Scientific collaboration between Africa and France: towards a major joint programme between African agricultural research, CIRAD and INRAE

On the sidelines of the New Africa-France Summit in Montpellier, Elisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin, CEO of CIRAD, and Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INRAE, announced on 7 October that they were actively working on a joint research, training and innovation programme with some twenty African agricultural research institutions. This programme will focus on the themes of agroecology and the preservation of natural resources, health, food security, territorial development and employment.

Most African countries aspire to have sufficient resources in research and higher education to face major challenges in the fields of agriculture, food and environment, such as food security in a context of intense climate change.

CIRAD and INRAE have long been partners of around a hundred African research institutions, and are joining forces to strengthen scientific exchanges of skills and knowledge between Europe and Africa, with a view to increasing the impact of agricultural research on both continents.

" With its strong African networks and a strong presence on the continent, with around a hundred expatriate scientists, CIRAD is a great believer in collective intelligence in order to tackle the global issues linked to food security. So it was only natural that we should turn to INRAE ", says Elisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin, CIRAD's President and CEO.

" To meet the challenges of health and food security while preserving the planet's resources, it is essential to combine research knowledge on a global scale. As an international leader in research on the links between agriculture, food and the environment, INRAE wishes to strengthen its exchanges of know-how and skills with CIRAD and research organizations in Africa. The alliance between African and French research is essential if we are to find sustainable solutions to the challenge of food security ", stresses Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INRAE.

Some twenty African universities and agricultural research institutes involved

Based on an inventory of their collaborations (and co-publications) with their African partners, the CEOs of INRAE and CIRAD initiated, at the beginning of 2021, the setting up of a future joint research action plan with around twenty African universities and agricultural research institutes (see list below). With these partners from all over the African continent (French, Portuguese and English speakers), the approach taken aims to co-construct an ambitious programme of research, training and innovation. It will be open to other African, French and European partners, particularly universities and engineering schools.

The priorities identified by the partners concern three major themes: agroecology, natural resources and climate change; one health (ecosystem health, plant health, animal health and human health); food security, territories and rural employment.

The launch of this action plan and the setting up of the governance bodies are planned for the first half of 2022. This plan is in line with the strengthening of cooperation between African countries and France on the one hand, and between the African Union and the European Union on the other. It will be based on international research initiatives, such as the PREZODE initiative on the prevention of pandemics of zoonotic origin and the4 for 1000 initiative 'Soils for food security and climate'.

It provides for the construction of a portfolio of research, training and innovation projects supported by research or development donors. Finally, it will be accompanied by the strengthening of cooperation mechanisms in partnership, the creation of international laboratories and research infrastructures, and a strengthened hosting and mobility mechanism for African doctoral students and researchers.

For Alioune Fall, former Director General of ISRA (Senegal) and current President of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA): " African institutions need a sustainable and equitable funding mechanism to be able to pursue their actions, as well as exchanges of expertise. We are looking to this partnership to help us do that. We also hope for better recognition and inclusion in global research through European networks, those of emerging countries and the OECD, for a tenfold impact in terms of research efficiency, training and innovation strength.

List of the first African institutions that have expressed their interest in this action plan

• South Africa : University of Pretoria, University of the Western Cape, ARC South Africa,
• Benin: University of Abomey Calavi,
• Burkina Faso: CIRDES, CNRST INERA, CILSS,
• Côte d'Ivoire : University of Yaoundé, IRAD, Institut F. Houphouet-Boigny,
• Egypt: ARC,
• Kenya: ICIPE,
• Madagascar: University of Tananarive, FOFIFA,
• Mali: IER,
• Morocco: ENA Meknes,
• Mozambique: Eduardo Molane University,
• Senegal: ISRA; Cheikh Anta Diop University, CORAF,
• Tunisia: Carthage University, IRESA,
• Zimbabwe: University of Zimbabwe
• Regional organizations: NEPAD, CORAF, CILSS

Source: www.cirad.fr