Theresa Miller
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environment Sciences

An agreement begun in 1987 was recently extended between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) based in Paris.

The event, attended by Chancellor Richard Herman, Dean of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Robert Easter, Executive Director of International Relations Jesse Delia, and INRA Director Bernard Charpentier, brought together researchers from ACES and INRA as part of a three-day conference to discuss possibilities for extensions of research to honor the agreement.

The three-year agreements are signed during a ceremony held in either Paris or Urbana following a three-day conference. The 2006 conference focused on “Multi-Functionality: Implications for Markets, Trade and Environment.” Fifteen French researchers joined more than 15 ACES faculty members for roundtable discussions designed to generate agricultural research projects between the two institutions. ACES Professor of Agriculture Economics John Braden serves as the liaison for the agreement, and coordinated the conference with Professor Randy Westgren. Dr. Schuyler Korban, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES), Dr. Harris Lewin, Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), and Dr. Larry Schook, IGB, have all been instrumental in the ongoing success of the University’s relationship with INRA.

ACES and INRA share a rich history of collaborative research. In addition to agricultural and environmental policy, research has also been undertaken in areas such as animal science and natural resources crop sciences.

INRA is the major research institute of the French government for agronomic research focusing on environmental protection, the sustainable management of agriculture and rural areas, and food safety. Jointly supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Higher Education Research and Technology, INRA is composed of science directors in departments ranging from animals and animal products to forestry to nutrition.