Marie-Cécile Thirion is Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Biodiversity division at the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in Paris. Before joining AFD in 2008, Marie-Cécile worked for the UN (International Labor Office), different NGOs and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As Project Officer she supervised projects on food security/nutrition, agriculture, rural development and biodiversity and, as an example, supported the establishment of the Ivory Coast Biodiversity Foundation, and is following AFD financing to the Madagascar Biodiversity Foundation. From 2018 to 2022, she was Director of AFD offices in Myanmar and Laos. Marie-Cécile is an agronomist by training and has been working in the field of international development for over 35 years.