On 14th March 2025, CIHEAM Bari, already a Founding Member, officially get the FULL Membership of the AU-EU International Research Consortium (IRC) on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture in the framework of the Consortium Europe-Africa on Research and Innovation for Food Systems Transformation (CEA-FIRST).
The Consortium Europe-Africa on Research and Innovation for Food Systems Transformation (CEA-FIRST), is a bicontinental effort put together to operationalise the International Research Consortium (IRC) as a long-term platform on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) in line with the FNSSA Roadmap of the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD).
The International Research Consortium (IRC) on Food and Nutrition Security for Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) is a member-based, multi-actor coordinated research and innovation collaboration dedicated to the development of sustainable research, technological and innovative solutions and capacity building in priority areas of the Africa Union – European Union research and innovation partnership on FNSSA. The goal of the IRC is to address the long-standing problem of the highly fragmented R and I programmes, initiatives, and actors that has undermined returns on investments, by catalysing the synergies and alignment among them and creating a dynamic and long-term sustainable platform of partnerships, expertise, resources and shared knowledge towards promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation and increased impact. Thereby contributing to food and nutrition security, resilience, youth employment and gender equity in Africa and Europe and to global SDGs.
CIHEAM Bari actively contributed to two strategic European food policy events held in Brussels in March, strengthening its role in shaping sustainable food systems policy across Europe.
On 6 March, the FOOD 2030 and BEYOND Workshop 'Competitive, Sustainable, and Resilient Food Systems' brought together more than 90 stakeholders to highlight achievements and explore future solutions, research and innovation directions within the Food 2030 framework. The workshop featured 11 moderated discussion tables addressing key issues on the future of FOOD 2030, with a focus on EU policy priorities and closing the innovation gap for sustainable food systems. Dr Maroun El Moujabber (CIHEAM Bari) was the rapporteur of one of these tables.
The following day, 7 March, CIHEAM Bari continued its engagement by attending the third meeting of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) in Brussels. The meeting focused on advancing three priority actions identified by the group, including the support of RefreSCAR for the analysis of studies and portfolios, collaboration with the FutureFoodS partnership, and preparations for the next EU Framework Programme (FP10).
Several topics were addressed during the meeting, including updates on the European Commission’s perspectives, the potential contributions of BIOEAST, ongoing activities and actions within the FutureFoodS partnership framework, and strategies to accelerate and monitor the transformation of food systems.
In particular, Maroun El Moujabber (CIHEAM Bari), as the referent for the international dimension of food systems within the SCAR Food Systems Strategic Working Group (SWG), participated in the conference and emphasised the importance of identifying the impacts of food systems and their linkages with trade. He highlighted the need to consider three key pillars: policies, funding opportunities, and projects in various critical areas such as food security, food sovereignty, agricultural markets, food environments, and food procurement, among others.
Grande interesse e partecipazione al convegno divulgativo sul Carbon Farming, tenutosi il 7 marzo a Erchie (BR) nell’ambito del progetto GECO 2.2, finanziato dal programma Interreg Italia-Croazia.
L’evento, organizzato in collaborazione con il Comune di Erchie e l’Ordine dei Dottori Agronomi della Provincia di Brindisi, ha visto la partecipazione di esperti del settore, istituzioni e stakeholder, offrendo un’importante occasione di confronto sulle opportunità dei crediti di carbonio per l’agricoltura e sulle novità introdotte dal Regolamento Europeo 3012/2024.
Tra gli interventi di rilievo:
L’evento ha evidenziato il crescente interesse per le strategie di mitigazione delle emissioni di CO2 in agricoltura, grazie al contributo di un quadro normativo europeo sempre più strutturato e all’impegno di enti di ricerca e istituzioni.
Scopri di più sul progetto GECO 2.2: www.italy-croatia.eu/geco22
The application campaign for CIHEAM Bari Master’s Programmes AY 2025-2026 IS OPEN for the following courses:
Full and partial scholarships will be granted.
Conditions for admission and other info:
Ramallah (3March) – The SANET project is proud to announce a key milestone in its mission to empower young Palestinian entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector. On 10 March 2025, a special event will take place in Ramallah to unveil the 10 finalist startups selected through the SANET Startup Innovation Awards.
This event will highlight the achievements of these young innovators, who were selected from a competitive pool of 34 applicants. Over the past months, they have completed an intensive training programme, honing their skills in business development, funding strategies, and market positioning. Now, the 10 chosen startups are set to embark on a six-month incubation period. During this time, they will benefit from tailored mentorship and expert guidance to further develop their ideas.
Their journey will conclude in July 2025, when the participants will present their final projects at the Innovation Hub at CIHEAM Bari. This showcase will provide a platform for the startups to present their innovative solutions to a panel of international experts, investors, and stakeholders. Each of the 10 startups has been awarded a €10,000 grant to support a strategic phase of their development.
