Massimo Battaglia

Tropical agronomist, specialising in the management of development projects, the formulation of technical proposals and agricultural extension, training and technology transfer, research, horticulture and fruit cultivation in temperate, subtropical and tropical climates, and the promotion of high-quality products (coffee, cocoa, dates, spices and tropical fruits, etc.). Over the last 20 years, he has been the project coordinator for coffee and cocoa projects under the Italian Cooperation programme in Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador) and the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) – (Programa CafèyCaffè) – as well as in Cuba, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Cape Verde.

He is currently a Senior Coffee Expert at UNIDO’s ACT Coffee East Africa Project, a programme that will initially focus on East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi), before expanding to the rest of the continent. Close partnerships are planned with the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) and the Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO), in addition to strategic collaborations with the private sector. Five training centres will be established, covering the entire coffee supply chain. He has worked in Italy, China, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique.