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Thursday – Business Forum |
TIME / LOCATION | SESSION | SPEAKERS |
9:00–9:20 | Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability – Building Long-term Business Resilience in Agri-food Systems Sustainability isn’t just a business obligation — it’s one of agri-food’s greatest untapped opportunities. This session makes the case for embedding resilience into business strategy, examining what it takes to turn long-term sustainability commitments into competitive advantage across the supply chain. | Tara McCarthy — Global VP of ESG, Alltech, Ireland Vincent Wall — Moderator |
9:20–9:50 | A Vision for a Global Sustainable Food System Trade policy, climate pressure, and shifting geopolitics are redrawing the map of global food and agriculture. This keynote examines what it will take — at a systems level — to build a food future that holds. | Phil Hogan — Former EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Trade, Ireland Vincent Wall — Moderator |
9:50–10:10 | Morning Coffee Break |
10:00–1:00 | Hackathon Orientation Interested in participating in Friday's International Fertilizer Association (IFA) Hackathon? Join this orientation session to learn about the challenge, competition timeline, judging criteria, team formation, and key milestones. Organizers will answer questions, introduce date, and help participants prepare for a productive and rewarding hackathon experience focused on nutrient use efficiency and sustainable food systems. |
10:15–11:00 | Consumer Trust is the Real Value for Food Producers – Global Perspectives Food quality gets you to market. Consumer trust keeps you there. This session draws on certification systems, supply chain data, and behavioral science to explore how producers globally convert trust into competitive advantage. | John Gilliland — Strategic Advisor and Prof of Practice, Queens University Belfast, Ireland Mary McCarthy — Professor of Marketing, CUBS, UCC, Ireland Jack Bobo — Executive Director, UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies, USA Moderator: TBC |
10:15–1:00 | Scaling Irish Food Business / Showcasing Innovation This session will showcase a selection of innovative early-stage Irish food and agribusiness companies pursuing ambitious growth and scaling opportunities. Founders and business leaders will outline their business propositions, key achievements to date, and future plans for expansion. The session will provide valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges of building and growing businesses in Ireland, while offering attendees a unique opportunity to learn from and engage with some of Ireland’s most promising emerging companies. |
11:00–11:45 | Feeding the World has been Disrupted – Global Trends and Threats Feeding the world has always been complex. What has changed is the scale, speed, and simultaneity of the disruptions. This session draws on three converging bodies of expertise: international agricultural policy across the Americas, global food chain strategy, and China’s rapidly evolving role in agrifood innovation. The result is a cross-continental conversation about where the food system is finding new footing and what resilience actually requires. | Muhammad Ibrahim — Director General, IICA, Costa Rica Marcos Fava Neves — Professor, University of São Paulo (FEA-RP/USP), Brazil Fu Wenge — Professor, China Agricultural University, China Vinny Madhuri Gandham — Rice Venture Founder, Bayer, India Moderator: Yvonne Colomer — Executive Director, Triptolemos Foundation, Spain |
11:45–12:30 | Technologies Transforming Food Production – Lessons from the Winners and Losers Pilots succeed. Scale fails. Regulators stall. Farmers resist. Four agri-tech practitioners who have built companies, written checks, and watched promising technologies stall share an unfiltered look at what is actually working in food production today — and what is not. | James Greevy — General Manager, Herdwatch, Ireland Danny O’Brien — Managing Director, EMEA & Global Programs, SVG Ventures, USA Justin McCarthy — CEO, GlasPort Bio, Ireland Nicky Deasy — Former Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Europe; Non-Exec Director, fractional CFO and VC adviser in Agrifood Tech, Ireland Moderator: Robbie Walker — CEO, Alltech, Ireland |
12:30–2:00 | Lunch |
2:00–2:40 | AI’s Bullet Train Moment for Food & Agribusiness A thought-provoking discussion about how AI is accelerating through food and agribusiness faster than most organizations can respond. Four leaders building and deploying these technologies today examine what is working, what is stalling, and what every stakeholder must do to stay ahead. | Ian Lahiffe — General Manager, Jing Management (JM) Agritech, Hong Kong Barry O’Sullivan — Prof and Director of UCC Futures on AI & Data Analytics, UCC, Ireland Julia Somerdin — CEO & Founder, Labby Inc, USA Moderator: Aidan Connolly — CEO, Agritech Capital, USA |
