Archives: Projects

Excellence hub in green technologies: Introducing innovation ecosystems in the Mediterranean food value chain.

The overarching objective of EXCEL4MED is to create an Excellence Hub in Mediterranean fruit supply chains. The project aims at identifying high-impact strategies and establish lines of resilience for producers, processors, consumers and policymakers. This will be achieved by considering agility, adaptability, and alignment within the four domains of business, collaboration, sourcing, and knowledge management.

Overall, EXCEL4MED will offer an adaptive capability in the Mediterranean supply chain preparing for novel waste valorisation strategies, production of added value fruit products following a holistic commerce, and the implementation of green innovative technological methodologies within a Quadruple Helix concept. EXCEL4MED will develop and demonstrate the solution in Mediterranean high-value perishable food supply chains: pomegranate and  citrus fruits. Importantly, EXCEL4MED will disseminate this solution to end-users and organise training courses for stakeholders.

EXCEL4MED website: https://excel4med.eu/

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Source of funding

• European Union Horizon Europe Programme 

 

Programme and contact references

• Project Coordinator: ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINON
• Project Manager at CIHEAM Montpellier: Kleftodimos Georgios
• Contact: kleftodimos@iamm.fr 

Partners

• ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINON
• ELGO – DIMITRA
• K.PI.ZO
• Smart Agro Hub
• UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
• MGARR FARMING CO LTD
• Malta Food Agency
• Malta Chamber of Commerce
• SEVT
• REGION OF ATTICA
• Malta Life Sciences Centre Limited
• CIHEAM-IAMM
• ASPIS AE
• COOPERATIVES MALTA

ALLIANCE: A hoListic framework in the quality Labelled food supply chain systems’ management towards enhanced data Integrity and verAcity, interoperability, traNsparenCy, and tracEability

The ALLIANCE project is a framework created to ensure data veracity and transparency in EU quality-labelled food chains. It proposes systemic solutions that go beyond current practices in order to enhance traceability, ensure authenticity, preserve quality and eliminate fraud in food products. It will use innovative methods and tools to detect adulteration on the spot, as well as consolidate international and European links, raise awareness and promote multi-actor cooperation and information-sharing.

It will also increase transparency in quality-labelled supply chains, of organic, PDO, PGI and GI food, through improved track-and-trace mechanisms. Finally, it will equip food actors, farmers, public authorities, and policy makers with meaningful insights through 7 diverse use cases.

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Website: https://alliance-heu-project.eu/

Source of funding

• European Union Horizon Europe Programme

 

Programme and contact references

• Project Coordinator: University of Thessaly
• Project Manager at CIHEAM Montpellier: Kleftodimos Georgios
• Contact: kleftodimos@iamm.fr 

Partners

• UTH
• Intrasoft
• Biocos
• Migros IT
• The Lisbon Council
• SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU AGRONOMSKI FAKULTET
• CIHEAM-IAMM
• The World Bee Project CIC
• UNIBO
• FEDERBIO SERVIZI SRL
• CONSEJO REGULADOR IGP FABA ASTURIANA
• ASINCAR
• ALCE NERO SPA
• DIAMANTIS MASOUTIS AE SUPER MARKET
• OLYMPOS
• Wisefour Innovation and Development Organisation Ltd
• CIA UMBRIA
• Biotechnicon poduzetnički centar doo
• Consejería de Medio Rural y Cohesión Territorial del Principado de Asturias
• EUROFIR AISBL
• MENA GROUP
• INSTITUTE FOR FOOD TECHNOLOGY OF NOVI SAD
• RMS 001 d.o.o.
• UDRUGA PROIZVODACA LICKOG KRUMPIRA
• Association of Producers of Products with Geographical Indication of Serbia “Original Srbija”
• Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit

Giving Rural Actors Novel data and re-Useable tools to Lead public Action in Rural areas

Departing from an updated conceptualisation of rurality based on the multi-dimensional nature of contemporary rural-urban interrelations and interdependencies, GRANULAR will generate new insights for characterising rural diversity.

Led by CIHEAM Montpellier, GRANULAR gathers 23 partners (academic institutes, international organisations, NGOs, rural networks and local authorities) and will use participatory methods in 16 pilot territories across Europe in order to capture the complexity of challenges faced by rural areas with a local stakeholders’ perspective.

The project is structured in 7 work packages with many inter-linkages and will contribute to current scientific discussions through:

• (i) advancement of concepts to characterise rural diversity and grasp rural proofing;
• (ii) novel methods to generate data relevant to rural areas, and new thematic datasets;
• (iii) empirical findings from Multi-Actor Labs and from data analyses for specific topics.

