AgroParisTech strengthens its partnerships in Africa

To support and develop its cooperation on the African continent, AgroParisTech has obtained AC171 funding from the European Commission via the Erasmus+ program of more than €500,000. This project, submitted in February and obtained during the summer of 2025, will fund student and staff mobility for the period 2025-2028 as part of several partnerships, including a new dual degree agreement symbolically celebrated in June during the visit of Prof. Mohamed Yessef, Deputy Director of Cooperation at IAV Hassan II, to the Agro Paris-Saclay campus. This project also involves UM6P in Morocco, INAT in Tunisia, KNUST in Ghana, and INP-HB in Ivory Coast. This success demonstrates AgroParisTech’s strategic commitment to the European higher education and research area and confirms its desire to strengthen international exchanges. The institution thus intends to consolidate or build academic relationships on a balanced partnership basis, in particular through the establishment of dual degrees, in order to meet the expectations of the community without contributing to a “brain drain.”

This new agreement revives a long-standing collaboration between AgroParisTech and IAV Hassan II, notably through the previous dual degree program, which enabled between 2 and 12 students per year to enroll in the GTESD master’s program during the term of the agreement. This continuity is part of the 2022-2026 Objectives and Performance Contract (COP), which defines the African continent as a priority for the school. The signing of this agreement mobilized the management teams of both institutions, notably Marine Godaux, Director of International and European Relations, and Aliénor Jeanne, International Relations Project Manager for AgroParisTech.

This cooperation focuses on issues that are crucial for Mediterranean Africa: water and soil management. IAV students who have completed their second year in “Agronomy” will be able to take the M2 “From Agronomy to Agroecology” (AAE), while those enrolled in “Rural Engineering” will have access to the M2 “Climate, Land Use and Ecosystem Services” (CLUES) or “Soil Management and Ecosystem Services” (GSSE). Upon completing their studies, they will receive the National Engineering Degree from IAV Hassan II and the Master’s Degree in Science and Technology from Paris-Saclay University. This approach addresses the major environmental challenges facing the region and leverages AgroParisTech’s expertise in these strategic areas. The programs offered incorporate the latest innovations in agroecology and sustainable natural resource management.