An Observatory was set up at the request of the CIHEAM member countries’ Ministers of Agriculture in 2002. Since then it has been steadily built up to provide the Centre with an instrument for analysing agriculture, food and rural development in the Mediterranean Region.

CIHEAM’s Mediterranean Observatory is dedicated to research and aid in decision making, being used to compile analyses and disseminate strategic information on the agricultural and rural situation in the Mediterranean Basin.

The Observatory serves to facilitate the work of a dynamic network based on CIHEAM’s four Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes and a number of partner institutions present or active in the region. It sets out to share the analysis of agricultural and rural dynamics in the Mediterranean Region by publicising the work and research done by these institutions.

On 2 December 2006, at the time of the 6^th meeting of the CIHEAM member countries’ Ministers of Agriculture, the role assigned to the Observatory was spelled out and reaffirmed in the following terms “In order to strengthen and enhance CIHEAM’s role as a special instrument for cooperation in the development of Mediterranean agriculture and rural areas, Ministers have asked CIHEAM to facilitate the networking of rural development players in order to ensure pooling of knowledge and, to that end, make its Observatory a major knowledge base and forum for discussion on the development of the region”.

In 2007: the reorganisation of the Mediterranean Observatory

In March 2007, the CIHEAM Mediterranean Observatory was brought up to date and reorganised into several sections. It is now a strategic rubric of the CIHEAM's Website.