All partners will contribute to the design of data, indicators and tools. Co-construction will ensure that GRANULAR takes stock of local realities and needs, while fitting the findings in overarching policy frameworks. Data and tools emerging from the project will be developed through an open strategy that will ensure replicability and will be made available online through public repositories and a dedicated online platform. In addition, GRANULAR will create a Rural Compass, that takes into account the factors affecting rural communities and their functional characteristics, informing policymakers and rural actors for the design of tailored rural policies for a just, resilient and inclusive development.

Website : https://www.ruralgranular.eu/ 

GRANULAR 2023 results

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Source of funding

Programme and contact references

• Project Coordinator: Tristan Berchoux – CIHEAM Montpellier – berchoux@iamm.fr
• Project Manager at CIHEAM Montpellier: Aurélie Kirsch – CIHEAM Montpellier – kirsch@iamm.fr
• Contact: granular@iamm.fr

Partners

• CIHEAM Montpellier
• NORDREGIO
• WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
• INTERNATIONALES INSTITUT FUER ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMANALYSE
• UNIVERSITA DI PISA
• GEOPONIKO PANEPISTIMION ATHINON
• ASSOCIATION EUROPEENNE POUR L’INFORMATION SUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT LOCAL
• CESKA ZEMEDELSKA UNIVERZITA V PRAZE
• CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
• UNIVERSITE PARIS CITE
• EUROPEAN RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK
• JOHANN HEINRICH VON THUENEN-INSTITUT, BUNDESFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FUER LAENDLICHE RAEUME, WALD UND FISCHEREI
• ECORYS
• UNIVERSIDAD DE VIGO
• PARTENARIAT POUR L’EUROPE RURALE
• REGION VASTERBOTTEN
• GEMEENTE OPSTERLAND (P10)
• ASSOCIAZIONE DISTRETTO RURALE DELLAVAL DI CECINA
• LUONNONVARAKESKUS
• Pays Pyrénées-Méditerranée
• POLITECHNIKA KOSZALINSKA
• CIHEAM Chania
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO
• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
• THE JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE

Mediterranean Agricultural Markets Information Network

The MED-Amin network was created in 2014 at the request of the Ministers of Agriculture of the 13 CIHEAM member countries, against the background of the world food crises in 2008-2009, then 2011.

MED-Amin is a network for monitoring agricultural markets and food systems that contributes to Pillar 4 “Crises and resilience” of CAPMED 2025. It focuses in particular on five cereals (soft wheat and durum wheat, barley, maize and rice) which are essential to the food security in the Mediterranean.

MED-Amin aims to limit the excessive volatility of food prices by encouraging the transparency of international markets for basic agricultural products.

The network thus encourages the coordination of national market policies.

>> More information on MED-Amin Network

Improving nutrition in Africa by strengthening the diversity, sustainability, resilience and connectivity of food systems

HealthyFoodAfrica is an EU-funded research & innovation action aiming at sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems in African cities. The project is a collaborative effort by 17 partners in both Europe and Africa.

The overall goal of HealthyFoodAfrica is to make food systems in 10 African cities in six countries across three African macro-regions more sustainable, equitable and resilient by reconnecting food production and food consumption in effective ways.

>> Site web

Objectives

Improving access to nutritious food is a systemic challenge. African agri-food systems are facing numerous challenges related to climate change, rapid population growth and urbanization. Both food production and consumption patterns must change in order to provide access to nutritious food while counteracting social inequality, environmental degradation, food loss and inadequate waste management.

Activities

17 European and African partners work in close collaboration to improve nutrition in Africa by strengthening the diversity, sustainability, resilience and connectivity of food systems.

The work in HealthyFoodAfrica is localized in ten African cities, the so-called Food System Labs (FSL). Cross cutting work is undertaken in nine work packages.

Expected results and impact

• HealthyFoodAfrica seeks to create 10 Food System Labs (FSLs) in 10 cities and 6 countries in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa. Each FSL will bring together local stakeholders – farmers, entrepreneurs, businesses, and policymakers. With the support of the partners, labs will tackle particular locally relevant food system challenges, from consumer awareness to sustainable production, local food diversity, improved post-harvest technologies and food safety.

• The Food System Labs aim to link local producers and consumers, diversify the product selection, and bolster local supply chains to create a more sustainable production system and promote more healthy and equitable diets. The Food System Labs are supported by researchers and practitioners from Europe and Africa, who will also enhance and facilitate the learning processes within each lab and across them.

• The participatory, multi-actor approach will ensure food system transformation not only in the ten Food System Lab cities but also in wider terms: the local solutions developed and piloted in the Food System Labs will be shared and disseminated to allow their adaptation to other countries and circumstances as well.

