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Climate change, forests and fruit production: INRA strengthens ties with Brazil and Argentina
PRESS RELEASE - In early May 2018, Philippe Mauguin, President of INRA, visited South America to strengthen the Institute’s long-standing scientific commitments and develop new opportunities. Several agreements were signed during his trip.
Published on 17 May 2018
Jean-François Soussana, INRA’s Vice President for International Policy, accompanied Philippe Mauguin to South America.
The following agreements were signed:
- Three framework agreements between INRA and its Argentinian and Brazilian counterparts: INTA, The Argentinian National Agricultural Technology Institute; EMBRAPA, The Brazilian Agricultural Resource Corporation; and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.
- Two projects for international associated laboratories with Brazil on planted forests (University of Sao Paulo) and adapting fruit crops to climate change (EMBRAPA).
- An agreement to create an international associated research laboratory, LIA Forestia, based on close collaboration between INRA’s Integrated Biology for Forest Tree Breeding, Genetics and Physiology research unit at INRA Val de Loire and Argentina’s INTA station in Bariloche (Rio Negro).
The international associated research lab LIA Forestia brings together several INRA units (Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur; Montpellier and Nouvelle-Aquitaine – Bordeaux; and Val de Loire) and INTA’s Montecarlo (Misiones), Tandil and Castelar (Buenos Aires) sites, as well as the universities of Buenos Aires and Misiones in Argentina on the topic of adapting forests to climate change. This INRA-INTA partnership, which began some ten years ago, has given rise to several missions, theses, scientific articles and other presentations at colloquia and conferences, both at national and international level, including:
- a conference related to the international research network AgriTerris – agricultural activity, territories and agrifood systems.
AgriTerris brings together ten Argentinian, Brazilian and French partners, including INRA, to focus on territorial systems and transformations in family-farm systems, territorial developments, rural and peri-urban dynamics and localised agrifood systems. Initiated some ten years ago between INRA and INTA, AgriTerris develops joint research and training activities to contribute to rural development and reinforce comparative studies designed to provide solutions to the current challenges of agricultural research and develop the capacity to anticipate future technical and social trends.
The most prominent scientists from the G20 counties (MACS-G20) in the field of agriculture are slated to meet from 28-30 May 2018 in San Salvador de Jujuy (Argentina). Philippe Mauguin will attend the meeting.