cultivating Agroscope’s international research relationships.
Bringing past experience to new challenges
One of the aims of a productive and sustainable agricultural and food sector is the sparing use of natural resources. The challenges here are the same for all production systems: to feed the growing population with increasing yields whilst protecting soil, water, air and biodiversity as much as possible. “Future production systems must further reduce the trade-offs of established systems and combine and refine what is best from all previous experience” stresses Eva Reinhard. Here, the concepts of agroecology serve as guiding principles.
This approach will also be of great importance in Agroscope’s 2026–2029 Work Programme. The strategic work in this regard kicks off over the course of 2023. Lucius Tamm’s longstanding experience and Agroscope’s specialist knowledge and research potential combine to form the best possible conditions for fleshing out this process with the aim of supporting the Swiss agricultural and food sector as it heads into the future. “To my way of thinking, taking the best from established approaches and developing new solutions from them is a necessary yet interesting challenge that I am more than happy to take on” commented Tamm.
International collaboration gaining in importance
To ensure this successful transformation into a more sustainable food sector, problems in the agriculture and food system as a whole must be investigated. International experts agree on this. Many countries are facing similar challenges. Enhanced cooperation across specialisms and institutions, both national and international, is thus advantageous. Here too, Lucius Tamm brings the ideal background to the table for expanding collaborations, being ideally networked both nationally and internationally.
