Dialogue Between Europe and its Southern Partners on Agricultural Research and Climate Change

Over the last couple of years, significant progress has been made in terms of improved coordination and cooperation between European national programmes in agricultural research through SCAR (Standing Committee on Agricultural Research) and through EIARD (European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development) and, more recently, ERA-ARD (an EC FP6-funded project coordinated by CIRAD's Christian Hoste*). It is this progress that prompted SCAR? EIARD and ERA-ARD, with the support of CIRAD, to co-organise the Brussels conference.

Maintaining food security in both North and South

Agriculture is greatly exposed to climate change and consequences are already visible: e.g. increasing
variations in crop yields, adaptation of new plant species, re-emergence of parasitic and zoonotic diseases, shortage of
water resources, expansion of areas of salinization. Agriculture can play a major role in reducing poverty and hunger and maintaining food security in Southern regions. And any major food crisis that occurs in those regions will have a direct impact on Europe. Therefore, the impacts of climate change on agriculture must be addressed at global level. Agricultural research programmes must not be coordinated only among European countries, but in close interaction with the Southern regions.

The Brussels conference therefore aims at facilitating the identification and initiating coordination of European agricultural research programmes for mitigation and adaptation actions to climate change for mutual benefit of Europe and its Southern partners. It is why it has been registered as a major contribution to the COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (7-18 December in Copenhagen).

The Brussels conference

The international conference will be held on 17 December 2009, from 9 am to 5:30 pm at the Centre de Conférences Albert Borschette (CCAB), 36 rue Froissart, Brussels, Belgium. It will be preceded on 16 December 2009 from 6:30 to 9 pm by a debate on “Climate change: a world challenge for agricultural research”, illustrated by a clip of “Home” (a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand).

The conference will focus on three major themes:
- What are the challenges and why a dialogue between Europe and its Southern partners is necessary?
- Mapping of agricultural research programmes related to climate change in Europe.
- Priorities for the future: What are the agricultural research priorities and what partnerships to build to adapt agriculture to climate change and to mitigate the impacts? What could be the agenda of a European joint programme initiative in this field?

120 key policy-makers and research experts in the fields of agriculture, research and international cooperation, members of ERA-ARD, SCAR, EIARD and partners from Southern countries are expected at the conference.

* Coordinator, European and International Agricultural Research for Development System; Associate Director, European and International Relations