Currently, Georgina has more than 10 years of experience working in developing regions including subsahara Africa and Southeast Asia, and holds qualifications for project management, good clinical practice and is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.
She is the Food Security Technical Expert and Portfolio Manager of the Food Security Department at Vestergaard with their Head Quarters in Switzerland. Within this role she has successfully brought two new products through to launch.
She has a strong research & development background in Agriculture and Biochemistry; with a BSc(hons) in Agricultural/Animal Science from Edinburgh University; an MSc in Animal Physiology from Wageningen University and a PhD jointly from Imperial College London and Rothamsted Research UK.
She held temporary academic posts funded through competitive grant proposals at Moredun Institute Edinburgh, International Livestock Research Institute Nairobi, Stellenbosch University, Sydney University and Dept. of Primary Industries NSW Australia. Through a DFID funded post-doc project based on a novel idea of enhancing natural plant defenses – whilst at the same time inhibiting the metabolic enzymes in the insect pests, to reduce insecticide inputs, for which a patent was granted.
3 Questions to … Georgina Zivanovic
1. Which aspect of the food waste problem is the most relevant for you?
Vestergaard is concerned with Food Losses, and so Food and Nutrition Security for the most vulnerable and at risk globally. An estimated 10 to 30% of worldwide annual food production is lost during postharvest processes. This not only impacts the consumer with loss of profitability but also ultimately global food security. With this goal in mind Vestergaard has developed a novel and innovative tool, an insecticide-incorporated polypropylene sack is designed to protect commodities (grains and seeds) against destructive insect pest infestation during storage.
2. And what should be done to improve things in this field?
Small holder farmer, particularly women, need to be empowered through knowledge building, cost effective environmentally sound tools for reducing losses, increasing sustainable production and policy change to enable more equitable trade principles and incentivisations.
3. Which role does the Initiative SAVE FOOD play in fighting food losses and food waste in your opinion?
The Save Food initiative is a meeting point for all sectors working towards a common goal of reducing losses and waste.
