2 April 2024

13:30 – 15:05

Amphi 4

Mario De Tilly

With degrees in economics and public administration from the Université du Québec à Montréal and the École nationale d’administration publique, Mario De Tilly has worked in the field of economic development for no less than four decades. General Manager of Innovation et Développement économique Trois-Rivières since 2015, he has played an important role in the city’s economic diversification, based on innovation and sustainable development. His organization’s innovative real estate strategy based on the redevelopment of brownfield sites earned him the Joseph-Beaubien prize awarded by the Union des municipalités du Québec in May 2022. Over the course of his career, Mr. De Tilly has served as President and CEO of Développement économique Longueuil and General Manager of Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole. He is the driving force behind the Cité de la biotechnologie, named “World’s Best Emerging Technology Park” by the Association of University Research Parks in 2011. In 2013, Mr. De Tilly was awarded the Médaille de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec for his career. That same year, he also received the Prix Alphonse et Dorimène Desjardins awarded to a personality who has best represented Quebec internationally. He also received the Personality of the Future of the Year Award from the French National Assembly in 2003, and the Hector-Fabre Award for International Influence in 2013. Mr. De Tilly won the prestigious “Carrière exceptionnelle 2022” award at the 62nd Congress of the Association des professionnels en développement économique au Québec (APDEQ), which recognizes a member who has dedicated his or her career to economic development.

Debate: What are the challenges involved in decarbonizing the agri-food sector?

As we face up to the realities and urgency of climate change, we all need to take action, including the agri-food sector. This exercise must integrate the entire sector – from production to the plate – in a dynamic of maximum circularity. The logical outcome is to apply the 3 RVEs (Reduction at Source, Reuse, Recycling and Recovery) for a low-carbon economy, with the aim of making the sector carbon neutral. This goal requires the mobilization of the public, and in particular of all players in the supply chain. It is important to remember that one of the industry’s priorities is to offer decarbonized products with the lowest carbon footprint. Signals from investors, the general public and export markets favor this trend. We are seeing a number of trends gathering pace, including the need to look at and apply a cocktail of different protein choices (animal, vegetable, proteins and alternatives), which are inescapable and intimately linked. The way things are done will have to be reviewed and rethought, in terms of financial models, business models, governance and new technological trends. Strengthening supply chains, short circuits, local purchasing, low-carbon farms, green fertilizers, new technologies and AI, are all major themes. Building bridges and seeking out best practices from around the world are key to meeting these challenges. Action must be taken both globally and locally, through rapid, concrete achievements.