Julia Wright

I have worked for over 30 years on sustainable agriculture and food security applied research and development, specialising in building the capacity and resilience of vulnerable communities to natural and man-made disasters, and regeneration of the natural resource base. Sectoral experience covers production and postharvest, agroforestry, food supply and distribution systems, urban agriculture and nutrition, organic and fair trade, bioregional development, research, extension and knowledge systems, and farmer livelihood strategies. I have institutional experience of the United Nations – FAO, IFAD, WB; the EU; the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) – CIP, ICRAF; UK government departments of DEFRA and DFID; and the private and non-governmental sectors. Specific country experience in Europe – UK, Netherlands and Spain; Central and South America – Peru, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Jamaica; Asia – Afghanistan, China, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia; Africa – Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa. I am currently a Deployable Civilian Expert with DFID’s Stabilisation Unit.

I have a doctorate in Ecological Agriculture, Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Post-Crisis Cuba, from Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands ( 2005), and am currently on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Cuban Studies, a Member of Research Advisory Board of the Permaculture Association, and Council member of the UK Biodynamic Agriculture Association.

Chiefly: Quantum Thinking for Agroecology.

Also: Cuban farming and food systems; Agriculture and human nutrition; Regenerative agriculture and permaculture; Eco-psychology, green ecology and traditional knowledge systems; Stabilisation Agriculture: Building environmental and social resilience to natural and man-made disasters

Ultimately food and farming research becomes a study of humanity. If we keep at it, and don't  let ourselves get stuck on one particular issue or belief, then we are drawn to the bigger existential questions, and also drawn into a deeper connection with nature. As Buckminster Fuller pointed out, the environmental movement only exists as long as we see nature as being separate from ourselves. For once we recognise that our environment is a reflection of, and part of, ourselves, and that it is conscious, then we would treat it very differently. My research vision is to have fun exploring this, with like minded people.