Dr. Rémi Nono Womdim receives Medal for the Cause of Agriculture and Rural Development

On May 9, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment presented Dr. Rémi Nono Womdim, FAO Representative to Viet Nam, with the Medal For the Cause of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Since taking office in September 2021, Dr. Rémi Nono Womdim has played a key role in supporting Viet Nam’s agricultural transformation. He has helped push forward efforts to restructure the sector, build sustainable and resilient food systems, and advance initiatives under the One Health framework, strengthening links between human, animal, and environmental health.

Rémi Nono Womdim is the FAO Representative to Viet Nam since October 2021. Previously, he served as Deputy Director of the Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy from 2018-2021. He was also the Executive Secretary of Rotterdam Convention-FAO since 2020.  Nono Womdim joined FAO in Rome in 2009 to contribute to the Global Horticulture Programme. From 2012 to 2014, Dr. Nono Womdim worked as Programme Specialist/Seed Sector Development at NSP-FAO in Rome.

He was FAO Representative to Cabo Verde from 2014 to 2018. Among his many achievements, he has led the establishment of various multi-stakeholder platforms, provided advice to and guided the formulation of national policies and strategies for the development of the seed sector and the horticulture sector in Member Nations in Africa, Caribbean, Asia and Near East. He has also led resource mobilization efforts at global and national levels and provided guidance in managing multilateral programmes and multicultural teams for agriculture and rural development.

Rémi Nono Womdim started his career in 1988 as Research Associate in the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), while working as Lecturer at the University of Avignon and Pays du Vaucluse, in Avignon, France. Other positions held by Nono Womdim include: Vegetable Specialist/Plant Pathologist at the World Vegetable Center in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania (1994-2001); Director of Research and Development at the Technisem-Tropicasem Group in Savigny-sur-Orge, France, and in Dakar, Senegal (2001-2007); Programme Research Manager and Liaison Officer at the World Vegetable Center in Arusha (2007-2009).

Rémi Nono Womdim holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Life Sciences and a Master of Science in Plant Pathology from the University of Paris XI in France.