Inka Sachse

The decision was the right one - even though at first I didn't get too much out of barn construction, animal health and crop rotation planning for my career, which was yet to be further defined. I also found soil science, with its subdivision into physical, chemical and biological aspects, very dry. I was interested in the subject "communication and consulting", which was dismissed by others as a "babble subject". Organic associations and consultants also presented their work there. A year of study in Perugia, including an internship at an organic growers' association and training as an inspector according to the then EU regulation , opened up further perspectives for me. It was only towards the end of my studies that my professional vision gained momentum again with the IFOAM General Assembly in Witzenhausen. Enthusiastic about the idea of working in an association that bundles the movements of organic agriculture internationally, I left the academic world immediately after the Diploma I exam ("Here are the results, do what you want with them, I'm going to work now!") to tackle as an internal in the newly moved head office in Bonn. Since then I have been an annual visitor and mostly exhibitor at the Biofach trade fair - for 16 years in a row. Through the trade fair I was recruited as a trade negotiator, buyer, troubleshooter and product scout for the international organic trade agency artebio in Lüneburg. Here I could speak five languages daily and had to learn everything commercial "from scratch" . I traveled a lot in Western and Southern Europe and got to know business partners with whom I still work now. For me, the trade with organic products often has the bitter aftertaste that when buying, people often primarily pay attention to the price (also because the logistics are very expensive in some countries), so that other added values are perhaps expected, but not rewarded. For this reason, after more than four years, I decided to take further training and change to project management. One positive effect of this change was that I met my current husband during the advanced training.

In 2010, as a newly qualified project manager, I came on board at EkoConnect, an association in Dresden, which was committed to the expansion and networking of organic agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe. So again relocation, learning Russian. Travels to the Baltic States, Romania, Moldavia, often to Poland, but also sometimes to Turkey. Within a very short time, I took on a lot of responsibility there and was able to expand my networking skills. I also enjoyed organizing and holding events, where I acted as a market and quality expert. However, the EU projects were often too far away from agricultural reality for me and I had the vision of absolutely having to do something for the soil - to protect and build up the mother of our food, so to speak.

In 2014, I therefore signed on with Soil&More in Hamburg. Since then, I have not only covered my adventure needs for the next 20 years while doing multiple rounds across four continents and at least three climate zones, but also finally found my way into soil fertility consulting via sustainability and social audits. In my consulting for importing companies and their suppliers, I combine data analysis and "action on the ground", i.e. soil fertility and composting, with the common denominator of arming against rapidly advancing climate change. With "True Cost Accounting", i.e. the attempt to price in the environmental and social impacts and added values of agriculture, we are also confronting the problem of "cheap food production" with banks and strategic buyers*.

And all over the world, in the field and in companies, I meet Witzenhausen graduates of all generations who are now bringing concepts I heard in my studies to life and quantifying their environmental impact - and the breadth of the Witzenhausen network is always surprising ("Like - you too?"). I wish the program another 25 years filled with insight and development, and am glad to have been a small part of it.