Hans Smolders

Hans Smolders is a specialist in agriculture and seed systems. He has more than 35 years of experience in low and middle income countries.

He has worked on various aspects of sustainable agriculture, climate-resilience, policy and regulatory development, food security,  food value chains, and water- and sanitation. He has also contributed to the development of seed systems, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience.

Hans has carried out fieldwork on formal and informal seed systems, preservation of genetic resources, and encouragement of seed commerce and seed company development. 

Before joining KIT, Hans served as Agricultural Counselor in the Middle East and was Netherlands’ official delegate to the FAO/International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. He oversaw many projects, including an EU seed regulatory project. He held different positions at the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). 

Hans holds an MSc in Plant Breeding from Wageningen University. At KIT, he works as a Senior Advisor in Agriculture and Seed Systems within the Department of Sustainable Economic Development and Gender.