TERMOTE Céline
Alliance of Biodiversity and CIAT, Kenya
- Dr. Céline Termote is currently the Africa Regional team leader for the food environment and consumer behavior research program at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.
- Her multidisciplinary work bridges research in ethnobotany, agroecology, market linkages, food environments, diet diversity and quality, and food system transformation, integrating community-based participatory, qualitative as well as quantitative evaluation approaches. She integrates participatory research methodologies and working in close collaboration with local communities, policymakers, NGOs, community health workers and research institutions.
- After obtaining her Master’s degree in Applied Biological Sciences, Céline started her career as a development worker for a Belgian NGO. Based in Kabinda, Kasaï-Oriental, DR Congo, she worked with two local partner organizations on food security, sustainable agricultural practices, capacity building and organization strengthening.
- In late 2005, she rejoined Ghent University as an assistant at the Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Agronomy and Ethnobotany and started her PhD project on the use of wild edible plants in Tshopo District (Kisangani region), DRCongo. This multidisciplinary work comprised a documentation of wild edible plants within different ethnic groups through ethnobotanical surveys, actual and future market potential of wild edible plants and an evaluation of the contribution of local biodiversity to the diets of rural and urban women.
Recent publications:
- Houndolo MM, Bodjrenou S, Jordan I, Majaliwa E, Koukou E, Ngianga-Bakwin K, Azandjeme C, Katsivo MN, Termote C, Amoussa Hounkpatin W. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adolescent Secondary School Students in Boukombe and Natitingou, North Benin. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 May 13;22(5):767. Caron Patrick, et al. Breaking the ‘scaling-up’ stalemate. Perspective 2025; 65: 1-4. Avallone S, et al. Beyond their nutritional value, school meal programs support agricultural and food transition toward sustainability by creating multi-sectoral values in France. Front Nutr. 2025 Aug 13;12:1616375.
- Hanley-Cook GT, Deygers J, Daly AJ, Berden J, Remans R, Termote C, Ibsen DB, Baudry J, Van Damme P, Kesse-Guyot E, Vineis P, Schulze MB, Hoang KT, Deschasaux-Tanguy M, Heath A, Dahm CC, van der Schouw YT, Skeie G, Guevara M, Milani L, Penafiel D, Raneri JE, Oduor FO, Hunter D, Ratnasekera D, Murray KA, Touvier M, Huybrechts I, Lachat C. Dietary species richness provides a comparable marker for better nutrition and health across contexts. Nat Food. 2025 Jun;6(6):577-586.
- Bello F, Koukou E, Bodjrenou S, Termote C, Azokpota P, Hounkpatin WA. Food and nutrition knowledge, attitudes and practices among children in public primary school with canteens in southern Benin: a case study. BMC Nutr. 2024 Mar 4;10(1):40.
- Ngigi PB, Termote C, Pallet D, Amiot MJ. Mainstreaming traditional fruits, vegetables and pulses for nutrition, income, and sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa: the case for Kenya and Ethiopia. Front Nutr. 2023 Dec 7;10:1197703.