Gérard MATHERON, President of CIRAD; Michel LAURENT, President of IRD; Jean-Marc BOURNIGAL, President of Irstea; and Pascal SAFFACHE, Director of UAG, will inaugurate the Caribbean Agro-Environmental Campus (formerly PRAM) on Friday, December 14, starting at 9 a.m. [A ceremony to present this Scientific Interest Group (GIS) will take place Friday, December 14, 2012, at 9:00 a.m., in the Petit Morne neighborhood of Le Lamentin, in the presence of the presidents of the partner organizations: Gérard Matheron (CIRAD), Michel Laurent (IRD), Jean-Marc Bournigal (IRSTEA), and Pascal Saffache (UAG).]
From « Martinique Agro-Environmental Research Center » to « Caribbean Agro-Environmental Campus » :
10 Years of Growth!
As early as 1998, the founding concept was to bring together—both physically and structurally—the teams from four research organizations (CEMAGREF, CIRAD, INRA, and IRD) to better address the agricultural, environmental, economic, and social challenges facing Martinique. The first general collaboration agreement between these research organizations was signed on January 15, 2001, for a term of four years. Less than two years later, thanks to European funding and CIRAD’s own funds, buildings housing more than 2,500 m² of laboratories and offices were officially inaugurated on October 18, 2002, at the Petit Morne site in Le Lamentin.
In 2005, following the conclusion of this first general collaboration agreement, a review of the future of PRAM, commissioned by the leadership of the various partner organizations, clearly revealed the need for a statutory change toward the establishment of a scientific interest group (GIS), and for a shift in its scientific focus toward a broader agro-environmental approach; This evolution must anticipate the economic, environmental, and societal challenges of a changing agricultural sector while remaining responsive to partners and professionals.
Following this process of deliberation, the founding agreement for the GIS known as the «Martinique Agro-Environmental Research Center» was signed on March 14, 2007, by:
- CEMAGREF (Research Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Engineering)
- CIRAD (Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development)
- the IRD (French National Research Institute for Development)
Finally, in June 2011, During a visit to Martinique, the presidents of CIRAD, IRD, and IRSTEA (National Institute for Research in Science and Technology for the Environment and Agriculture, formerly Cemagref) expressed their unanimous desire, on the occasion of the renewal of the GIS agreement, to see closer collaboration between the research institutes and the University of the Antilles and French Guiana. Indeed, considering that the objectives of CIRAD, IRD, IRSTEA, and UAG in the field of agro-environmental research were complementary, and that the four institutions should continue and expand their collaboration through the implementation of integrated programs for research, development, regional cooperation, and training in the Caribbean. This aspiration became a reality in July 2012, following the signing of a new GIS agreement governing the cluster, which was also renamed to become the « Caribbean Agro-Environmental Campus ».
This development is fully in line with the expectations expressed at the most recent Regional Conference on Higher Education and Research, as noted in the DFA summary report: « The issue of a new vision for research has also been extensively debated… In terms of research, greater transparency must be sought through increased collaboration between research organizations and the UAG. The creation of UMRs, collaboration in the form of GIS or thematic campuses (e.g., Agro-Campus), reciprocal mobility, and the development of joint projects must be strongly supported. The commitment to developing strategic research—better equipped to meet societal expectations by stimulating innovation—was reaffirmed.»
