Anne Desrochers
Pleasant View
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Facilitator
Ministry of Agriculture
03.2018
- Of the Crop Production Units - Youth Agri-Preneurship Incubator Program (YAIP) for the, , Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management of Barbados
- Training program that targets young people aged 16 to 35 to recognize agriculture as a more sophisticated and modern way of business production and as a viable alternative source of employment that can improve food insecurity and economic growth
Consultant
Grenada & Barbados
03.2018
- Field mission to Grenada for site visits and development of a private commercial aquaponics system for Archer’s Organics
Consultant
09.2012
- Of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies, Barbados
- Elaborate project proposal: ‘Development of Local Adaptation Strategies for Water Supply and Sanitation Systems under Climate Variability for Vulnerable Small Rural Islands in the Caribbean’.
National Programme Consultant
United
06.2020 - Current
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the, Nations (FAO), Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean, Barbados
- Programme and project preparation, development, monitoring and reporting, incl
- Technical cooperation programme (TCP), TCP facility, Trust Funds and regular programme projects
- Country programming frameworks and multi-country development cooperation framework development and monitoring of implementation progress for seven countries
- Liaising and collaborating with Government authorities, NGOs, local/regional/international organizations, academia and other stakeholders in identifying challenges of the agriculture sector and support project identification, planning and implementation
- Monitor changes in the national policies affecting the agricultural sector as well as monitor development in the agricultural sector for the countries under the Barbados Representation
- Support policy/strategy development on agriculture, rural development, fisheries, nutrition, natural resource management, climate change, value chain development and disaster risk management
- Prepare budget revisions, prepare TORs for hire of consultants, authorize procurement/disbursement for projects
- Assist/accompany the subregional coordinator on high-level in-country missions
- Field visits and review of consultants’ and technical officers reports and monitoring of progress on a quarterly basis
- Prepare annual work plans, country annual reports, country implementation plans, and other reporting tools
Director
Solanum Consulting Ltd
06.2017 - Current
- Promoting and encouraging the use of resilient, innovative and sustainable approaches in agriculture.
Consultant
08.2019 - 10.2020
- Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), University of the West Indies (Cave Hill campus)
- Development of a ‘sargassum uses guide: a guide for researchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers’, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Consultant
Perpetual
01.2019 - 12.2019
- Food System and Archer’s Organics - Development of a regional strategy for commercial, backyard and educational aquaponics systems in the Caribbean region
Consultant
01.2018 - 12.2019
- For a private farm in Antigua to improve bulb onion production and implementing different on-farm techniques to improve farm resilience to climate change uncertainties (including crop variety testing and water catchments)
Consultant
PROCASUR Corporation
05.2019 - 10.2019
- Guyana, Haiti, Dominican Republic
- End of project evaluation for IFAD funded, FAO project: Strengthening Decent Rural Employment Opportunities for Young Women and Men in the Caribbean.
Consultant
Baird’s Village Aquaponic Association
01.2019 - 06.2019
- Monitoring and Evaluation of Project “Developing a Mainstream Aquaponic Industry”
Facilitator
02.2018 - 03.2018
- Support for project development and grant application for young women farmers from Barbados, Grenada and Petite Martinique
Mentor
12.2017 - 03.2018
- Tillage Innovators Challenge, Retooling the Business of Agriculture in Grenada
- Twelve-week program aimed at increasing entrepreneurship and youth engagement in agriculture through the creation of youth led agriculture based enterprise
Consultant
Agri-Protek
05.2015 - 01.2018
- Crop profiles data collection project for the Canadian Horticultural Council and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pesticide Risk Reduction Program
- Pest occurrence and integrated pest management data collected for greenhouse lettuce and tomatoes (2017) and field grown vegetables (2016)
- National crop profiles are used to develop risk reduction strategies;
- Design and conduct multi-stakeholder consultations to define and identify project strategies and interventions required for crop protection;
Technical and Methodological Coordinator
03.2016 - 10.2017
- Belize, Guyana and Grenada – PROCASUR Corporation
- IFAD funded, FAO project: Strengthening Decent Rural Employment Opportunities for Young Women and Men in the Caribbean.
Crop Protection Specialist
Quebec Horticultural Council
02.2006 - 08.2015
- Elaborate yearly participatory workshops with extension officers, researchers and growers (covering 13 commodity groups) to identify challenges and needs with regards to integrated pest management (conventional and organic crop production);
- Coordinate a pesticide risk reduction project.
Consultant
04.2011 - 09.2011
- University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies, Barbados
- Regional governance framework for the Caribbean large marine ecosystem project area;
- Report and information search on country involvement in regional and international processes, for countries part of the Wider Caribbean Region.
Acting Country Representative
05.2009 - 11.2009
- Solidarité, Union, Coopération (SUCO, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Coordinate and manage activities and projects - Emergency response, disaster risk management and gender equality in the agriculture sector.
