INRAE: research for Agriculture, Food and Environment

INRAE and its North American partners strengthen their cooperation

Our research themes

For multi-performance agricultural systems

In agroecology, ecological principles are applied to agricultural systems to optimise interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment with a view to creating more sustainable and equitable agrifood systems. Our agroecological research seeks to • preserve cultivated habitats • reduce the use of synthetic inputs (e.g., pesticides, antibiotics, and fertilisers) by exploiting biological control techniques • increasing the diversity of agricultural production systems at all scales, from field to fork

Biodiversity

Know, preserve, restore biodiversity

• Developing strategies for sustainably managing biodiversity and its ecosystem services at the regional level • Understanding natural, primarily natural, and agricultural habitats as well as landscape schemes that can promote biodiversity • Increasing the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems using agroecological approaches

Climate change and risks

Adapting to climate change and managing risks

• Moving towards climate neutrality by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the storage of carbon in soils and biomass • Adapting agricultural practices, forestry practices, and water resource management to deal with climate change • Understanding, anticipating, and limiting climate risks to reduce ecosystem vulnerability while also increasing ecosystem resilience • Forecasting, averting, and adapting to multiple climate risks and their interactions

Bioeconomy

INRAE, player in the bioeconomy

The bioeconomy is the part of the economy that is focused on the sustainable production and utilisation of biological resources with a view to • reducing the quantity of fossil fuels used in the production of food, materials, industrial compounds, and energy • limiting loss and waste and promoting ecodesign methods (or transformation processes that use less energy, less water, and fewer molecules) • contributing to regional development while preserving natural resources and enhancing ecosystem services

Food, Global Health

Food at the heart of our health

• How can we ensure food security for human populations at local to global scales? • How do our food consumption and dietary habits affect our health and the environment? • What are the relationships between food production systems, food characteristics, and our health? • What actions do we need to take to ensure that everyone has access to a healthy sustainable diet?

Society and regional strategies

Foster sustainable agricultural and food systems

To promote sustainable agricultural and food production systems, INRAE research is focused on • Analysing and guiding the strategies used by stakeholders within France's regions and in different sectors of the agrifood industry • Examining and evaluating public policies and their logical coherence at regional, national, and international levels • Examining and facilitating transitions towards more sustainable food, energy, agroecological, and digital systems