The consortium partners bring together extensive calendar and complementary expertise in agroforestry encompassing economic, governance, agricultural, and environmental dimensions.
Founded in 1868, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is one of Europe’s top universities committed to excellence in interdisciplinary research, inclusive teaching and active promotion of young scientists. The university also forges strong links with companies and scientific institutions across the world. TUM is organized in 14 departments that provide an excellent environment for research and for the education of 49,000 students. TUM is represented in this project through the Chair Group of Agricultural Production and Resource Economics (PuR-TUM). The Chair specializes in microeconomic analysis at the level of farm-business assessment, with core competencies in production theory, economics and management, innovation and technology, natural resources and ecosystems, climate change and food security. The PuR group combines qualitative and quantitative research methods and promotes interdisciplinary approaches and research alliances both within Germany and internationally to measure trade-offs and synergies between sustainability and economic productivity at multiple levels of analysis.
The Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) is a public consortium created in 1996 with the mission of contributing to the modernization and competitiveness of the forest sector, promoting economic and social development of rural areas, bioeconomy along value-chains, CC mitigation, sustainable management of the environment, and integration the valorization of natural resources, through excellence in research and transfer of knowledge and technology to society. CTFC's vision is to become a center of reference in the Mediterranean and Southern European context. CTFC hosts a network of forest and agroforestry restoration trials, with 50+ demo sites. Part of the larger Bioeconomy and Governance programme at the CTFC, the Group of Socio-Economy and Governance of Rural Systems focuses on policy analysis, multi-actor approaches, and the integration of knowledge for sustainable rural development.
The National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests (INRGREF) is a Tunisian public research institute established in 1996 to contribute to the development of the national research policy in the areas of Water, Forests, and Rural Engineering, placed under the guardianship of the Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education (IRESA). It covers research in rural, water, and forest engineering: research topics include water use for crop irrigation, soil salinity problems, wastewater, agricultural machinery, water and soil conservation, reforestation, production, conservation, exploitation, and management of forests and pastures.
The University of Messina (UniME) was founded in 1548. Located at the center of the Mediterranean, it has always been a place of interaction between diverse cultures. In the most recent national evaluation of research quality, UniME was ranked as one of the best in Sicily. Internationalization programs are at the center of the UniME development policy. The Unit of Plant Production and Agricultural Economics of the Department of Veterinary Sciences applies research in the agri-food chains to enhance the production, quality, and socio-economic aspects of agricultural and livestock supply chain processes and systems. The unit provides expertise on sustainable and resilient cropping systems in the Mediterranean (Southern Italy), designing field experiments employing principles of agroecology and on ecosystem services valuation and mapping.
Cairo University (CU) is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Africa. Established in 1908, it is currently among the highest-ranked universities in the world. CU has established an educational program for forestry management to support local and international students in acquiring skills to sustainably manage forestry and agroforestry systems. CU operates two farms spanning 400 acres, one situated in the delta and the other in desert areas, designed to train undergraduate and postgraduate students in various Egyptian farming systems under diverse environmental conditions. The departement of Agricultural Economics at CU specializes in production efficiency analysis and agricultural value chain. It has been an active participant in several EU projects focused on the water-ecosystem-food nexus and has been a partner with numerous institutions of higher learning in Africa, Europe, and beyond.