Rural Development Officer
Solidarité
09.2008 - 11.2009
- Provide technical assistance and training in various agro-environmental, food security and emergency aid projects in Southeastern Haiti;
- Develop a training program and coordinate training activities for local growers, extension agents and technicians of the Ministry of Agriculture on sustainable agricultural and land management practices and techniques.
Horticultural Advisor
International Hydroponic and Distributions de la Plante
02.2005 - 02.2006
- Provide extension services: Advise growers on good agricultural practices: crop protection, bio control, integrated pest management, fertilization, substrates, water quality, lighting systems, growth systems (aquaponics, hydroponics, etc.), and soil and water conservation techniques.
Research Assistant
Bellairs Research Institute of McGill University
04.2004 - 11.2004
- Provide technical assistance for collection of field data; project related to the identification of factors affecting the distribution and survival of reef fish recruits;
- Report and data analysis.
Program Assistant
Bellairs Research Institute of McGill University
09.2003 - 01.2004
- Barbados field study semester for sustainable water development;
- Capacity building, organization of field visits and internships for undergraduate students.
Teaching and Research Assistant
McGill University
04.2000 - 05.2002
- Classroom, laboratory and field support for various courses related to natural resource management, sustainable land use management and integrated watershed management;
- Data collection, analysis and research tasks.
Education
Masters of Science (MSc) -
McGill University
Doctorate - Environmental Sciences
University of The West Indies Centre For Resource Management And Environmental Studies (CERMES)
2025
CVQ) -
Assessment Level 4 - Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Occupational area -
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture
BSc - Soil science and natural resource management
McGill University
Skills
- OTHER SKILLS
- Regular user of MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- Familiar with agricultural literature search engines and databases (including pesticide trial databases)
Accomplishments
- Jun 2021
- Rapid bioassay technique in agriculture
- Ministry of Agriculture, Panama
- Jan - Jun 2020
- Water Conservation and Management (OL 332)
- Center for Sustainable Development
- March 2019 - January 2020
- Permaculture Design Certificate - Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
- Caribbean Permaculture Research Institute (CPRI Barbados)
- Nov - Dec 2019
- Certificate
- Climate Smart Agriculture (OL 333)
- Center for Sustainable Development
- Oct - Dec 2019
- Certificate
- Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change 4: Sustainable Implementation (OL 344)
- Center for Sustainable Development
- June - Sept 2019
- Certificate
- Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change 3: The Community Focus (OL 343)
- Center for Sustainable Development
- April - May 2019
- Certificate
- Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change 2: Planning for Impact (Project Design, Funding, Project Management) (OL 342)
- Center for Sustainable Development
- January 2023 - Technical report: Managing sargassum shoreline inundations: A toolbox
- January 2022 - Technical report: Pelagic sargassum: A guide to current and potential uses in the Caribbean
- August 2021 - Peer-reviewed publication: Challenges of turning the sargassum crisis into gold: current constraints and implications for the Caribbean
- January 2020 - Technical report: Sargassum uses guide: A resource for Caribbean researchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers
- 2021-present - Guest editor for the peer-reviewed special edition ‘Sargassum Golden Tides, a Global Problem’, journal Phycology
- March 2020-June 2023 - Over 18 oral presentations at regional and international conferences/meetings presenting findings related to developing sargassum uses in the Caribbean
- 18-20 May 2021 - Poster presentation: “Review of pesticide residues in crops in the Caribbean”, Latin American Pesticide Residue Workshop, online
- 11-15 May 2020 - Poster presentation: “State of pesticide residue monitoring on crops in Barbados, West Indies”
- 13th European Pesticide Residue Workshop, online
- 5-7 March 2020 - Poster presentation: “On-farm pesticide use and food Safety”
- Science and Technology Festival, National Council for Science and Technology and the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, Barbados
- 13 December 2018 - Presentation: “Commercialization and Scaling-up of Small-scale Aquaponics - Lessons Learned from the Caribbean”
- Workshop: Advancing Aquaponics through Improved Market Access Towards a Caribbean Blue Revolution (11-14 December 2018), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP, AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS and research grant
- January 2020: University of the West Indies Graduate Student Research Award
- April 2019: supernumerary member of the Barbados Society of Technologists in Agriculture (BSTA)
- 2006-2017: Plant Protection Society of Quebec
- 2006-2017: member of the Quebec Order of Professional Agronomists (OAQ)
- October 2009: Recipient of the first Macdonald Campus Distinguished Young Alumni Award, McGill University
- 2002: Recipient of the Canada-Latin America and the Caribbean Research Exchange Grants Program, Organization of American States (OAS)
- VOLUNTEER WORK
- Slow Food Barbados (volunteer since June 2017) – Committee member of the Educational Gardens Program
- 17 school gardens implemented across Barbados, aiming to reconnect youth with their food by teaching them how to grow and enjoy fresh, locally grown food
- Helen’s Daughters (since Sept 2018) - Improving St
- Lucian rural women’s economic development through improved market access, adaptive agricultural techniques and capacity-building
- Rooftop Gardens Project (2004-2006) - Alternatives, Montreal, Canada
- Promoting the use of unused spaces to develop new productive green spaces and simple models for food production that are affordable, ecological, participative and easily transferable
- International Observer (Jan-July 1999) - Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatémala, Samox, Guatemala
- Training of Guatemalan returnees in community organization;
- Liaison with local government to ensure funding of small-scale community development projects.
