Dr. Ir. Jelle Van Loon
Regional Representative Latin America | Lead Innovation for Development
CIMMYT | International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
Jelle is an agricultural engineer specializing in tropical and subtropical areas, graduated from the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium and holds a Ph.D. in biosystems modeling and with more than a decade of experience working on agricultural research for development in Latin America, smallholder value chains in Peru and technology integration in Mexico. In 2013, he joined CIIMYT and during that time he has led and contributed to the diverse regional projects in Latin America, Africa, and South Asia focusing on research, development, and innovation in small-scale farm mechanization to precision agriculture applications. Today, he actively works on rethinking strategies to enable regionally integrated and functional agri-food systems and their stakeholders and scale demand-driven innovations for sustainability and rural development. Additionally, he has an active role as an international consultant for FAO in the Asian-Pacific area and is a member of a think tank on disruptive innovation for social entrepreneurship in the primary health sector in Belgium.
