At the invitation of Eric Andrieu, European Deputy for the South‐West constituency of France and Vice‐chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, Agropolis International has been asked to organize a conference debate “Rural employment and agricultural models: Issues and experiences shared from Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and Africa” (followed by a cocktail) at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The aim of this event is to share views with members of the European Parliament, staff of the European Commission, experts and other officials based in Brussels, on how various agricultural models impact differently the creation and economic and social sustainability of rural jobs, both directly and indirectly linked to farming activities. This discussion will build on learnings from experts in the domain, and will help to draw recommendations.

This event is being organized by Agropolis, at the request of Eric Andrieu, as this platform gathers in Montpellier more than 2,700 researchers and teachers focussing their activities on agricultural issues relevant to the South, especially in the Mediterranean and in sub‐Saharan Africa.

Programme

18.30: INTRODUCTION BY

• Eric Andrieu, European Deputy for the South‐West constituency of France, Vice‐Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament
• Gianni Pitella, President of S&D group in the European Parliament (tbc)
• Czelaw Adam Siekierski, President of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (tbc)

18.45 ‐ 19.15: PART 1
Agricultural references framework and exchanges about their coexisting modalities

• Petra Berkhout, Wageningen University & Research (The Netherlands)
• Fati N’zi‐Hassane, Chief of Staff of Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki, NEPAD Executive Secretary and Head of the Human Capital Development Programme of NEPAD (South Africa)

19.15 ‐ 20.00: PART 2 ‐ POSTERS SESSION
Introduction and presentation of the posters
Free exchange between the posters’ authors and the participants

20.00 ‐ 20.25: PART 3
Issues of research and partnership: what are the priorities for integrating research on agricultural and environmental questions between European, Mediterranean and African collaborating teams?

• Mohammed Sadiki, General Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Sea Fishing, Rural Development and Forestry (Morocco)
• Bernard Hubert, President, Agropolis International (Montpellier, France)

20.25 ‐ 20.45: FREE EXCHANGE
Questions from participants

20.45 ‐ 20.50: CONCLUSION BY ERIC ANDRIEU

20.50: COCKTAIL