Mr. Lionel Dabbadie has been serving as the FAO Representative in the Philippines since 31 January 2023. Noted with his commendable contributions to sustainable aquaculture and with vast international experience, he now leads the FAO country office in advancing agriculture, food security, resilience building, agrifood systems transformation, climate change initiatives and strengthening partnerships with the Philippine government and development partners.
Before his current post, Mr. Dabbadie served as Senior Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer for FAO in Abu Dhabi, supporting Gulf Cooperation Council States and Yemen. He previously worked at FAO headquarters in Rome, where he led a programme developing guidelines for sustainable aquaculture.
A doctoral graduate of the University of Paris-Jussieu and an Agronomist Engineer from Montpellier SupAgro, Mr. Dabbadie has served for more than 25 years as a scientist with the French Agricultural Research Center (Cirad), collaborating closely with partner institutions across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
He is the recipient of numerous distinctions, including his designation in 2015 as Distinguished Adjunct Faculty by the President of the Asian Institute of Technology. He has also been awarded a Special Distinction by the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, along with the Silver Medal from the French Academy of Agriculture.
Mr. Dabbadie has authored more than 50 scientific and technical publications, translated two aquaculture books into English, and developed an e-learning course on aquaculture.