CIHEAM Montpellier mission in Tunisia

 

Thierry DUPEUBLE, director of CIHEAM Montpellier, Jean-Paul PELLISSIER, deputy director, and Zied AHMED, DEVLOK project manager, went to Tunis from January 23 to 30, 2022 to meet the institutional, technical and financial partners of the Institute in Tunisia, a country with which the CIHEAM Montpellier maintains strong and long-standing collaborations in terms of cooperation, research and training.

During their stay, the CIHEAM Montpellier representatives were received, on Tuesday January 25, by Mr. Mahmoud Elyès HAMZA, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, and on Wednesday January 26, by Mrs. Leila CHIKHAOUI MAHDAOUI, Minister of the Environment.

These two institutional meetings were an opportunity to present CIHEAM Montpellier’s experience in territorial development, in particular through the DEVLOK project, the results of which in terms of plastic pollution management in Kerkennah, development of alternative #tourism and creation of jobs for youth and women were highly appreciated by the two Tunisian ministers.

The duplication of the DEVLOK experience in Kerkennah on other Tunisian territories was the subject of discussions with the two ministers who underlined the interest of their department in the subjects and issues dealt with by the CIHEAM Montpellier in Tunisia.

This mission also made it possible to discuss with the Management Unit of the PAP-ENPARD program represented by Mrs. Abdelhalim GUESMI and Salem TALBI about the results of the DEVLOK project and the PAP-ENPARD program in general.

The CIHEAM Montpellier team was warmly received by the colleagues of the ‘Direction Générale des Etudes et du Développement Agricole’ (DGEDA) with whom we share historic collaborations in terms of territorial development and public policies.

 

>> Devlok Project

Sustainable development objectives: energy renovation of our buildings

France RelanceOur energy rehabilitation project for buildings has been selected among the 4,214 energy renovation projects, for 2.7 billion €, selected following the national strategic public real estate conference of 14 December 2020 chaired by the Prime Minister, in the presence of Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Olivier Dussopt, Minister Delegate in charge of public accounts and Emmanuelle Wargon, Minister responsible for Housing.

This project is part of an unprecedented global energy renovation program for State public buildings, higher education and student life as part of #France relaunch.

This government program is guided by three priorities: the ecological and economic efficiency of the recovery, support for young people and territorial balance.

With a reduction from 400,000,000 to 500,000,000 kWhef expected at the end of the work, France Relance’s investment will significantly reduce CO2 emissions and the carbon footprint of the State’s real estate stock.

All the projects selected will favor artisans, very small businesses and SMEs throughout France, in all regions. In addition, this investment will be a lever for employment and skills: it is estimated that it will allow the creation of 20,000 jobs over 2021-2023.

The CIHEAM-Montpellier project consists in carrying out the energy renovation of our teaching and research building, in particular with the replacement of all the frames and the insulation of the roof terrace. Our amphitheater will be equipped with a new air conditioning heating system and photovoltaic panels will be installed in the parking lot adjacent to the building.

In addition to the expected gains in operating costs, this real estate project will also offer students and agents a safe and modern working environment, perfectly suited to the energy challenges of the next 30 years.

The energy renovation works included in the project are key issues in the recovery plan. They will make it possible to significantly reduce energy consumption and thus generate significant savings for the State while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

IPAUP: online training successfully tested!

The research project “Pedagogical innovations for attractive agricultural training with strong social and environmental responsibility: Example of peri-urban agriculture in the regions of Meknes, Morocco, and Montpellier, France” (AUP-ADESFA), started in July 2020 It was necessary to adapt immediately to the health constraints imposing the co-creation of an online course based on innovative pedagogies and tools, in collaboration between a Moroccan team and a French team. The challenge was great on a subject such as the AUP!

Progress of the project

The project-based approach that was planned to be used in the e-learning course was therefore applied in the operation of the project itself. A series of online workshops made it possible to share respective experiences, build a common culture of pedagogy, take control of digital tools and design learning scenarios capable of maintaining learners’ motivation at a distance.

5 chapters have been scripted for the digital training, representing approximately 40 hours of training, 80% of which 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 objective of this training is to help participants understand the importance of UPA on an international scale, its role in the food and nutritional security of populations, its issues and challenges for the sustainability and resilience of cities facing global changes, as well as the specificities of the Moroccan context. And this with an alternation of Moroccan and French concrete cases.

Results

The course was 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.

The work of the participants was of high quality and bears witness to their efforts, interest and involvement.

The difficulties encountered, mainly related to mastering the tools, were resolved thanks to the adaptability of the teaching team. They provide avenues for further improving the training, which is already leading to several results:

  • The video capsules developed as part of the course will be made available to the new specialization course in “Agro-ecological engineering” of ENAM from spring 2022
  • 53 technical agricultural training institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests will access these resources via the ENAM Moodle platform
  • The trainers of the technical institutes participating in the training-test will integrate these tools and resources into their courses
  • as well as ENAM teacher-researchers, who will use them either face-to-face or remotely
  • Finally, one of the participants in the training-test will carry out a thesis on AUP.

The learner participants praised the richness of the training, both on the theme of AUP and for learning digital tools that they will be able to implement in their professional practices.

As for the teaching participants, after having created this course in collaboration with the French team, they tutored it independently and successfully, really taking in hand the innovative tools and methods implemented.

>> More information on IPAUP project

What does the Mediterranean mean for the CIHEAM Montpellier?

 

For the CIHEAM and its three agronomic institutes, the Mediterranean means close collaboration with its partners around the Mediterranean, to act on 4 priorities:

  • Zero waste: knowledge & know-how, natural resources & energy and food.
  • Sustainable agricultural and food systems: integration of local agrifood sectors in value chains.
  • Attractive rural territories for living and working there: resilience of Mediterranean agro-ecosystems.
  • Risk prevention and tension resolution: governance for attractive rural and coastal areas.

The means of action of the Montpellier Institute are:

Why celebrate the Mediterranean on November 28?

On November 28, 1995, the foreign ministers of the EU and 12 countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean held the first Euro-Mediterranean conference in Barcelona and signed an agreement to launch the Euro-partnership process -Mediterranean. The Barcelona process was born as a new framework for dialogue resulting from a shared resolution to make the Mediterranean region a common space of peace, stability, security and socio-economic progress.

Despite the challenges that we have to face, Mediterranean Day is a precious reminder of this commitment, to continue to move forward together!

 

>>  Website “CELEBRATING THE MEDITERRANEAN”

Field trip of Master2 “Landscape analysis to understand the agriculture of a territory”

On 6 October 2021, the CGAT master’s students went to the territory of Alès Agglomeration to carry out a first work of landscape analysis and identification of the components of local agriculture.

Travel to the belvederes of the Hermitage of Alès and Mont Bouquet in Brouzet les Alès in the morning, the afternoon was devoted to meetings with local actors: a local producer in short circuit at the Halles bio de Vézénobres and the visit of the conservatory orchard and the Maison de la Figue de Vézénobres, recently awarded the “remarkable site of taste” label.

They were supervised by Tristan Berchoux and Anne Cobacho.

> Find out more about this M2