News brief
26 February 2025 - The 3rd General Assembly of the TSARA initiative was held to coincide with the Paris International Agricultural Show—attended by the 32 TSARA member institutions. In a context of climate crises, water scarcity and food insecurity, TSARA seeks to transform food systems in Africa and the Mediterranean, combining local innovation and international exchange of knowledge. The strategic reinforcement and development of the initiative were ratified. TSARA is continuing to expand its reach across Europe and English-speaking African countries with 6 new members: Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), CIHEAM Montpellier (France), ENFI, École nationale forestière d'ingénieurs (Morocco), IRD, Institut de recherche pour le développement (France), NMAIST, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (Tanzania), Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria). To mark the occasion, and with Morocco as this year's guest of honour, ENA Meknès (Morocco) and CIRAD (France) have taken over the co-presidency of TSARA from INRAE and ISRA (Senegal).
9 January 2025 - INRAE strengthens scientific collaboration with key partners in the Brazilian state of São Paolo. INRAE welcomed the heads and representatives of two major research establishments of the Brazilian state of São Paolo: the University of São Paolo (USP), top Brazilian and Latin American university in many international rankings, and INRAE’s number one Brazilian partner in terms of co-publications, and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), a public foundation whose mission is to support research projects in higher education and research institutions. A letter of Intent was signed with USP to explore the creation of an International Research Center (IRC), to tackle global challenges in sustainable food production, environmental preservation, and global health. A 5-year cooperation agreement was also signed with FAPESP, to fund groundbreaking projects in biodiversity, bioenergy, climate change, and more, while boosting opportunities for international researcher mobility. Those milestones build on a rich history of joint initiatives between INRAE and USP.
6 January 2025 - INRAE welcomed Dr Sue Bidrose, Chief Executive Officer of AgResearch, one of seven Crown Research Institutes in Aotearoa New Zealand in the fields of agriculture, bioeconomy, and environment, grouped together within Science New Zealand. In 2020, INRAE and Science New Zealand signed a framework agreement and, in 2023, several international cooperation instruments were set up: a Joint Linkage Call for exchange programmes for researchers and students and an International Associated Laboratory. During the visit, the situation was reviewed and prospects for further collaboration were discussed at the institute’s head office in the presence of INRAE’s Vice-President of international policy. In the afternoon, Dr Sue Bidrose visited the SayFood joint research unit (INRAE, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay). SayFood, headed by Catherine Bonazzi, studies the physical, biochemical and microbiological processes that govern food and non-food transformations of bioproducts. The visit helped to strengthen our collaboration with New Zealand research.
11 December 2024 - INRAE becomes an institutional member of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study (Paris IAS). This prestigious research centre promotes interdisciplinary thinking and hosts international researchers working on major societal challenges. Based on shared values of openness, knowledge exchange and innovation, this partnership strengthens INRAE's international invitation and mobility policy, drawing on the IAS's expertise in hosting researchers from around the world. By joining the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, INRAE provides the IAS with additional opportunities to connect with researchers working on key societal challenges.
3 December 2024 – Launch of the One Water Vision Initiative on the occasion of the One Water Summit, co-organised by France, Kazakhstan, and the World Bank. INRAE, and an International Research Consortium (IRC), signed a cooperation agreement with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Network of Basin Organisations (INBO), marking the start of this groundbreaking initiative. By mobilizing the international scientific community and leveraging cutting-edge technologies, One Water Vision represents a major milestone in water resource management. Stakeholders will work together to develop innovative methods for monitoring water resources and creating early warning systems for droughts and floods. INRAE will host the secretariat and support the coordination of this IRC. This initiative stems from the engagement of leading French institutions (BRGM, CIRAD, CNES, CNRS, INRAE, IRD) in close collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. It brings together twenty international scientific organisations, including space agencies, national research institutes and universities.
29 October 2024 - Creation of the EMMA International Associated Laboratory (LIA) with Argentina. The EMMA LIA agreement – focused on territorial issues in France and Argentina: comparative perspectives of lifestyles, markets and the environment – has been signed for 5 years. France was represented by the CEO of INRAE and the President of Université Paris-Dauphine, while the Rector of the National University of San Martin (UNSAM) represented Argentina. This LIA will be comparing social territorial structuring in France and Argentina in terms of issues that will be addressed by sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, economists, geographers and statisticians from both countries. Drawing on existing cooperative efforts, the LIA will enable a reinforcement of dialogue and exchanges so as to better understand territorial restructuring dynamics beyond the urban/rural dichotomy, with particular focus at an intermediate scale between the local and global. The EMMA LIA is organized around three areas: lifestyles and the dynamics of social and territorial circulation and segregation; the territorial structure of land, property, employment and agricultural markets, and the politicization of territorial inequalities and the environment.
