Ms. Mirjam Selma Taapopi

Ms. Mirjam Selma Taapopi is an Environmental & Social Safeguards Officer for the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) responsible for coordination and implementation of environmental and social safeguards related aspects under the Food Systems Resilience Project (FSRP).

She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from the University of the Free State, a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Namibia, and a National Certificate in Occupationally Directed Education Training and Development Practices from VeryCoolIdeas, South Africa. In addition, she is a certified Knowledge Manager and has been the CCARDESA ICKM Focal Person for Namibia.

Prior to joining CCARDESA, she worked for the Ministry of Agriculture Water and Land Reform in Namibia responsible for the implementation and coordination of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) of the Namibia Agricultural Mechanisation and Seed Improvement Project (NAMSIP) funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Namibian Government, as per National Environmental Management Regulations, and the Environmental and Social Safeguard Standards of the AfDB. In addition, she also worked as a Farm Manager for the Namibia Grape Company (Pty) Ltd responsible for overseeing the production of table grapes for export to the EU, and ensuring compliance to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and other Standards as per market demand regulations.

She is very passionate about Environmental management and has extensive knowledge in horticulture production, and environmental management in the agriculture sector.