2:40–3:20 | Resiliency Across Smallholder Value Chains: What Actually Works and Why Despite feeding a significant share of the world’s population, smallholder farmers remain among its most vulnerable actors—underfinanced, underconnected, and disproportionately exposed to the shocks that stronger value chain players can absorb. Drawing on experience from West Africa, Latin America, and Asia, the speakers share hard-won lessons on what builds durable resilience at the farm and value chain level. | Ayobami Aremu — Lead Consultant, Greenlands Agribusiness Consult Limited, Nigeria Tony Salas — CEO, ACM, Peru Kevin Chen — Lead Consultant, IFPRI, China Hilary Barry — Secretary General-CEO, LadyAgri Impact Investment Hub ASBL, Belgium Moderator: Michelle Marais — Chair, IFAMA YB & Project Lead, Urban Farmer, South Africa |
3:20–3:50 | Afternoon Coffee Break |
3:30–5:00 | Student Case Competition — Grand Finale (Undergraduates) Grand Finale of the IFAMA 2026 Student Case Competition — Undergraduate Division. Don't miss one of the most inspiring sessions at IFAMA 2026. Watch top undergraduate teams from around the world present solutions to real agribusiness challenges before a panel of international judges. What makes this competition unique is the challenge itself. Teams receive a complex business case and have just two days to analyze the situation, develop recommendations, and prepare a professional presentation—all while networking, learning, and competing alongside peers from around the world. It is demanding, fast-paced, and often pushes participants well beyond their comfort zones. For conference delegates, these sessions offer more than a glimpse of emerging talent. You'll hear fresh ideas, see how the next generation approaches today's toughest agri-food challenges, and witness the creativity, resilience, and determination that will shape the future of our industry. Come support these remarkable students. You may be watching tomorrow's CEOs, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders! |
4:00–4:15 | Pathways to Nutrient Use Efficiency Tracking: Introducing the Hackathon Hackers This session is an intro to the Nutrient Use Efficiency Tracking Hackathon. (Hackathon day is the Friday after conference from 9:00am – 4:00pm.) The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) is bringing fertilizer industry leaders from across the world including France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and New Zealand. The goal of the Hackathon is to develop real-world solutions in collaborative and diverse teams, which will help to feed the world sustainably. The Hackathon is fully-funded by the IFA and is free for all IFAMA 2026 attendees, catering included. No technical experience necessary, this is open to researchers, academics, undergraduates, graduates, and young professionals.
| Patrick Heffer — Director, IFA, France |
4:10–5:00 | Beyond Partnerships: Driving Real Impact Together The challenges facing agrifood systems today—economic pressure, climate change, smallholder support, and more—cannot be solved in silos. This session offers an open, practical discussion on how organizations can strengthen collaboration and work more closely across regions and value chains to drive real impact. | Elmé Coetzer-Boersma — CEO, Agraya, South Africa Eugenia Saini — Executive Secretary, FONTAGRO, United States Ben Rivore — Director, Sustainability, International Seed Federation, Switzerland Moderator: Ronald Guendel — IFAMA Pres-Elect, ELFIN Consulting GmbH, Germany |
5:00–5:15 | IFAMA 2027 Peru — Preview Before we close the IFAMA 2026 World Conference in Cork, we’ll look ahead to our next global gathering—IFAMA 2027 in Peru. As one of the world’s leading agricultural exporters and a rising force in global food production, Peru offers a dynamic setting to continue important conversations around innovation, resilience, sustainability, and international collaboration across agri-food systems. Tony Salas, a respected agribusiness advisor and leader in Peru’s food and agriculture sector, will introduce the opportunities, industries, and vibrant culture that make Peru an exciting destination for the next IFAMA World Conference. | Tony Salas — Founder and President, ACM Consulting, Peru |
6:30–10:00 | Presidential Banquet and Awards About the venue: Páirc Uí Chaoimh is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork. often referred to simply as “The Park.” It is the home of Cork GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). and hosts Cork’s home league and championship games in both Gaelic football and hurling. Soccer and rugby games have also been hosted, as well as concerts by concerts by Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, U2, Elton John,and Ed Sheeran. Our closing banquet and celebration will take place in this landmark arena. Attendees will be bused from several hotels to and from the venue. Buses will depart for the venue from the Western Gateway Building and the Kingsley Hotel. |