15 October 2024 - Renewal of the Food4BrainHealth International Research Network, alongside the NeuroFood Congress. French and Canadian scientists from the network reviewed recent advances in neuroscience and nutrition, and renewed their five-year collaboration commitment. Originating from the OptiNutribrain International Associated Laboratory (LIA), this network aims to generate robust scientific data in order to define optimized nutrition strategies for brain health. Led by Sophie Layé (INRAE) and Frédéric Calon (INAF), it assembles the leading public research actors in France and Canada to promote multidisciplinary collaborative projects.
16 September 2024 - INRAE and McGill University signed a new framework agreement to strengthen their collaboration in research and training on agriculture, food and the environment. The partnership, which was formalised during a visit to France by McGill University's acting Vice-Rector for International Relations, will focus on subjects such as food safety and quality, ecosystem services, global health and sustainable production systems. This agreement should lead to the creation of a new International Associated Laboratory (IAL) on the chemical exposome in food. Canada's membership of Horizon Europe could also open up new opportunities for collaboration between the two organisations through European projects.
16 July 2024 – INRAE and FranceAgriMer sign a partnership agreement on international cooperation and expertise. Christine Avelin, CEO of FranceAgriMer and Philippe Mauguin, Chair and CEO of INRAE, signed a 5-year agreement today, whereby the two organisations undertake to jointly implement international projects and initiatives. The aim of this partnership is to promote France's public agricultural and agri-food expertise internationally, and to support French know-how and products on overseas markets. By strengthening ties with public and private institutional partners, INRAE and FranceAgriMer's collaboration will be built around European twinning projects, technical assistance and TAEIX projects (assistance and information exchange among experts within the EU). INRAE will be able to rely on FranceAgriMer to promote and extend its expertise internationally, while FranceAgriMer will be able to call on the expertise of INRAE researchers in the fields covered by the French Ministry of Agriculture.
12 June 2024 – A renewed framework agreement with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. During a visit from a high-level delegation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to INRAE, CEO Philippe Mauguin and Yaping Zhang, Vice President of the CAS signed a new framework agreement aimed at deepening scientific cooperation in the area of sustainable development. Over 20 years after the first cooperation agreement was launched, the CAS has become INRAE’s primary scientific partner outside of Europe in terms of the number of co-publications, most of which focus on environmental sciences, biodiversity, plant sciences, geosciences and remote sensing. The high-level meeting underlined the wish of both organisations to expand cooperation between their teams.
12 June 2024 – A new International Associated Laboratory: INNOGRAPE 2.The International Associated Laboratory (LIA) INNOGRAPE 2 was launched during a visit from a delegation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, following the success of a first LIA – INNOGRAPE – created in 2018. This new LIA agreement brings together four institutional partners: the Institute of Botany of the CAS, INRAE, Université de Bordeaux and Bordeaux Sciences Agro. INNOGRAPE 2, coordinated for the French partners by Nathalie Ollat of the Ecophysiology and Functional Genomics of the Vine joint research unit (EGFV), will aim to expand research on the adaptation of grapevine to climate change and on evolving agricultural practices. The new LIA includes joint research units specialised in oenology, wine quality and vine health and will focus on three scientific areas: adaptation to climate change, host-pathogen interaction, and the metabolites involved in wine quality. Enhanced training is another feature of the new LIA. This new cooperation project has already yielded remarkable results, including an article in Science and other co-publications, scientific initiatives, and modelling for the impacts of climate change.
