On 29 October 2021, Philippe Mauguin, Chairman and CEO of INRAe, Cédric Cabanes, Chairman of Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation and Eric Philippe, Chairman of Valorial, two competitiveness clusters, signed a framework agreement. These three key players in the agricultural and agri-food research and innovation ecosystem are thus committed to strengthening their common strategic vision at the territorial, national and European levels and to consolidating their synergies in the field. This is the first agreement that INRAe has signed with competitiveness clusters.
Facilitating the rapprochement between public and private research, linking research and innovation more effectively
Strengthened by their territorial anchorage and the same European ambition, the three actors are strengthening their collaboration around a common action plan to mobilise and direct resources in favour of innovation. The aim is to support the players in the agricultural and agri-food sector in the regions of Occitania, New Aquitaine (for Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation), Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Normandy (for Valorial), in meeting the challenges set out by the President of the Republic in the France 2030 programme.
On the initiative of Valorial and Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation, INRAe and these two clusters have therefore decided to set up a global consultation framework with three strategic objectives:
An operational action plan
These priorities are translated into an operational action plan, including
Already well established collaborations in research and entrepreneurship
This framework agreement builds on an already rich history of relations. INRAe is a founding member of Valorial and Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation and continues to be active in their respective governance.
The two clusters share the same six priority areas of innovation and are the only ones, at the national level, to work with the agricultural and agri-food sectors, both plant and animal. INRAe is also the leading partner of the two clusters in terms of R&D projects supported and approved by them (more than 650 approved joint projects, 350 of which have been financed for a total of €150 million in aid).
For example, Valorial contributed to the birth of the PROFIL programme (Functionalized Proteins for the Dairy Industry), whose scientific coordination is provided by INRAe Bretagne-Normandie. It is also a leading partner in structuring programmes.
Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation is a member of the national Biocontrol Consortium, and of PlantAlliance (focused on the contribution of genetics, genomics and plant biology to the design of innovative agroecological crop systems), both chaired by INRAe. It is also a founding member of OccitANum, a regional initiative for full-scale experimentation on the contribution of digital technologies to the agro-ecological transition and local food) and of VitiREV alongside the INRAe centres of New Aquitaine (a regional programme that brings together stakeholders in wine-growing areas to accelerate their transformation by integrating agro-ecological practices).
Press contacts:
INRAe: 01 42 75 91 86 – presse@inrae.fr
Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation: 06 82 66 06 04 – Laure Tortet – l.tortet@alurecom.fr
Valorial: 06 32 99 35 05 – Jean Luc PERROT – jean-luc.perrot@pole-valorial.fr
About
INRAe, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, is a major player in research and innovation created on 1 January 2020. A research institute resulting from the merger between INRA and Irstea, INRAe brings together a community of 12,000 people, with 268 research, service and experimental units located in 18 centres throughout France. The institute is one of the world’s leading research organisations in agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, and environmental ecology. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in the “agriculture-food-environment” cluster. INRAe’s ambition is to be a key player in the transitions needed to meet the major global challenges. Faced with population growth, climate change, resource scarcity and declining biodiversity, the institute is building solutions for multi-performing agriculture, quality food and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems. www.inrae.fr
The Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation competitiveness cluster brings together more than 400 private and public organisations active in the agriculture, agri-food and agro-industry sectors. Anchored in the Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions and committed to the European dynamic, this network, which brings together the scientific and economic worlds, works to develop its members and the vitality of the territories through innovation. Companies, investors, research and training organisations, local authorities and institutions rely on the cluster’s associative dynamics and services to generate opportunities and implement innovative projects that will add value to the agri-food sector. www.agrisudouest.com
Valorial is the leading network dedicated to agri-food innovation in collaborative mode, bringing together 380 members, mainly located in Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Normandy, and a community of more than 4,000 innovators working on smarter food. Valorial advises and supports them in research and innovation projects that create value for all, based on a common desire to move towards more sustainable agricultural and agri-food systems and to offer food products that meet the aspirations of their French and foreign customers. www.pole-valorial.fr
