French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE)

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) is a public research establishment under the dual authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Research.

It is a major player in research and innovation created on 1st of January 2020. INRAE is a research institute resulting from the merger of INRA and IRSTEA. It is a community of 12,000 people with more than 200 research units and 42 experimental units located throughout France.

The institute is among the world leaders in agricultural and food sciences, in plant and animal sciences, and is 11th in the world in ecology and environment. INRAE’s main goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. In the face of the increase in population, climate change, scarcity of resources and decline in biodiversity, the institute develops solutions for multiperformance agriculture, high quality food and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems.

Vision & missions

Humankind and the planet are facing global changes that will create new challenges for research to address: limiting the effects of and adapting to climate change; increasing food security and nutrition security; transitioning to new agricultural systems; preserving natural resources; restoring biodiversity; and anticipating and managing risks. It will also be important to consider more regional issues like living conditions, farmers’salaries, the economic competitiveness of companies, land use, and universal access to healthy and varied diets. As the world’s top institute for research on agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE has a responsibility to address these concerns. It will use research, innovation, and support for public policies as tools to permanently transform how we grow food, produce food, and interact with the environment. The institute aims to carry out science dedicated to life, humans, and the Earth that uncovers solutions to our greatest challenges.

Thanks to its diverse research teams, INRAE produces ready-to-use research, via a process in which basic science and applied science go hand in hand and discipline-specific perspectives are paired with interdisciplinary approaches. In this work, INRAE can rely on a network of research infrastructures and experimental research units that has no equal in Europe. The institute firmly believes that science should be open and participatory. As part of France’s dynamic network of research institutes and establishments of higher education, INRAE contributes to local policies and French thematic research alliances. Thanks to its international partnerships, the institute collaborates with the best research teams in Europe and the world.

For the common good, INRAE applies a code of ethical practices rooted in responsibility, impartiality, integrity, dignity, and probity in its all of its scientific work and management practices.

The institute is ready to partner with and provide support to any stakeholders who are facing challenging transitions towards more sustainable agricultural systems, food systems, aquatic systems, forestry systems, or regional systems. INRAE is actively pursuing new types of knowledge and proposing novel solutions. These words are more than a goal. They are a promise.