22 April 2024 – A letter of intent to set up a Franco-Moroccan international associated laboratory (LIA) for the valorisation of biomass, organic waste and microalgae was signed at the Salon International de l'Agriculture au Maroc (SIAM) in Meknes, representatives of INRAE and Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), in the presence of the Ministers of Agriculture of both countries. The signing of this letter of intent confirms the willingness of the two organisations to work together to create an International Associated Laboratory (LIA) focusing on the valorisation of biomass, organic waste and microalgae for the production of energy, animal feed, fertilisers and biostimulants. This project will also involve the Institut Agro as a partner with significant expertise in the scientific subjects and collaborations in prospect. This LIA will facilitate the development of joint research projects, exchanges of scientists and doctoral students, and the joint organisation of training courses and scientific events. These joint activities aim to provide answers to the global challenges of preserving the environment and resources, promoting sustainable management policies and facilitating international cooperation.
22 April 2024 - A bilateral framework cooperation agreement between INRAE and the Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (IAV) in Morocco was signed at the Salon International de l'Agriculture au Maroc (SIAM) in Meknes, by Philippe Mauguin, INRAE Chair and CEO, and Abdelaziz El Hraiki, IAV Director General in the presence of the Ministers of Agriculture of both countries. The agreement highlights the willingness of both institutes to continue developing their cooperation in response to the major challenges facing the Mediterranean basin in terms of water resource management, agricultural and food production, ecological transition and sustainable development. The IAV is one of INRAE's leading Moroccan partners in terms of co-publications. The two institutes have been developing close scientific cooperation relations in the fields of agriculture and the environment for more than fifteen years. Both partners recognize the important role of training and research in supporting the sustainable development of agriculture that is environmentally, socially and economically efficient
18 April 2024 – Signature of a historic institutional collaboration agreement between INRAE and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid by Eloísa del Pino, President of CSIC, and Philippe Mauguin, Chairman and CEO of INRAE. CSIC is INRAE's 1st partner in terms of international co-publications, and its 2nd partner in European projects. The agreement, which aims to consolidate the scientific partnership between the two institutes, focusing on high-priority topics such as Climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Mediterranean region, sustainable food systems, bioeconomy and circular economy, and genetic resources. A first CSIC-INRAE scientific workshop on the adaptation of agriculture to climate change was held. An opportunity for both institutes’ scientific communities to better understand the extent of their expertise and to identify the scope of future cooperation.
4 April, 2024 - A new International Associated Laboratory (IAL) "BOOST: design of Biobased (non-foOd and foOd) Systems for a world in Transition" was signed between INRAE and Wageningen University, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, for the next five years. Bringing together scientists from the BIA Biopolymers, Interactions, Assemblies research unit at INRAE and the Food Sciences cluster at WUR, the IAL is under the co-coordination of Claire Berton-Carabin, INRAE, and Karin Schroën, WUR. It formalises a major collaboration between both institutes aimed at developing new food and non-food systems that add value to plant raw materials and minimally processed ingredients.
27 March 2024 - Signature of a Joint Declaration of Intent between INRAE and the Julius-Kühn Institute (JKI) at the French-German seminar on alternatives to pesticides, at the French Embassy in Berlin. This declaration aims to strengthen and structure a joint contribution to the development of future plant production systems in the background of climate change in Germany and France. It marks the continuation of a strong historical collaboration between the two institutes, already involved in research on new grape varieties tolerant to foliar diseases, members of the Wheat Initiative and founding members of the European Research Alliance "Towards a chemical pesticide-free agriculture". The joint scientific activities planned under this declaration will focus on the development of resilient and sustainable agricultural production systems, breeding of resistant and resource-efficient crop genotypes, sustainable use of natural resources and adaptation to climate change, agroecology, information and communication technologies.
25 February, 2024 - Renewal of the framework agreement between Embrapa and INRAE at the Paris International Agricultural Show (SIA). Silvia Massruhá, President of Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária), and Philippe Mauguin, Chairman and CEO of INRAE, confirmed the future renewal of the framework agreement between the two institutes, during a meeting on the INRAE stand at the SIA. This renewal confirms the excellence of the international collaborations carried out by the two institutes following the 1st framework agreement signed in 2018 for 5 years. The new agreement will cover scientific and technological cooperation in the fields of agriculture, livestock, forestry, environment and natural resources, with the aim of increasing existing knowledge in the field of sustainable development.
5 December, 2023 - On World Soil Day, local and national organisations signing the European Soil Manifesto, showing their support to the European Union's mission "A Healthy Soil Pact for Europe" and its objectives. The signatories are joining a community of practice that champions the importance of soil health and is concerned about the future of soils in Europe and around the world. Among the many signatories is Marion Bardy, Director of Public Policy Support for INRAE.
