>>>CIHEAM was founded in May 1962. The objective was to train those with posts of responsibility in the food and agriculture sector to ensure the rapid and harmonious development needed to maintain the stability of the region.

>>> Thirteen member countries, on the way to enlargement
CIHEAM has expanded. Member countries now number thirteen and several other states have asked to join. The economic and political landscape of the Mediterranean region, whose population will soon be twice what it was in 1962, has undergone radical transformation. Progress in science has been gathering pace and yet the insight that lay behind the creation of CIHEAM has lost none of its pertinence.

>>> CIHEAM, a Mediterranean focus
CIHEAM’s ambition is threefold:

• to propagate a common scientific culture for the food and agriculture sector;
  
  
• to work in cooperative networks with national agricultural education and research institutions;
  
  
• to provide a Mediterranean forum where governments can discuss prospects for food and agriculture.

CIHEAM seeks to be an instrument for Mediterranean cooperation, a pivotal centre and support base for initiatives linking Europe and the Mediterranean. Through its analyses, it endeavours to hold up a mirror to the modern Mediterranean region and proclaim its specific identity.