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Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement

CIRAD

CIRAD is a French agricultural research and international cooperation organization working for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Stefano Signore (Acting Director Directorate-General for International Partnerships) and

10 Dec 2025 · Discussion on CIRAD collaboration with DG INTPA.

Response to European Innovation Act

3 Oct 2025

CIRAD is a French research performing organisation in agriculture, working in cooperation with tropical and Mediterranean countries. Innovations resulting from this collaborative research have sometimes been licensed to EU and/or non-EU SMEs. On other occasions, innovations have been directly spinned off for an access to the market. In this process, CIRAD has been confronted to three main obstacles: - a high level of national regulatory constraints related to the creation and development of spin-offs: in this context, the adoption of a common set of rules at the EU level, actionable in all member states would be useful - constraints on the access of companies to public R&I infrastructures to develop innovations: it would be useful at the EU level to increase the visibility and conditions of access to all public R&I infrastructures; In addition, EU incentives could target public R&I infrastructures opening their facilities to the private sector (financial support to cover human resources and indirect costs mobilised to host private third parties); In the same logic, EU incentive to SMEs could be proposed to facilitate the use public R&I platforms or infrastructures - the insufficient consideration of the innovation ecosystems in less developed non-EU countries and the lack of support to innovation partnerships between EU and non-EU stakeholders; Such partnerships would have the potential to boost the creation of new value chains and develop a fair competitiveness between the EU and non-EU countries; possible supportive mechanisms could be EU funding support for the installment of international innovation partnerships and EU public procurements targeting the exploitation of EU/non-EU innovations developed in these private EU/non-EU partnerships.
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Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Oct 2025 · Territoires ultramarins

Response to European Research Area (ERA) Act

10 Sept 2025

CIRAD welcomes the upcoming Commission ERA ACT, aiming at reinforcing integration of R&D at the EU level, free circulation of researchers and knowledge, international outreach of EU science and innovation, translation of R&I into the global market and EU capacity to attract talents and investments. Tackling existing barriers in interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international cooperation is a worthy objective. CIRAD also welcomes the EU ambition to achieve 3% of GDP invested in R&D across the EU. In the field of international cooperation, CIRAD would like to highlight the strategic importance for the EU to better support and integrate R&D cooperation with third countries into a reinforced Team Europe Approach. This is not only a matter of international cooperation in science and innovation to address global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss and food security. It is also referring to the leadership that the EU intends to take on the R&I global landscape and how and where the EU will advocate for its fundamental values (openness, cooperation, ethics and freedom). In this context, the future ERA act should build on the recently published European framework for science diplomacy, particularly in the field of research and sustainable management of global goods and commons. Freedom and free circulation of people, ideas and knowledge are the EU DNA for R&D. They foster innovation and the creation of new value chains. International cooperation can boost the EU performances in these areas, but it should not be limited to countries with most advanced R&I ecosystems. Less advanced countries can also help to develop original and non-conventional ideas and collaborating with them can generate low-cost or eco-friendly ideas, solutions and value chains that would feed the EU R&I and participate to the EU competitiveness. By strengthening the international cooperation with less-advanced countries, the EU will settle win-win situations in excellent science, applied research, new solutions and market developments, also contributing to meet the UN sustainable development goals. In the current international context of increased tensions between major world economies and greater risks of EU isolation, such collaborations would also strengthen the EU strategic partnerships and influence. To reinforce the cooperation with third countries, the international dimension should be systematically considered in the future prescribed measures of the ERA ACT, with new specific requirements and incentives. The EU should better support the researcher mobility between the EU and third countries, including the less advanced ones. This support should operate in multiple directions (outside EU to EU, EU to outside EU, and outside EU to outside EU if it serves the EU strategy). R&I projects and partnerships should be more open to international cooperation with incentives for the participation of institutions from less advanced third countries (public but also private, which would boost innovation and adoption). The integration of R&I infrastructures outside EU with EU infrastructures should be strengthened: as such, the transition towards climate-resilient food systems in the EU and beyond will need more research cooperation and shared use of R&I infrastructures between the EU and third southern countries. To implement the ERA ACT and future R&I programmes, the EU could map and mobilise the R&I partnership facilities that the Member States and associated countries already support in third countries or in outermost regions of the EU. Some of these long-standing facilities could host EU researchers or innovators willing to develop local activities in cooperation with third countries. The success of the ERA ACT in fostering international cooperation will also require the mobilisation of the relevant Commission directorates, programmes and instruments, such as the EU directorates (R&I, International partnerships, Health, Agriculture...)
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Response to EU Life sciences strategy

17 Apr 2025

Prevention measures against pandemics are estimated to be 100 times less costly than control measures. Moreover, pandemics and other large scale growing health problems like antimicrobial resistance and cancers, can severely hit the organisation and economy of our societies. In this context, the EU should support cutting-edge research and innovation in life sciences to develop tools, methods, infrastructures for the prevention of disease emergence. It should include the development and mobilisation of EU sovereign technologies based on AI, geo-observation, etc The EU support should be conditionned to an effective « One-Health » approach, decompartmentalising the human, animal and environment sectors and creating synergies between disciplines, including social sciences and humanities. By acquiring a leadership in the prevention of disease emergence in Europe and globally, the EU will foster its own prosperity, competitiveness and resilience in case of health crisis. The EU can build its strategy on existing global initiatives such as PREZODE that promotes prevention of pandemics in a One Health approach and is driven by a community of 250 members from 88 countries (17 from EU Member States), including 30 governments. PREZODE, is recognized by the Quadripartite (FAO, UNEP, WHO, WOHA) and is mobilized in the process of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body which is drafting an international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (see attachment). In this context, PREZODE and its members can support a strategic positioning of the EU in disease prevention at European and global level.
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Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament) and Fédération Européenne des Fabricants d'Aliments Composés and

25 Feb 2025 · Divers

Response to Mid-term evaluation of the LIFE programme 2021-2027

8 Aug 2023

On behalf of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), we would like to express our appreciation for the initiative of the European Commission within the framework of the LIFE Programme, aiming to promote environmental sustainability and to mitigate the effects of climate change. We are well aware of the major challenges the EU and the world face in terms of biodiversity preservation and combating climate change. As an organization committed to agricultural research contributing to sustainable development, CIRAD places great importance on programs like LIFE. We would also like to underscore the importance of strengthening the research component within the LIFE Programme, particularly concerning long-term innovative initiatives of collective and international interest related to biodiversity and climate change. In this context, it is crucial also to consider the direct benefit for Ultra-Peripheral Regions (UPRs) of Europe, including the French Overseas Departments and Regions (ODOMs). UPRs play a pivotal role in the preservation of European biodiversity, holding nearly 80% of it despite their territories representing only 2% of the European Union. These unique regions harbor invaluable environmental wealth. They also face specific challenges due to their geographical remoteness and their vulnerability to climate impacts. Research and development projects undertaken under LIFE could significantly contribute to the resilience and sustainability of these distinctive regions, while strengthening their crucial role in preserving European biodiversity.
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Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Member of the European Parliament) and Agence Française de Développement

28 Feb 2023 · sécurité alimentaire

Meeting with Koen Doens (Director-General Directorate-General for International Partnerships)

17 Nov 2022 · Enjeux et les défis des transitions agroécologiques dans nos pays partenaires et la mobilisation de la recherche pour l’impact et l’innovation.

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Helsingin yliopisto and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich

20 Jan 2021 · Biodiversity and the preparation of the EU Forest Strategy