The 10 March meeting in Ramallah will offer a unique opportunity to meet the selected startups, explore their innovative ideas, and celebrate their progress. This event will mark the start of a crucial new phase, during which the startups will refine their business models and prepare to demonstrate how their solutions contribute to the sustainable transformation of the agri-food sector.
We warmly invite all partners, stakeholders, and innovation enthusiasts to join us in Ramallah as we champion the next generation of entrepreneurs in their mission to develop impactful and sustainable solutions.
4 March 2025 – Cairo
The first meeting of the Network-You project in Egypt - an initiative run in the framework of the MPF Programme, funded by the European Union through ICMPD - took place in Cairo at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Antonio Spera from Confcooperative Puglia and Daniela Palermo from CIHEAM Bari, lead partner and co-applicant respectively, introduced the three-year initiative focused on designing and developing a pilot programme for circular mobility between Italy and Egypt.
A total of 150 young Egyptians have been selected and will be trained as part of the project. Of these, 100 will embark on a training internship with companies in Puglia that are members of the Confcooperative Puglia network, already active in the Green Sector, the key focus of the initiative
The meeting was attended by a large interministerial delegation, including representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Solidarity and Welfare, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Higher Education and Universities, as well as CEEBA (the Confederation of Egyptian and European Business Associations), the operational partner in Egypt.
The initiative has sparked considerable interest, being both ambitious in its scope and groundbreaking in its approach. It seeks to outline an actionable plan that can be implemented in the short term, acting as a catalyst for development in both countries, with the potential to be upscaled and replicated sustainably, in future initiatives with Egypt and beyond.
Il progetto Green Economy and CO2.2 - GECO 2.2 finanziato dal programma Interreg Italia-Croazia, promuove un convegno divulgativo sul carbon farming come strumento per la rigenerazione agricola. L’evento, organizzato in collaborazione con il Comune di Erchie e l’Ordine dei Dottori Agronomi della Provincia di Brindisi, si terrà il 7 marzo, dalle 15:30 alle 20:00, presso l’Aula Consiliare (Ex Municipio) di Erchie (BR).
Il convegno riunirà esperti, istituzioni e professionisti del settore per discutere delle opportunità dei crediti di carbonio per l’agricoltura e delle più recenti novità normative europee.
Saluti Istituzionali
Interventi
Modera e conclude
L’evento rappresenta un’importante occasione per approfondire il potenziale del carbon farming e confrontarsi sul futuro dell’agricoltura sostenibile.
La partecipazione è gratuita, e gli iscritti all’Ordine dei Dottori Agronomi e Dottori Forestali riceveranno CFP per la partecipazione.
Maggiorni info sul progetto GECO 2.2: www.italy-croatia.eu/geco22
Martedì 4 marzo alle ore 11.30, nell’Aula Magna del CIHEAM Bari, si terrà la conferenza stampa di presentazione dell’ottava edizione di Agrilevante, l’Esposizione Internazionale di Macchine, Impianti e Tecnologie per le Filiere Agricole e la Zootecnia, in programma dal 9 al 12 ottobre 2025 alla Fiera del Levante di Bari.
All’evento interverranno Mariateresa Maschio e Simona Rapastella, rispettivamente presidente e direttore generale di FederUnacoma, federazione organizzatrice della rassegna, Biagio Di Terlizzi, direttore aggiunto del CIHEAM Bari, Gaetano Frulli, presidente della Nuova Fiera del Levante, Gianluca Nardone, direttore del Dipartimento Agricoltura, Sviluppo Rurale e Ambientale della Regione Puglia ed Elda Perlino, assessora al Clima, Transizione Ecologica e Ambiente della Città di Bari.
Sarà possibile seguire la diretta streaming in inglese, francese e italiano, collegandosi al link: www.agrilevante.eu
Nell’ambito del progetto europeo ROBOCOOP, un team di ricercatori del CIHEAM Bari sta conducendo un’indagine sul consumo di alimenti e bevande funzionali arricchite con ingredienti bioattivi ottenuti attraverso tecnologie sostenibili. Le bevande funzionali, oltre ai loro riconosciuti benefici nutrizionali, sono note per il loro impatto positivo sulla salute.
L’indagine mira a sviluppare un piano di marketing dedicato agli ingredienti bioattivi, con particolare attenzione al mercato della salute e del benessere. Inoltre, il progetto analizza le dinamiche sociali legate al consumo di queste bevande in Grecia, Italia e Spagna.
L’indagine è suddivisa in due sezioni principali:
Ogni sezione del sondaggio include tre aree di approfondimento:
I dati raccolti saranno utilizzati esclusivamente a fini statistici, garantendo l’anonimato dei partecipanti nel rispetto del Regolamento (UE) 2016/679 sulla protezione dei dati personali.
Il tuo contributo è essenziale per il successo di questa ricerca! Ti invitiamo a partecipare compilando il questionario ai link sopra indicati.
🔗 Per ulteriori informazioni, visita il sito ufficiale di ROBOCOOP: https://robocoop-project.eu/
