Name Lea Jenin Age 29 Place of birth Corsica, France Languages French, English, Spanish, Russian

Job title
Expert in Agricultural Commodities and Trade

I came to FAO under the Associate Professional Officers (APO)

My interest lies in the trade and marketing of agricultural products. Often the biggest problem is not producing but how to market what is produced. Sometimes agricultural products are not well adapted to consumer demand or there’s competition from imports. I study the market for certain commodities and work with colleagues at FAO and countries involved to help farmers target their products better, get a higher price for their products and so improve their income.

For example, we’re currently looking at the tea market in producing countries such as China and India, and trying to understand the best parts of the country for domestic demand, in order to develop the market.

I have some experience in this area. After graduating I worked for farmers’ organizations in Aix-en-Provence, France, where the work included helping producers set up markets for local trade. In addition, I encouraged cooperation between local farmers and those in countries such as Romania and Poland, so they could share experiences and learn from one another.

Before coming to FAO, I also learnt more about crop production and trading when I was in Ghana, where I studied rice cultivation and trade for the French Development Agency and also for the Overseas Development Institute.

I learned about the APO programme via the agency’s Web site, and thought it sounded like a great opportunity to widen my experience into different countries and types of agriculture. My position is funded by the French Government.

Another main area of my work involves the sugar markets. There are massive challenges facing developing countries that export sugar, because of changes in EU policies that will reduce the amount of sugar Europe imports. Countries across Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America need new outlets for their sugar sector.

One way they might do this is through bioenergy, for example producing bioethanol from crops to use in car fuel. Soon I hope to visit countries including Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia to look at the impact of bioenergy and discuss its use with ministries of agriculture, farmers’ organizations and growers. Hopefully FAO can then help other countries to develop projects in this area.

I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity. Being an APO is ideal for someone like me. You meet a lot of very experienced, talented people who you learn a lot from. I’ll also get the chance to visit countries and see what work is being done. It’s a great feeling seeing for yourself the impact FAO’s work can have, and knowing you’ve helped to play your part.