Certification
Nov 2018 - March 2019
Certificate. Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change 1: Designing Community-Centered Projects with Sustainable Solutions (OL 341). Center for Sustainable Development.
Jun - Jul 2018
Certificate. Developing Gender-Sensitive Value Chains. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (Unitar)
Mar 2018
Eco Aquaponic Training. Perpetual Food Company
Nov 2017 - Jan 2018
Certificate. National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture. United Nations Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn)
Oct - Dec 2017
Certificate. Participatory Evaluation of Collaborative Projects. Dynamo and HEC Montreal
May - Jun 2017
Certificate. AGRIMONITOR: Agricultural Policy, Food Security and Climate Change. International Development Bank (IDBx)
Apr - Jun 2017
Certificate. Powering Agriculture: Sustainable Energy Solutions for the Caribbean (CaribOOC). German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) Caribbean – Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) Programme
Nov 2016
Certificate (Excellence Award). Project Design, Monitoring and Evaluation. Project Management for Development
June 2016
Certificate. Project Management Techniques for Development Professionals. Inter-American Development Bank (IDBx)
Mar - Apr 2007
Certificate. Introduction to On-Farm Food Safety According to HACCP. Quebec Institute of Agro-Food Technology, Basic Security in the Field II and Advanced Security in the Field (October 2017)
Additional Information
- Citizenship: , Canadian Legal Status: Barbados Immigrant Status
Languages
French
Native language
English
Proficient
C2
Spanish
Advanced
C1
Creole
Elementary
A2
Timeline
National Programme Consultant
United
06.2020 - Current
Consultant
08.2019 - 10.2020
Consultant
PROCASUR Corporation
05.2019 - 10.2019
Consultant
Perpetual
01.2019 - 12.2019
Consultant
Baird’s Village Aquaponic Association
01.2019 - 06.2019
Facilitator
Ministry of Agriculture
03.2018
Consultant
Grenada & Barbados
03.2018
Facilitator
02.2018 - 03.2018
Consultant
01.2018 - 12.2019
Mentor
12.2017 - 03.2018
Director
Solanum Consulting Ltd
06.2017 - Current
Technical and Methodological Coordinator
03.2016 - 10.2017
Consultant
Agri-Protek
05.2015 - 01.2018
Consultant
09.2012
Consultant
04.2011 - 09.2011
Acting Country Representative
05.2009 - 11.2009
Rural Development Officer
Solidarité
09.2008 - 11.2009
Crop Protection Specialist
Quebec Horticultural Council
02.2006 - 08.2015
Horticultural Advisor
International Hydroponic and Distributions de la Plante
02.2005 - 02.2006
Research Assistant
Bellairs Research Institute of McGill University
04.2004 - 11.2004
Program Assistant
Bellairs Research Institute of McGill University
09.2003 - 01.2004
Teaching and Research Assistant
McGill University
04.2000 - 05.2002
Masters of Science (MSc) -
McGill University
Doctorate - Environmental Sciences
University of The West Indies Centre For Resource Management And Environmental Studies (CERMES)
CVQ) -
Assessment Level 4 - Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Occupational area -
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture
BSc - Soil science and natural resource management
McGill University
Nov 2018 - March 2019
Certificate. Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change 1: Designing Community-Centered Projects with Sustainable Solutions (OL 341). Center for Sustainable Development.
Jun - Jul 2018
Certificate. Developing Gender-Sensitive Value Chains. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (Unitar)
Mar 2018
Eco Aquaponic Training. Perpetual Food Company
Nov 2017 - Jan 2018
Certificate. National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture. United Nations Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn)
Oct - Dec 2017
Certificate. Participatory Evaluation of Collaborative Projects. Dynamo and HEC Montreal
May - Jun 2017
Certificate. AGRIMONITOR: Agricultural Policy, Food Security and Climate Change. International Development Bank (IDBx)
Apr - Jun 2017
Certificate. Powering Agriculture: Sustainable Energy Solutions for the Caribbean (CaribOOC). German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) Caribbean – Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) Programme
Nov 2016
Certificate (Excellence Award). Project Design, Monitoring and Evaluation. Project Management for Development
June 2016
Certificate. Project Management Techniques for Development Professionals. Inter-American Development Bank (IDBx)
Mar - Apr 2007
Certificate. Introduction to On-Farm Food Safety According to HACCP. Quebec Institute of Agro-Food Technology, Basic Security in the Field II and Advanced Security in the Field (October 2017)
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