5th International Symposium on Biotechnology

Michiel van Erkel is the Regional LVVN Counsellor with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Belgrade.

Following his Master’s degree in Eastern Europe Studies in Amsterdam, he started his career in 1992 at the Netherlands Ministry of Economy as a project officer and later region manager, (financially) supporting B2B projects in countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This sparked his interest in agriculture, as many of the projects were focused on the different aspects of this sector.

After management function in the field of trade promotion and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he managed the network of economic advisor at Netherlands Embassies worldwide. In 2016 was appointed Director for International Agribusiness and Food Security at the Ministry of Agriculture. He visited many countries, promoting bilateral initiatives and business, and presenting the Netherlands views on the development of sustainable agriculture. Posted as Agriculture Counsellor to the Netherlands Embassies in India and in Sri Lanka from 2021 to 2025, he started as Regional Counsellor of the Dutch Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security & Nature (LVVN) for the countries of the Western Balkan in August 2025.

As Agriculture Counsellor Michiel promotes Dutch knowledge, technology and business in support of sustainable further development in agriculture in the Western Balkans. Cooperation and investments should lead to a more sustainable food system, with due attention for the environment, biodiversity, the position of farmers, improvement of soil, reduction of the use of water, energy and chemicals, and securing food security worldwide, with innovation as one of the main keys