20 November, 2023 - Renewal of the agreement for the joint unit to support international relations (UMARI) between CIRAD and INRAE. The UMARI, set up in 2015, provides pooled support for the development and enhancement of international scientific collaborations, by linking up and creating synergies between numerous research, research training and innovation partnerships on every continent. These efforts aim to better coordinate and structure research responses to global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, human, animal and plant health in the broadest sense, food and nutrition insecurity, and the development and management of natural resources associated with agricultural, forestry and food systems.
16 November, 2023 - The international initiative PREZODE to prevent zoonotic disease emergence held its 2nd General Assembly. The event gave an overview of the achievements of the international initiative since its launch in January 2021, the partnerships with International Organisations, and to inform about the implementation of the governance bodies and chairs. Dr Papa Serigne Seck, from Senegal, is the new President of the General Assembly, and Dr Soawapak Hinjoy, from Thailand, the Vice-President. The main topic of the event “Strengthening Member Synergies” gave an emphasis on the values of cooperation and collaboration which are at the core of PREZODE. The initiative will launch a call for experts to join the 5 Pillars Working Groups. Full press release
27 October, 2023 - The UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) this week announced the next Steering Committee of its High Level Panel of Experts on food security and nutrition. The following 15 world-renowned experts have been appointed by the Bureau of the UN Committee on World Food Security to serve as members of the Steering Committee of the HLPE-FSN., including Marie Josèphe Amiot-Carlin, Honorary Research Director in Nutrition and Public Health, retired INRAE Project Manager, of Human nutrition and food safety division. The HLPE-FSN Steering Committee members are reputable, internationally recognized experts on food security and nutrition-related fields and reflect an assortment of scientific disciplines, balance of regional expertise as well as consideration of gender representation. They work with an extensive network of over 2,000 experts and they participate in their individual capacities and not as representatives of their respective governments institutions or organizations.
New cooperation agreement between INRAE and the Indian Government's Department of Science and Technology (DST). The "India-France Science Connect" day was organised on 6 October 2023, in Paris, at the initiative of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR). The event gathered the Indian Embassy in Paris, the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French National Research Agency, and key scientific partners involved in the cooperation between France and India, including INRAE. On this occasion, INRAE and the DST in India signed a cooperation agreement on food security, natural resource management, agroecology, digitalisation and disease prevention for One Health. A future scientific workshop between INRAE and DST will define a work programme on these topics. Find out more about our collaboration with India.
15 September, 2023 – Launch of a new international associated laboratory (IAL) to assess and model ruminant meat quality. During his visit to Bordeaux, France, INRAE’s Chair and CEO signed the creation of the IAL RUMQUAL in partnership with Bordeaux Sciences Agro and AG Research in New Zealand. This international laboratory builds on previous successful collaborations and will generate fundamental and applied knowledge on sustainable meat production of quality. It will make it possible to offer products of satisfactory quality in sensory, nutritional and environmental terms. It follows on from the framework cooperation agreement signed in June 2020 between INRAE and the member institutes of Science New Zealand, including AgResarch.
6 June, 2023 - INRAE and its North American partners strengthen their scientific and institutional cooperation. During a visit to North America, Philippe Mauguin, INRAE Chair and CEO, and Jean-François Soussana, Vice President of International Policy, met with key partners. INRAE and Université Laval signed a new framework agreement for 2023-2027 and launched the new International Associated Laboratory for Farm Animal Nutrition and Modelling for Sustainable Feeding Systems (IAL Nutri-Mod), in partnership with AgroParisTech. The signature of the IAL IN-COMBI “Inclusive Nutrition: combinatorial nutritional signals drive plant responses to climate change” formalized the partnership with Michigan State University, in association with Montpellier Institut Agro and the University of Montpellier.
20 April, 2023 - INRAE renews partnerships for the environment and food security in India. Following his participation in the G20 MACS in India as the Chief Scientific Officer for France , Philippe Mauguin, Chair and CEO of INRAE, renewed several partnerships. A new workplan was presented with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and a framework agreement was reached by INRAE and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, extending cooperation beyond the Indo French Cell for Water Sciences Research Unit (CEFIRSE), in partnership with CNRS, CNES, IRD, UPMC and the University of Toulouse, to other areas of research including wastewater reuse (REUSE). The fourth renewal of the framework agreement was signed with the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) for research and development cooperation.