PRETORIA – The University of Pretoria (UP) has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE).

The agreement consolidates a long-standing partnership focused on sustainable agriculture, food systems and environmental research, and formalises a shared vision of deepening collaborative research and innovation.

UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Francis Petersen emphasised the strategic value of the partnership, saying, “It is a great privilege to take this step towards consolidating our relationship with two institutions that are deeply committed to innovation and sustainability. Together, we will uncover resilient solutions that ensure the well-being of future generations.”

He also noted: “The problems of our time are too complex to be tackled individually. Through this collaboration, we pool expertise, foster learning, and co-create impactful, tangible results.”

Prof Petersen also highlighted UP’s role in Africa-focused partnerships: “As a founding member of the TSARA initiative, whose mandate is ‘Transforming Food Systems and Agriculture through Partnership with Africa’, and involved, through the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, in the very worthy work of the FAMA project – which seeks to tackle the triple burden of malnutrition and a depleted human gut microbiota by looking at alternative food systems centring on traditional African foods – UP is proud to serve as a convening space for African and global collaboration.”

CIRAD’s Regional Director, Jean-Marc Bouvet, described the partnership as a “shining example” of how collective scientific action can meet global challenges. “This collaboration is rooted in some of the most critical issues of our time – climate change, biodiversity and population evolution. Since its creation in 1984, CIRAD’s mission has been to make science and research a driver of development, particularly in tropical regions and for the least developed countries. This mission is one we proudly share with many of you in South Africa, especially the University of Pretoria.”

INRAE CEO Philippe Mauguin expressed his enthusiasm for a shared future. “I am very proud to sign today the new agreement with you. It reflects the strength of our partnership,” he said. He added that the collaboration “provides a consolidated framework to further new shared ambitions, whether in a three-party format, through bilateral cooperation, or through the TSARA initiative. It is also part of a more global ecosystem through [UP’s pan-African platform for collaborative research] Future Africa. The University of Pretoria plays a leading role in advancing science for impact across the whole continent.”

The event was also attended by French embassy representatives and South African science stakeholders, including members of the National Research Foundation (NRF). Discussions reflected the strategic alignment between the institutions in areas such as food safety, One Health (a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and communications related to the health of people, animals and ecosystems), microbiota research and water systems management.

Prof Barend Erasmus, Dean of UP’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, noted the strength of the existing partnership. “Even though we're signing this agreement as a tripartite agreement, and also as a bilateral between France and South Africa, this is already a very significant nucleus of international research cooperation. Just with CIRAD, if we count all the papers from our top 100 authors, we co-author with 89 other countries. And with INRAE, we co-author with 145 other countries.”

Looking ahead, the partnership will support new student and staff exchanges, collaborative research projects, and joint responses to global research calls. Future areas of focus include doctoral training networks, food system transformation, agroecology, and innovation for planetary health.

As Prof Petersen concluded, “The MoU for me is just a technical sign-off in terms of what we want to achieve going forward, but in that regard I also want to say thank you to the researchers, the scientists, the technical people, who do the work to ensure that we solidify the next stage of our collaboration.”