Under the title BO Cluster International - Cooperation and International Agreements, the Ministry of LNV and Wageningen University & Research Centre have drawn up a long term agreement (negotiated every year) to engage in international research and capacity building in 4 thematic fields: markets, trade and sustainable rural development; conservation and use of biodiversity; water for food and ecosystems; and knowledge and learning systems in Africa, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe.

 

The target groups of research and capacity building are policy makers at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Netherlands; policy makers at other Ministries in the Netherlands; policy makers in target countries in the South and Eastern Europe; policy makers and participants in global governance and multilateral initiatives and organisations; Research and education institutions; private agribusiness sector; development and extension organisations; rural households in target regions.

 

In 2007 in total 57 projects address issues in these 4 thematic fields with a budget of € 7.000.000. Only biodiversity-related projects, both multilateral and bilateral activities, are included in PROFORIS (26 projects).

Products: policy briefs, policy workshops, policy recommendations, popular and scientific reports, training, institutional capacity building, stakeholder consultations, technical reports, debates, technical innovations, product chain configurations, web-based knowledge brokering, (interactive) databases.

Implementing institutions of Wageningen University and Research Centre: Alterra, Agrotechnology and Foodsciences Group, Animal Sciences Group, CIDC, LEI, PPO, Plant Research International, RIKILT, Wageningen International (WI), ICRA in collaboration with partners in target regions.