Agroecology

CambioNet project: a new approach to agriculture in the Caribbean/Amazon region

Financed by the European Regional Development Fund Interreg Caribbean V, the CambioNet consortium—Caribbean and Amazonian Bioeconomic Network—was created around INRAE French West Indies-French Guiana with the participation of the main R&D and agricultural extension organizations of 10 countries. The CambioNet project was launched on 26 March 2021 to support the agroecological and bioeconomic transition and the development of agrifood and the economy of the Caribbean/Amazonian region.

Published on 25 March 2021

© INRAE

Agriculture plays a major role in the stability, economic, and social development of the countries and territories of the Amazon and Caribbean region. Consisting mainly of small farms representing more than 70% of the agricultural landscape, this sector nevertheless faces challenges inherent to the major issues of the coming decades: ensuring food security, supporting ecological, climate, and energy transitions and preserving biodiversity.

The project aims to provide concrete and innovative solutions to these challenges by supporting the bioeconomic modernisation of small farms in their multifunctional dimension. The task force is adopting a joint approach to contribute to the region's sustainable development objectives.

Resources to match their ambition

CambioNet's activities will be deployed in three main geographical areas: the Amazon Basin (Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago), the Lesser Antilles (OECS member countries including Guadeloupe and Martinique), and the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti).

With a total budget of nearly €8M, the CambioNet project benefits from €5.9M of public funding—€3.8M from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), €2.1M from the European Development Fund (EDF), and €0.12M from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)—and €2M of private funding.

An ambition for food security in these regions

In particular, the CambioNet project will focus on:

  • posing a diagnosis on bioresources and innovative techniques in agroecology, agro-processing and bioeconomy;
  • developing innovative pilot systems via an inter-regional network of connected innovation platforms (Living Labs), and start-ups;   
  • establishing an inter-regional network for dissemination and agricultural advice;
  • making available a common digital library for the dissemination of knowledge, good practices, and training/learning modules etc.; and
  • providing public decision-makers with the proper tools to strengthen the effectiveness of agricultural public policies adapted to the diversity of Caribbean and Amazonian regions.

The CambioNet project is part of the European Union's Axis 5 strategy "protecting and enhancing the natural and cultural environment in the Caribbean".

Catherine Odet

Communications department

Project coordinator

Harry Ozier-Lafontaine

Centre

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