Sonja Vermeulen Sonja Vermeulen is the Head of Research at the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research program (CCFAS). As Head of Research she helps the team to produce research outputs that synthesize across the Flagships and regions, and to engage with policy processes and partners, particularly at the global level.
Prior to her position at CCAFS, Ms. Vermeulen served as Director of the Programme on Business and Sustainable Development at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Earlier in her career she worked in research with the University of Zimbabwe, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Center for International Forestry Research.
Her work has spanned the natural and social sciences, across the fields of forestry, agriculture and natural resource management. Her career has bridged academic and applied research, with a strong focus on linking science with public policy and private sector strategies, particularly in Africa and Asia.
Ms. Vermeulen holds a Ph.D. in Population Biology from Imperial College London, and a M.A. in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a M.Sc. in Tropical Resource Ecology from the University of Zimbabwe,
Recent Publications
Brazil, Ethiopia, and New Zealand lead the way on climate-smart agriculture (available here); Agriculture & Food Security ( November 2014)
Finance, farmers and food: ensuring that mainstreamed climate change adaptation is community-based (available here); Climate and Development (November 2014)
Multi-level stakeholder influence mapping: visualizing power relations across actor levels in Nepal’s agricultural climate change adaptation regime (available here); Systemic Practice and Action Research (October 2014)
Climate-smart agriculture global research agenda: scientific basis for action (available here); Agriculture & Food Security (August 2014)
Beyond climate-smart agriculture: toward safe operating spaces for global food systems (available here); Agriculture & Food Security (August 2013)
Sustainable intensification in agriculture: premises and policies (available here); Science (July 2013)
Addressing uncertainty in adaptation planning for agriculture (available here); Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 2013)
Climate change and food systems (available here); Annual Review of Environment and Resources (November 2012)
Climate change, agriculture and food security: a global partnership to link research and action for low-income agricultural producers and consumers (available here); Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (February 2012)
Options for support to agriculture and food security under climate change (available here); Environmental Science & Policy (January 2012)
Agricultural investment and international land deals: evidence from a multi-country study in Africa (available here); Food Security (February 2011)
Contexts and procedures for farmland acquisitions in Africa: what outcomes for local people? (available here); Development (March 2011)
Over the heads of local people: consultation, consent, and recompense in large-scale land deals for biofuels projects in Africa (available here); The Journal of Peasant Studies (September 2010)
Deal or no deal: the outlook for agricultural land investment in Africa (available here); International Affairs (November 2009)
Rural poverty reduction through business partnerships? Examples of experience from the forestry sector (available here); Environment, Development and Sustainability (February 2008)
Relevant links
Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research – Sonja Vermeulen (https://ccafs.cgiar.org/about/who-we-are/our-staff/coordinating-unit/sonja-vermeulen#.V2q0z3qfh9g)