Paolo Sertoli

A graduate in Tropical Agricultural Engineering, holding a Bachelor’s degree (BSc) and two Master’s degrees (MSc) obtained respectively in Italy (University of Florence) and Portugal (Technical University of Lisbon), he has specialised in agricultural water resource management, having completed numerous training courses and professional master’s programmes at, amongst others, the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom) and the University of Florence (Italy).

After completing a professional training course in ‘Project Management’, he began working as a Technical Officer at the former Agronomic Institute for Overseas Territories (IAO, Florence), a technical body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). Among other things, he coordinated and managed rural development projects in Pakistan and contributed to the design of projects in Ethiopia and Niger.

Since January 2016, he has held the post of Technical Officer at the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), where he was responsible for the management and monitoring of rural development and food security projects. From March 2022 to March 2026, he was Head of the AICS office in Maputo, with responsibility for Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola. Since April 2026, having returned to HQ, he has been responsible for the management and monitoring of rural development and food security projects, as well as handling external relations for AICS on water-related issues, as part of the AICS Water Working Group.
He was an adjunct lecturer at the University of Florence, where he taught the module ‘On-farm irrigation’ (MSc in ‘Natural Resources Management for Tropical Rural Development’).

He has worked and conducted field research in Africa (Ghana) and Central Asia (Nepal). He has published several scientific articles.