Matthias Graeme Lorimer
Matthias Graeme Lorimer
PhD project: “Study of Heterogeneous Biological Material from Triticum aestivum in Agroforestry Systems for an Agroecological Transition in the Mediterranean Area”
Tutor
matthias.lorime(AT)unifi.it
Office address
Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144, Firenze (FI)
TPhone
055-2755790
Profile
Born in Reggello (FI), Italy, in 1988, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Tropical Agricultural Sciences, completing an internship-based thesis in Chile on the study of microalgae under the supervision of Prof. Tredici, graduating cum laude (110/110). In 2014, he earned a Master’s degree in Agricultural Science and Technology from the University of Florence, again with a grade of 110/110. His Master’s thesis, developed during a year-long internship at FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Switzerland), focused on the relationships between soil, plants, and grapes in organic viticulture, under the supervision of Prof. Mattii and Prof. Benedettelli.
Registered with the Italian Order of Agronomists and Foresters, he has gained professional experience as a field researcher for agricultural enterprises and as a lecturer at various institutions and organisations. He subsequently became involved with Rete Semi Rurali ETS, where he deepened his engagement with issues related to agrobiodiversity and farmers’ access to seeds. Since January 2018, he has served as Secretary General of the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! (EC-LLD), the European network dedicated to the dynamic management of agrobiodiversity, acting as a contact person and contributor to European projects under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Erasmus+ programmes. These themes are also promoted within AIDA – the Italian Association of Agroecology, where he has held the position of Secretary for one year.
Since 2023, he has been a tenured teacher in upper secondary education (Ministerial Decree 499/20, competition class A-051 – Agricultural Sciences and Technologies). In the 2024/25 academic year, he served at the Agricultural Technical Institute of Florence, where he taught Plant Production, following previous appointments in other technical institutes.
He is currently enrolled in the PhD programme in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Sciences and Technologies (DAGRI), under the supervision of Prof. Pacini.
Projects
Work Package Leader/task leader/ Writer in the following projects:
n.1 H2020; DYNAVERSITY,
n.1 Horizon Europe; Liveseeding
n.2 Erasmus+; Seeding Europe, DIVERSEEDPATHS
progetti su Community Seed Banks per fondazioni private e per Fondation Salvia in Svizzera
Main papers
- 2023 Co-conserving Indigenous and local knowledge systems with seeds, Trends in Plant Science https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360138523002248
- 2023 "Mapping of Agroecology in Europe" contributor within H2020 AE4EU - ISARA - https://zenodo.org/records/7774412#.ZHX9uuxBxhG
- “Guide to EU Seed Policy” - E+ Seeding EU report in EN, FR, ES, IT, DE, 2023
- 2021 Manuale 3 “Casa delle sementi: Sistemi di documentazione: strumenti per la gestione dei dati e delle informazioni”, DYNAVERSITY
- 2020 Manuale 2 “Casa delle Sementi: Costituzione, gestione e governance”, DYNAVERSITY
- 2019 Manuale 1 “Case delle Sementi: Accesso al germoplasma e condivisione dei benefici”, DYNAVERSITY https://dynaversity.eu/publications/
- 2012 Desertificazione ed erosione dei suoli. Futuro di sabbia? “A case of study: overgrazing in Somalia as a cause of desertification”. COSPE
- 2011 A. Pardini, Colture secondarie e tecniche agroforestali sostenibili, “Sistemi agro-silvo-pastorali” pag. 273 ISBN 978-88-548-4258-8 ARACNE editrice s.r.l.
Seminars and conferences
- 14th LLD Forum, Lussemburgo 2025 - Organizzatore evento e relatore “Soft wheat Organic Heterogeneous Material, state of the art“
- European Citizens' Initiative Forum for the Right to Food, Geneva, 2024 - relatore “How food systems are related to seed systems”.
- 12th LLD Forum, Dublino 2023- Organizzatore evento
- 19th Regular session of FAO Commission on Genetic Resources, 2024 - rappresentante della società civile per ECLLD
- Organic Farming and Agroecology Conference in Georgia, Tbilisi - Speaker “The EU Seed law reform process and the involvement of social movements”, 2023
- LIVESEEDING conference Horizon Europe 2022
- 11th LLD Forum, Budapest 2022 - Organizzatore e relatore “ seed law and agrobiodiversity”
- 2nd International Congress on Agrobiodiversity, Barcelona - Speaker “Dynamics and impacts of the on-farm network European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity!”, 2021
- LLD On Air, online meetings e formazione per agricoltori e hobbisti su semi e accesso alle sementi, 2020
- incontro Federparchi e Arsial Regione Lazio relatore “Parchi e biodiversità agricola” Febbraio 2019
- Let’s Liberate Diversity Forum, “An EU Network for agrobiodiversity” Méze France November 2019 - organizzatore e relatore
- Dynaversity different international meetings: Leuven 2018, Budapest 2019
- Urcenci international symposium Greece, Thessaloniki 9-10 November 2018 - relatore “Seeds and Agrobiodiversity within Community Supported Agriculture”.
- Let’s Liberate Diversity 2018 - France - Organizzatore e relatore “Reinforce the EU seed Network”.
- Rencontre Nationale, Réseau Semences Paysanne-organizzatore
- XV Feria del la Biodiversidad, Jaén (Es)
- Diversifood Final congress Rennes, December 9-12 2018
Personal Links, Blogs, Websites
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-lorimer-319075101/?originalSubdomain=it
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthias-Lorimer
Blog on Let’s Liberate Diversity! website : https://liberatediversity.org/author/matthias/
Scientific editor and speaker within the Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/seed-carriers
Last update
19.01.2026