Regional Platform for Agricultural Research for Development in the Indian Ocean - PRéRAD-OI

Issues

The Indian Ocean region is exposed to numerous constraints that are exacerbated by insularity, with a strong impact on the agricultural sector, especially in terms of jobs and activities.
The challenges for the region are considerable. These include strengthening food sovereignty in the countries concerned and ensuring food security at the regional level, as well as promoting an economy based on the complementarity of agricultural sectors and geographical proximity. With regard to health, a paradigm shift is needed and the existing networks must be strengthened (One Health and PRPV), a process already launched during past and ongoing crises. The goal is to pursue the protection, preservation and conservation of biodiversity and agro-biodiversity, by enhancing them in the context of an acknowledged, sustainable tropical bioeconomy.

Description

PreRAD-OI brings together all of the stakeholders and experts involved in agricultural science in the Indian Ocean region, who work on a daily basis to meet the food, health and environmental challenges facing the region.
Through the five thematic networks it accompanies (Germination, ARChE_Net, PRPV, One Health, QualiREG), PreRAD-OI provides practical solutions that it will share and disseminate throughout the economic world.
PreRAD-OI is divided into two phases:

• Phase 1 of the project, with the objective of structuring the PreRAD-OI platform and deploying it through operational governance, as well as setting up five national working groups for the definition of a common vision of the platform and to encourage the emergence and expression of needs.
• A very operational phase 2, with the goal of deploying specific, crosscutting actions for the benefit of the PreRAD-OI community, which will support and supplement the thematic networks and their research projects and encourage the emergence of new networks and projects.

Expected changes

•  The partners of the platform will play an active role in the actions the platform supports or facilitates and will benefit from them in terms of scaling  and upgrading their expertise and their research and innovation capacities.
• The platform will facilitate outreach, dissemination and effective ownership of concepts, ideas and solutions by the public and private stakeholders who contribute to the economic development of the territories concerned.
• The regional strategies and programmes, supported by the platform in the context of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), and local operators, will be developed according to a structured, integrated and participatory approach. This approach will capitalise on and enhance the knowledge, know-how and tools developed, and foster synergies to progress more rapidly in the resolution of problems.
• A dedicated, singular and inclusive communication will be developed. It will thus facilitate the exchange and sharing of information and experience through dedicated digital tools (a website, www. prerad-oi.org) and social networks.
• Decision support tools will be implemented, such as the Observatory of Agriculture in the Indian Ocean (OA-OI).

Expected impacts

Regional agricultural cooperation will be based on a structured, integrated and participatory approach facilitating “Research-Innovation-Training” interactions. This will increase the visibility and the contribution of national and regional agricultural research to the sustainable development of the region and to local capacity building.