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Visit of the Consul of Algeria, Mr. Chaouki Chemmam

 

The new Consul of Algeria, Chaouki Chemmam, who took up his duties in Montpellier at the beginning of March 2022, visited the CIHEAM Montpellier on Friday May 6, 2022. This is the Consul’s second official visit since his installation, testimony to his strong interest for teaching and research.

Omar Bessaoud, Philippe Le Grusse and Thierry Dupeuble presented the activities of the Institute, and more specifically the research and cooperation projects concerning Algeria. Then joined by Sihem Mokrani, Master of Science student, and Nadia Ait Alioua, Master CGAT student, the meeting continued with a visit to the campus and exchanges based on the experience of the students and the evocation of their professional projects. This meeting comes on the eve of the selection interviews for future students of the 2022/2023 Master 2 promotions which will be welcomed next September. These interviews will finally be able to resume face-to-face, in the countries of origin, after 2 years of health crisis. In Algeria, these interviews are scheduled for May 22 to 24, 2022 at ENSA Algiers.

Visit of Rachel Bezner Kerr

 

On 25 October 2021 CIHEAM Montpellier received Dr. Rachel Bezner Kerr, Professor of Global Development at Cornell University.

Dr. Rachel Bezner Kerr is one of the authors of the report on “Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition” published in 2019 by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. Moreover, she coordinates the chapter of the next IPCC report on the impacts of climate change on food systems and their adaptation.

She recently participated in the Montpellier Global Days, within the framework of the Africa-France summit which was held in Montpellier at the beginning of October.

In her research, she promotes holistic approaches, combining natural and social sciences, in the study of food systems. The exchanges she had with some lecturers-researchers from the Institute (Hatem Bellouchette, Mélanie Requier-Desjardins, Georgios Kleftodimos, Omar Bessaoud, and part of the management team, Elen Lemaitre-Curri and Thierry Dupeuble) have focused on the multidimensional evaluation of agroecological approaches, participatory research and training of producers by their peers.

CIHEAM Montpellier hopes that this meeting will open up prospects for collaboration on these themes of common interest.

SupMed project: Meeting of the Steering Committee, Beirut, March 28-29th

 

The first SupMed Steering Committee took place in Lebanon with the participation of the main partners of the project: representatives of the FFEM and french ministry of agriculture and food as doners of the project ; Green Plan, Union of Bekaa’s cooperatives and Union of Hermel’s municipalities for Lebanon, the Directorate of agriculture in Luxor Governorate, ONG EASD and the University of Aswan for Egypt.

The meeting provided an update on the progress of project activities in both countries, the 1st day was devoted to field visits: the participants visited the different sites of the project in the Bekaa Valley and were able to meet and exchange with the main beneficiaries of the project: farmers, women’s cooperatives and local elected officials.

The second day was devoted to an in-depth analysis of the climate change adaptation strategies envisaged for each country; and the modalities of support for farmers to be implemented to promote the adoption of agroecological practices.

 

>> More about the SupMed project and its news: https://www.supmed-project.com/

IPAUP: Pedagogical engineering to develop urban and peri-urban agriculture

The health crisis made any face-to-face meeting impossible from the start of the project in July 2020, but the collaborative working methods deployed thanks to digital tools generated the involvement of everyone remotely for two years, as well as a strong team spirit and co-construction skills in this face-to-face seminar.

Field visits made it possible to discover different types of AUP around Meknes and Rabat.

 

Understanding the importance of UPA on an international scale, its role in the food and nutritional security of populations, its issues for the sustainability and resilience of cities in the face of global change… such was the objective targeted by the training, and this with an alternation of Moroccan and French concrete cases.

5 chapters have been scripted, representing approximately 30 hours of blended learning, 80% of which is online. Initially, these chapters were designed for an audience of professionals and trainers. They will be enriched to be offered in the agricultural engineer training of the ENA during the next re-accreditation of the programs scheduled for 2024.

The course tested at the end of 2021 via the Moodle platform of ENA Meknes with 20 Moroccan participants from organizations such as ENA, DEFR, ONCA and CAFM, was greatly appreciated by the participants, and a participant has since started a thesis on AUP.

