ShERACA Plus Study Visit to France. Agriculture and Food Security Group September 2015

Transcription

1 ShERACA Plus Study Visit to France Agriculture and Food Security Group September 2015

2 Short intro of Agri research in Egypt Agri research tradition is long standing Has always been close to farmers problems Priority setting mechanisms is from bottom up Academia, industry and private sector join priority setting EGY is active in Regional agri research collaboration Demographic explosion, water scarcity, and Climate change compounds existing FNS problems

3 Improved Research environment 2014 Constitution increases research budget Ongoing structural and institutional reform Focus on innovation as a driver for economic growth Efforts deployed for improving competiveness

4 Research Capacity (major actors) Agricultural Research Center (MALR) researchers in: 16 research institutes 10 central laboratories over 40 nation wide field research stations Collaborating with the 28 regional Universities 500 information centers, and 500 databases in different domains

5 Research Capacity (major actors) National Research Center (Ministry of Scientific Research) A multi-disciplinary research center Over 4000 qualified researchers in all domains Well equipped with a state of the art technical platform Multi-disciplinary set up facilitates integrated approaches to problems

6 Research Capacity (major actors) Center for Information on Climate Change and Renewable Energy (MALR) 33 Weather Observation Stations Wide info dissemination network Refines methodologies for development of climate change scenarios Applications for agro-ecological zoning Coordination between concerned actors and stakeholders in different sectors Development of a national Strategy for CC

7 Research Capacity (major actors) Other specialized research Centers and organizations of the Ministry of Scientific Research covering several specialized research domains

8 Academia 28 State funded universities over 30 private universities

9 Some Agri-research Challenges in Egypt (1) Sustainability of food production systems Improving soil and water quality Innovation in the food production chain Use of biological methods in lieu of chemical fertilizers and pesticides Managing water scarcity (500 cu m/capita/year) Mitigating and adapting to climate change Improving Egyptian animal strains Nationally representative, updated and validated data bases and info-systems

10 ome Agri-research Challenges in Egypt (2) Control of animal diseases (local/cross border) Pests and pest control (local/cross border) Research in biomass and its applications Reduction of agri-food loss and waste IT for knowledge transfer to farmers Poor food safety management systems Innovation in crop technologies, food processing and packaging Traceability Strengthening economic analysis for decision making Prospective studies for food and nutrition security

11 Initiatives underway to: Provide an enabling environment to researchers Support transforming research idea -> product -> market Establish business incubators Increase uptake of research outcomes by policy makers/industry Strengthen IPR infrastructure services Measure developmental impact of research on community Use IT applications to support Knowledge Transfer Networks Recognize relations of Food/Water/Energy nexus Valorization of traditional foods systems (together with Euro- Med group on Sustainable Mediterranean Diet) Establishment of a Technical Platform Food for Life

12 Comment on FP7 participation High participation in FAFB priority area Benefited from various FP7 programs RDI program strengthened the NCP system Serious efforts deployed for linking with industry FP7 CSA projects significantly facilitated networking with EU researchers Helped understand relations of Food/Water/Energy nexus

13 Need to improve/strengthen (1) Links between policy makers and research and innovation outcomes Policy formulation mechanisms Uptake of research outcomes/innovative products by industry Research infrastructure and technical platforms as necessary Societal impact of research Developmental dimension and impact of research projects

14 Need to improve/strengthen (2) Free access to data and information Innovative out of the box thinking IP protection regulations that guarantee fair benefits for researchers IPR services infrastructure Capacity for administrative and financial management of H2020 projects Establish support services for proposal writing

15 Participation in H2020 First year shows lower participation rate Some reasons given: H2020 being a 2 year programme Two stage application procedure Low visibility of Egyptian researchers in international forums EU researchers less willing to serve as coordinators Financial regulations prevent EGY researchers to act as coordinators Ease of access to national (and bilateral) research funding sources