Cornelia Berns

Cornelia Berns has been in charge of the Directorate for International Cooperation and World Food Affairs at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) since 24 February 2020. Previously, she had been in charge of the Directorate for the Land Market, Export, and Trade Promotion, and the Staff Unit 05 for Export Coordination. As the head of the division for international trade policy, she was able to gain significant experience in international matters since 2011. Since she joined the Ministry in 1992, she has worked in various departments of the Ministry. Throughout her career, she has dealt with various issues related to plant production, such as breeding research and organic farming, as well as environmental issues ranging from air pollution control and climate stewardship to biodiversity. She has also worked on the dialogue between the agricultural sector and society as well as the development of the Common Agricultural Policy. In addition, she has considerable experience in the field of trade policy. She served as agricultural attaché at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Beijing from 1995 until 1998. Cornelia Berns earned her degree as a graduate agricultural engineer from the University of Bonn and passed the second state examination as a senior civil servant specialising in agriculture with the district government in Münster.