Beyond these direct results, the video clips developed as part of the course will be made available to ENAM’s new specialization in “Agro-ecological engineering” from spring 2022. 53 technical institutes of the agricultural training under the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests will access these resources via the ENAM Moodle platform. Finally, the trainers of the technical institutes participating in the training-test, as well as the teachers of the ENAM will integrate the tools and resources of the IPAUP project into their courses, either face-to-face or remotely.

Finally, the skills acquired by the teaching team in pedagogical engineering and mastery of digital tools were highlighted, as well as the necessary presence of a pedagogical engineer alongside the teachers if the strategy of the institution is to develop digital education.

>> More information on IPAUP project

pictures : © Rémi Kahane (CIRAD)

The CIHEAM and its Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes of Montpellier, Chania and Zaragoza will be present during the Mediterranean Worlds Forum

 

We are involved in 2 pillars of the Forum: “Culture and Heritage” and “Environment, biodiversity and sustainable development”

“Culture and Heritage”

From February 4 to 8, Olympia Markoulaki, Chef at the CIHEAM Chania Institute, will be in residence in the restaurant La République, and she will prepare a Mediterranean menu with Chef Sébastien Richard.

Several meetings will be organized with chefs from the region, and debates will take place on Mediterranean food (training and transmission).

 

“Environnement, biodiversity and sustainable development”

Monday 7 February – 4:00 p.m.: “Management of marine strong protection zones (ZPF)” with the intervention of Bernardo Basurco (CIHEAM Zaragoza) on the blue economy and marine area management issues.

In 2020, 8.33% of the Mediterranean Sea is designated as a marine protected area. However, 97.33% of the total surface of the Mediterranean under protection status is located in the waters of EU member countries and the cumulative surface of areas prohibited to fishing or extraction activities represents only 0, 04% of the Mediterranean. We need more strong protection in the Mediterranean for a better resilience of the marine environment, the large-scale restoration of natural ecosystems, the recovery of fish stocks, and the mitigation of the impacts of climate change, as well as for economic benefits and for the well-being of Mediterranean people. The 2020 objective of having 2% full protection in the Mediterranean has not been achieved and the European Union is now committed to an objective of 10% strong protection in 2030.

 

Tuesday 8 February – 12 p.m.: “Sustainable agriculture and forests in the Mediterranean” co-organised by Elen Lemaitre Curri (CIHEAM Montpellier) and Alain Chaudron (AIFM).

Under the combined effect of climate change, population growth and changing consumer demand, agricultural and forestry systems in Mediterranean countries must transform to remain resilient. This workshop will briefly introduce four major basin issues and illustrate the possible transitions towards greater sustainability through solutions that are proven in the field.

  1. Transform agricultural systems to adapt to climate change.
  2. Restore forests and ecosystems, a guarantee of sustainability.
  3. Transform food systems to restore nutritional balance.
  4. Share market information to prevent crises.

The workshop will take the interactive form of dialogues, alternating brief framing on each issue, concrete illustration of a solution for the future and exchanges with the audience.

>> More information on the Mediterranean Worlds Forum

Proceedings of the 3rd CIHEAM MedForum 2021

The proceedings of the 3rd Mediterranean Forum organized by CIHEAM Montpellier “Understanding the current status, emerging challenges, global uncertainties and coping mechanisms of agriculture and food systems around the Mediterranean” has been published. The book contains contributions from 47 authors.

>> Proceedings : https://www.iamm.ciheam.org/download/164

These proceedings cover the three main thematic sessions of the 3rd MedForum, namely, agroecological practices improving ecosystem services, innovation in the agriculture and agri-food sectors as a means of strengthening the sustainability of value chains in the Mediterranean countries, and the institutional and policy frameworks needed to strengthen the inclusion and participation of vulnerable actors in the value chain at local, regional and national levels around the Mediterranean.

>> Learn more about the latest CIHEAM Mediterranean Forums

>> Discover the CIHEAM Montpellier PhD platform

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