Founded in 1962, the CIHEAM has been devoted to the sustainable development of agriculture and fisheries, food and nutrition security and rural and coastal areas in the Mediterranean
Established in 1962, the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) is a Mediterranean intergovernmental organisation composed of 13 Member States (Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey).
It operates through its 4 Institutes based in Bari (Italy), Chania (Greece), Montpellier (France) and Zaragoza (Spain) and the Headquarters based in Paris.
As a key player in multilateral cooperation in the fields of sustainable agriculture and fisheries, food systems, coastal and rural development, its missions revolve around four main objectives:
Protection of the planet by combating all forms of waste: waste of natural resources, food waste and waste of knowledge and know-how;
Food and nutrition security by boosting sustainable agriculture and food systems;
Inclusive development by investing in new generations and fragile territories;
Prevention of crises by managing tensions and working for the resilience of communities.
Learn more about the CAPMED 2025, CIHEAM's Strategic Agenda
The CIHEAM strives to achieve these objectives through education and capacity building, networked research, cooperation and technical assistance and political dialogue.
Cooperation is essential for CIHEAM, which collaborates with more than 50 countries, several regional and intergovernmental organisations, and more than 600 universities and research centres.
Our structure
The President of the Governing Board and the Secretary-General of the CIHEAM
Professor Mohammed Sadiki, currently Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Forests of the Kingdom of Morocco, has been elected President of the CIHEAM Governing Board during the 141st Governing Board meeting of the Organisation (December 2018).
On the occasion of the 142nd Governing Board meeting of the CIHEAM held in Paris, Mr Plácido Plaza was elected unanimously as the new Secretary General. The candidate of the Spanish Authorities entered into office on 1 March 2019, for a first mandate of four years, after completing an interim period.
Read more about these elections here
The Governing Board
Consisting of one representative from each of the 13 Member States, the Governing Board is the managing and decision-making body.
Representatives of the OECD and the Council of Europe sit ex officio on the Board in an advisory capacity.
The President is elected by a 2/3 majority for a period of 4 years. He is assisted by Vice-Presidents elected for the same period through the same voting procedure
PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNING BOARD
Pr Mohammed SADIKI (Morocco)
GOVERNING BOARD VICE PRESIDENTS
Mr Farid HAROUADI (Vice President, Algeria)
Ms Valérie BADUEL (Vice President, France)
Mr Teodoro MIANO (Vice President, Italy)
Mr AVGOULAS Christos (Grèce)
DELEGATES
Mr Irfan TARELLI (Albania)
Mr Justin ZAHRA (Malta)
Mr Mohamed SOLIMAN (Egypt)
Mrs Wafaa AL-DIKAH HAMZE (Lebanon)
Mr Nuno FIGUEIRA BOAVIDA CANADA (Portugal)
Mrs María José Hernández Mendoza (Spain)
Mr Mahmoud Elies HAMZA (Tunisia)
Mr Nihat PAKDIL (Turkey)
Mr Bilal Hajjouji (Morocco)
The Advisory Board
It consists of a number of eminent figures appointed for a period of 4 years by the Governing Board. They are "chosen, in particular, from among members of establishments for higher education in agriculture and of agricultural research institutes" (article 5.1 of the 1962 Agreement). It gives its advice on issues submitted by the Governing Board.
Advisory Board members elected during the 141st Governing Board meeting of the Organisation (December 2018) :
- President of the Advisory Board: Mr PAPADOPOULOS Apostolos (Harokopio University of Athens, Greece)
- Ms SINFORT Carole (Montpellier SupAgro, France)
- Ms GHAOUTI Lamiae (Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Morocco)
- Mr MALORGIO Giulio (Universita di Bologna, Italy)
- Mr GARCIA AZCARATE Tomas (Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography, Spain)
- Mr ABDEL-HAMID Maher Abdel-Mohsen (Cairo University, Faculty of Agriculture, Soil Science Department, Egypt)
- Mr SENSOY Suat (Yuzuncu Yil University, Turkey)
The Headquarters
Based in Paris, the Headquarters coordinate, facilitate and implement the actions conducted by the different bodies of the CIHEAM.
The Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes
The 4 Institutes CIHEAM-Bari, CIHEAM-Chania, CIHEAM-Montpellier, and CIHEAM-Zaragoza conduct most of the CIHEAM's educational, research and cooperation activities.
