International academic partnership to build Africa’s resilient future announced

Building Africa’s resilient agricultural future – UK/Morocco partnership announced.

An international academic partnership has  been announced by Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), in Morocco, and two of the UK’s leading agricultural research institutions, Rothamsted Research and Cranfield University.

The partnership will be supported by OCP Group, which is one of the largest exporters of phosphate fertilisers in the world. The announcement comes on the back of growing relations between the UK and Morocco to strengthen collaboration in education, research and innovation fields.

Up to 20 Early Career Researchers in the agricultural sector will be supported both in Morocco and in the UK through the partnership.

• Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) is a hub of education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship, aspiring to become a solid bridge of knowledge between Morocco, Africa and the world.
• With over 175 years of heritage behind it, Rothamsted Research is a world-leading, non-profit research centre that focuses on strategic agricultural science to the benefit of farmers and society worldwide.
• Cranfield University was awarded its fifth Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2017 in recognition of its global impact with large-scale soil and environmental data for the sustainable use of natural resources. Cranfield University registered its first Moroccan agricultural student in 1966.

The initial phase of the partnership will focus on the delivery of seven agricultural research projects and the creation of a Centre for Doctoral Training, supporting the development of the next generation of Moroccan scientists and engineers.

During the signature ceremony, Hicham El Habti, Secretary General of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, said:

“OCP, through its R&D programme and in close co-operation with the Mohamed Vi Polytechnic University, is developing fertilizers that are specific to the needs of African soils and crops, as well as locally-appropriate service models for African farmers to have reliable, affordable access to these inputs and related products. This vital partnership with Rothamsted and Cranfield University will support the acceleration of this strategy to help African farmers become not only more productive, but also more prosperous.”

Professor Leon A. Terry, Director of Environment and Agrifood at Cranfield University, said:

“This partnership brings together the very best in UK plant and soil science with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, an institution with the very highest of entrepreneurial and scientific ambitions for Morocco and wider Africa. As a university that prides itself on our international outlook, we are delighted to be bringing Cranfield’s globally-recognised expertise to support the development of African agricultural research.”

Professor Achim Doberman, Director and Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research said:

“The development of sustainable agriculture across Morocco, and Africa as a whole, is vital to the continent’s food security and economic growth. The challenges are immense, but by nurturing the talent and enthusiasm of young scientists, I am confident that there can be bright future both for Africa’s famers and its environment. By combining the cutting-edge expertise of Rothamsted and Cranfield, with the drive and vison of UM6P, we can play a major role in delivering this and we are excited about contributing our unique expertise.”

The seven research projects that the partnership will conduct are:

• Exploitation of beneficial root-associated bacteria in grain cereal-based cropping systems
• New soil and plant diagnostics tools for better fertilizer recommendations
• Technical and practical innovations to reduce soil and water losses by improving soil physical properties
• Developing innovative remote sensing/automated crop phenotyping methods for African agriculture
• Bioproducts for African Agriculture
• Dynamic Landscapes
• Novel fertilizer formulations and management for African agriculture

About Mohammed VI Polytechnic University

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is a hub of education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship, aspiring to become a solid bridge of knowledge between Morocco, Africa and the world.

Located in the “Mohammed VI Green City” in Benguerir, near Marrakech, UM6P applies a “learning by doing” approach and develops sound partnerships with world-wide class universities, to promote leadership and training in focused research areas.

By contributing to the training of a new generation of Moroccan and African researchers, entrepreneurs and leaders, UM6P is committed to positioning Morocco as a country at the forefront of technology and human Sciences.

About Cranfield University: A specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management.

For the past 50 years, Cranfield has been contributing to enhancing natural capital and ensuring that global food systems are more resilient for the future. We are recognised worldwide by industry, government and academe for our research and teaching in plants, soil, water and air. We believe that environmental problems can be alleviated through technological innovation and risk management.

Cranfield is a key partner in two of the four UK Government-sponsored Agri-tech Centres – Agri-Epi (Agricultural Engineering Precision Innovation Centre) and CHaP (Crop Health and Protection), with over £10 million invested in new infrastructure since 2017.

Our education, research and consultancy is enhanced by our world-class facilities including the National Reference Centre for Soils, which houses the largest collection of its kind in Europe and is recognised as the UK’s definitive source of national soils information, and our big data visualisation suite, which has tools to analyse big data collections including environmental resources from 280 countries/territories worldwide.

In 2017, Cranfield was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for research and education in large-scale soil and environmental data for the sustainable use of natural resources in the UK and worldwide, the first time in the Prize’s history that an award has been given for soil science.

About Rothamsted Research: The longest-running agricultural research institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud history of ground-breaking discoveries, from crop treatment to crop protection, from statistical interpretation to soils management. Our founders, in 1843, were the pioneers of modern agriculture, and we are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative influence on fresh thinking and farming practices.

Through independent science and innovation, we make significant contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and internationally. In terms of the institute’s economic contribution, the cumulative impact of our work in the UK was calculated to exceed £3000 million a year in 20151. Our strength lies in our systems approach, which combines science and strategic research, interdisciplinary teams and partnerships.

Rothamsted is also home to three unique resources. These National Capabilities are open to researchers from all over the world: The Long-Term Experiments, Rothamsted Insect Survey and the North Wyke Farm Platform.

We are strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and international funding streams, and from industry. We are also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT).