ECART - EEIG - European Consortium for Agricultural Research in the Tropics

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IAO

The Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare (IAO) is a branch of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs dealing with agricultural research, training, and technical co-operation with Developing Countries (DCs). IAO was established in 1904 as a private institution, in 1938 it became a Government body. In 1953 the Institute passed under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . IAO is specifically mentioned by the Italian law in force on Co-operation for Development as being in charge of consultancy services on behalf of the Directorate General for Development Co-operation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this framework IAO has the mandate to provide technical support and consultancy aimed at identifying, formulating and executing proposals for agricultural and rural development in DCs.

Organisation

Mandate
At present the mandate of IAO covers the development of sustainable agriculture through:

identification, formulation and implementation of development projects,
training,
consultancy,
applied research,
documentation and publication services.

The major users are Italian and International Institutions (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Universities, Research Institutes, local administrations, European Union, FAO, etc.), private sector, students and simply anyone dedicated to the tropical world.

Area of Activities

IAO' s main areas of activities are:

Consultancy and Technical Assistance	The projects and programmes managed by IAO are financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by the EU and by the system of the UN Agencies. IAO's thematic areas of expertise are: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Geo-spatial Information technologies Natural and Resources Management and Fight against Poverty Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Bio-safety.
Training	IAO is involved in training since the time of its foundation and, until recently, it has been the only Italian institution to supply specific training on tropical and sub-tropical agriculture. The proposition has evolved from courses aimed at supplying a general knowledge of tropical and sub-tropical agriculture to courses on specific themes. Thematic Courses are held for collaborating institutions' staff in the framework of the projects implemented by IAO, and upon request of different users working in DCs. The training is held by experts of the Institute and by other experts. The Institute has the possibility of awarding scholarships to DCs students wishing to attend the courses. Some examples of courses held at IAO: the professional master Course on "Geomatics and Natural Resources Evaluation": the course run since 1974, and it is opened to technicians from developing countries and Italy. IAO/UNCCD GEF Training Course; course on Food Security for Mediterranean Countries.
Agricultural Research for Development	Since 1997 IAO has been endowed with the task of assisting MAE/DGCS decision making on the CGIAR activities supported by Italy. In this framework the IAO also represents Italy in the EIARD, it is the Italian national node of the Infosys plus project and it is the facilitator of the Italian National Forum on Agricultural Research for Development. IAO also represents Italy in the European Forum. Moreover IAO strictly collaborate with the Florence University and with other international universities and Research Centers (IPGRI, ICGEB, CAAS, etc..).
Communication and Information	IAO owns a dynamic web-site structured as an information portal, providing data and links. IAO has a library exists since 1908 and is the most important library in Italy to specialise in scientific and technical documentation on tropical agriculture and economics. IAO also has: a Photographic Archives (more than 67,718 photographs, ranging from the 1920s to 1980s) a Documentation Centre, a Tropical Garden and a Botanical Collection (they content 200 botanical species), a Tropical Agrarian Museum, and an Entomological Collection (with more than 5,520 examples of tropical and subtropical insects)

Staff

The permanent staff of IAO is 34. As far as project-related activities are concerned, IAO relies also on external expertise and temporary administrative support for project activities (about 32), using also its data base with 500 entries of highly qualified consultants.
The IAO provides research fellowships to young researchers who are included in IAO teams.

Infrastructure

The IAO is equipped with:

laboratories (soil and water, remote sensing, biotechnology, seed analysis)
climatic cells
conservatories and garden
tropical agriculture library, documentation centre, photographic archive
scientific collections (botanical and enthomologic)
tropical agricultural museum
publications section
a modern building for didactic purposes, with schoolrooms and guesthouse.

Geographic Focus

The majority of projects, programmes and activities of IAO are focused on the geographical priorities for cooperation of the Italian DGCS/MAE.
At present on-going projects are in the following countries:

Middle East (Palestinian Authorities, Syria)
North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Libya)
Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia
SADC Countries (Angola)
Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal)
China
India
Central America and the Caribbean
Ecuador