• “Only through linking the diverse expertise and knowledge this type of consortium includes, there is potential to develop tools for actual transformation. Both local knowledge and new technology are necessary, but the key to achieving sustainable change is in combining these to respond to context-specific challenges” summarizes HealthyFoodAfrica Project Coordinator, Senior Scientist Mila Sell from the Natural Resources Institute Finland.

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Source of funding

European Union, H2020 project

Programme and contact references

• Coordinator: Natural Resources Institute Finland, healthyfoodafrica(a)luke.fi
• Principal Investigator at CIHEAM Montpellier: Paolo Prosperi , Lecturer-researcher – prosperi@iamm.fr

Partners

• The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
• Council for Scientific & Industrial Research, Ghana (CSIR)
• African Population & Health Research Centre Kenya (APHRC)
• Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)
• University of Helsinki, Finland (UH)
• Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia (BDU)
• University of Makerere, Uganda (MAK)
• University of Zambia (UNZA)
• University of Pisa, Italy (UNIPI)
• University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin (UAC)
• Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
• Hivos
• Finn Church Aid (FCA)
• Centre for Initiatives on Food Security and Environment (GIFSE)
• Mentes Visiveis Lda (MV)
• House of Böna Ltd
• Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes – Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM Montpellier)

Collective and contextualized strategies to promote resilient and sustainable agricultural production in rural Mediterranean areas

Réduire d’une façon structurelle et durable la surexploitation des ressources hydriques et à améliorer le revenu des ménages agricoles au Liban et en Egypte dans un contexte de changement climatique.

Proposer, mettre en œuvre et évaluer des initiatives intégrées, agronomiques et socio-économiques, basées sur l’agroécologie afin de réduire la dépendance à l’eau de chacun des territoires. Ces initiatives seront concertées avec les acteurs et adaptées au contexte des deux territoires ciblés: la Plaine de Beqaa au Liban et le Gouvernorat de Louxor en Egypte.

SupMed vise l’adhésion d’au moins 400 agriculteurs par territoire à une charte volontaire pour la mise en œuvre de stratégies d’adaptation basées sur des pratiques agroécologiques.

Au niveau institutionnel, le projet contribuera à renforcer et mieux structurer, en termes de conseil agricole, le partenariat public-privé au niveau des deux pays.

Il s’agit principalement de capitaliser autour de cette expérience de partenariat et de formuler des recommandations pour les prochaines politiques agricoles. Ce travail de capitalisation sera d’autant plus important que le projet contribuera (au moins partiellement) à l’élaboration des prochaines politiques agricoles nationale (Liban) et régionale (Egypte).

>> Site web

More information

Source of funding

• Fond Français pour l’Environnement Mondial
• Plan Vert (Ministère de l’Agriculture), Liban
• Executive Agency for the Comprehensive Development Projects, ministère de l’agriculture (EACDP), Egypte
• CIHEAM Montpellier, France
• Egyptian Association for Sustainable Development de Louxor (EASD), Egypte
• Centre Agricole privé de Hermel (FSC), Liban

Programme and contact references

• Anne Cobacho, Chargée d’études CIHEAM Montpellier, cobacho@iamm.fr
• Hatem Belhouchette, Enseignant-chercheur, CIHEAM Montpellier, belhouchette@iamm.fr

Partners

Le CIHEAM Montpellier: Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier, Coordinateur et co-financeur du projet, assure la maîtrise d’ouvrage et la coordination scientifique.

Partners in Lebanon

• Le Plan Vert et le projet HASAD, cofinanceur et membre du comité de pilotage SupMed
• Le Centre Agricole Privé de Hermel, Maitrise d’œuvre du projet SupMed sur le terrain
• L’Union des municipalités de Baalbek-Hermel et l’Union des coopératives de Hermel, Membre du Comité d’appui du projet SupMed
• Le Ministère de l’Agriculture, Membre du comité d’appui SupMed
• La Faculté d’agronomie de l’Université libanaise (Département d’Économie Rural), Membre du comité d’appui SupMed

Partners in Egypt

• Executive Agency for the Comprehensive Development Projects (EACDP), Cofinanceur et membre du comité de pilotage Supmed
• Egyptian Association for Sustainable Development (EASD), Maitrise d’œuvre du projet SupMed en Egypte
• Le Centre d’études de développement rural (Université du Caire, Faculté d’agronomie), Membre du Comité d’appui du projet SupMed
• Le Département de statistiques et de développement agricole et rural du Ministère de l’agriculture égyptien, Membre du comité d’appui SupMed