Agriculture and Rural Development

The global challenges of overcoming extreme poverty and feeding more than 9 billion people by 2050 will be high on the international development agenda for many years to come. Sustainably managing agricultural land, forests and other natural resources is an important element of addressing these challenges. The Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Division enables us to provide our clients services with solutions across the entire landscape by building on our long-term experience in forestry, land use and climate change. ARD offers both analytical work and advisory services on the one hand and implementation of technical assistance and investment programs on the other. The division covers the following major topics:

sustainable intensification of agricultural production (including crop, livestock and integrated production systems);
development of inclusive and sustainable business models, innovation systems, and value chains;
climate smart land use including land-sparing and deforestation free commodity sourcing;
participatory and community based forest management;
community based development in rural areas; and
land use planning and regional rural development.

Our Services

Analytical and advisory work

Economic and financial analyses of agricultural investments and projects
Value chain analysises
Public expenditure reviews
Capacity development and technical assistance
Development of sustainable business models
Policy advice (national and international levels) and strategy development

Project cycle services

Feasibility studies and development of investment proposals
Development of project concepts and design
Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessments

Project implementation

Management of agriculture, forestry and rural development projects (for both technical and financial cooperation)
Provision of technical expertise (short and long term) during project implementation

Paul Borsy

Paul Borsy

MSc Forest Management

Lead Consultant in the Agriculture and Rural Development Division

Paul Borsy develops, evaluates and manages short and long term projects in the areas of resource management and biodiversity, climate change, agriculture and renewable energy. He has extensive expert knowledge in rural development project design, implementation and evaluation. Paul Borsy was responsible for the implementation of GIZ and KfW supported long-term projects and has spent more than 23 years in Africa, South America and Asia.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 30
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Alwin Keil

Alwin Keil

PhD Agricultural Economics

Senior Consultant in the Agriculture and Rural Development Division

Alwin Keil has more than 15 years of experience in applied research on issues around sustainable and climate smart land use and rural development in Asia and Africa. For six years he held the position as a Senior Agricultural Economist with CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) in India after being an Assistant Professor at the University of Hohenheim in Germany for seven years. His main focus is analytical work at the interface of agriculture, climate change, and natural resource management.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 0
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Bunafsha Mislimshoeva

Bunafsha Mislimshoeva

Ph.D. in Natural Science, M.Sc. in Global Change Ecology

Consultant in the Agriculture and Rural Development Division

Bunafsha Mislimshoeva is an expert on sustainable forest management and adaptation to climate change with focus on Central Asia. Her work focuses on community forestry, land use and climate policy as well as capacity building at different levels. She has extensive experience with Nature-based Solutions, focusing on Ecosystem-based Adaptation.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 42
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Gero Pawlowski

Gero Pawlowski

MSc Tropical Forestry and Natural Resource Management

Senior Consultant in the Agriculture and Rural Development Division

Gero Pawlowski has worked in the context of international forestry and resource conservation projects for over 13 years. He is responsible for major project acquisitions for UNIQUE’s technical divisions and coordinates the activities of on-going projects. On behalf of GIZ, KfW, DED, AfDB and the EU, Gero Pawlowski spent six years abroad in Bolivia as a long-term expert.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 31
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Anke Reichhuber

Anke Reichhuber

Dr. sc. pol., Economist

Lead Agriculture Economist

Ms Reichhuber has been a technical manager in the "Agriculture and Rural Development" department since 2019 and is responsible for the development of the analytical portfolio. She worked as an Agriculture Economist at the World Bank for five years. Subsequently, she worked for five years as a freelancer for international organisations and German development cooperation.

Tel. +49 761 208534-49
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Renuka Srinivasan

Renuka Srinivasan

M.Sc. Environmental Governance

Consultant in the Agriculture and Rural Development Division

Renuka Srinivasan has a background in environmental governance and development economics. The technical focus of her work is on climate change adaptation across agricultural value chains. She has worked on various projects relating to MRV, REDD+, CRVA and VIA, in the context of promoting participatory methods, boosting private sector investments, and building local/regional development strategies. Ms Srinivasan is involved in projects across India, Southeast Asia and East Africa.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 32
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Jochen Statz

Jochen Statz

PhD and MSc Forest Management, MSc Development Cooperation

Division Manager of the Agriculture and Rural Development Division

As co-founder of UNIQUE, Jochen Statz has been active for more than two decades as a consultant in forestry development cooperation. He focuses on the thematic areas of forest and rural development and climate change adaptation. He gained many years of experience as a head of forest development projects in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental actors. As a short-term consultant Mr. Statz is active worldwide. As a long-term expert and team leader, he has worked for GIZ in Nepal and KfW in India.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 19
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Suzanne van Dijk

Suzanne van Dijk

MSc Animal Sciences

Division Manager of the Agriculture and Rural Development Divison

Suzanne van Dijk has been working on innovation and sustainability in the agricultural sector for ten years. She works on climate-smart agriculture, dairy production systems and smallholder inclusive value chain development. Furthermore, she studies the potential impact of climate change and develops practical solutions for farmers. Suzanne van Dijk has intensive experience in Europe, East Africa, South East Asia and Latin America.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 39
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Shimels Eshete Wassie

Shimels Eshete Wassie

Ph.D. Agricultural Science

Consultant in the Agricultural and Rural Development division

Shimels Eshete Wassie has a background in ruminant nutrition and carbon footprint of livestock. His work focuses on analytical work related to dairy production, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock farming. In addition, he works on topics related to climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as nationally determined contributions (NDC). His regional focus is on East Africa.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 34
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Johannes Wölcke

Johannes Wölcke

PhD Agricultural Economics

Director of the Business Development Division

Johannes Wölcke worked as senior economist for the World Bank for 10 years, as well as senior advisor and program manager with the GIZ for 2 years. The focal areas of his work are the development and implementation of complex and innovative investments, technical assistance programs, and analytical work related to agriculture, natural resource management and climate change. He has more than 15 years’ practical working experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Tel. +49 761 208 534 56
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