Speaker profile
Mario Nagtzaam
Martinus (Mario) Nagtzaam has a background in plant pathology, microbiology, arable farming and public law. He started his career at the Product Board for Agriculture in the Netherlands, and then moved to Wageningen University to do a PhD-thesis on the biological control of a soilborne disease. Subsequently, he joined the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, where he worked on organic farming, biotechnology, biodiversity, environmental issues, rural development, plant health, intellectual property and international affairs.
At the European Commission, between 2000-2003 and 2006-2018, Martinus held a variety of positions. First he worked as a policy officer on rural development in Directorate-General Agriculture, and later as state aid case-handler. In 2009 he started as administrator at the pharmaceuticals unit in DG Enterprise. He worked on the review of the legal framework for veterinary medicinal products, the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicines and antimicrobial resistance. In January 2015 he started in the unit E3/ Pesticides and Biocides of DG for Health and Food Safety (currently unit DG SANTE E4). In the biocides team his main responsibilities are endocrine disruptors, treated articles, maximum residue limits and controls. Currently he is Acting Head of Sector of biocides.