Agro-Food News published: BAFN Newsletter 2
By Ms. Elke DALL on Mar 08, 2007
Status: Public
The Balkan Agro Food Network (BAFN) published its second newsletter. You can subscribe and unsubscribe to it contacting europroject@bafn.eu.
The main topics are:
- BAFN news: BAFN database, mapping exercise, foresight
- European News: project example, recent EU reports, news on the enlargement process
- EU Funding: opportunities in FP7, see-era.net, regpot call for WBC, inco-net call
- WBC Opportunities: EU-Balkan-FABNet
- Useful information: agrifoodresearch.net, see-science.eu
BAFN news
BAFN database contains already 1.000 registrations
Around 500 research units and more than 550 companies from the agri-food sector have been identified in Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. The registration on bafn.eu opened in September 2006. Six months later, already 1.000 answers have been received. There is a strong interest from researchers with more than 600 profiles already collected. These results are very encouraging. Those who registered are informed regularly on the opportunities offered by the EU.
Read more
www.bafn.eu
BAFN mapping exercise: state of play
A report describing the research landscape in agri-food research in the Western Balkan Countries is under preparation. The report will describe the research activities (which research topics are covered by the research organisations from the WBC) as well as the research capacities (number of researchers, research infrastructures etc.). The report will use the results of a survey: the research groups registered in bafn.eu are asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about their activities. To-date, around 150 answers have been collected. Research groups and researchers are invited to complete their questionnaire before the end of March 2007.
Read more
www.bafn.eu/mapping
BAFN foresight exercise: state of play
Reports presenting a general overview of agri-food research in Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia are under preparation. The reports will identify the main strenghts and weaknesses of the agri-food research systems. These reports will be used as a basis for an expert consultation organised in March- April 2007. It will be followed by workshops organised in each country before the summer 2007.
Read more
www.bafn.eu/foresight
European news
Example of projects financed by the EU
Between 2002 and 2006, organisations from the WBC participated in 14 research projects financed under the thematic priority “Food Quality and safety”. One project will be presented in each issue of BAFN newsletter.
The STREP project SAFIR (Rational use of water for quality and safe crop products) aims at developing irrigation management and water saving technology. The overall objective is to produce high quality and safe vegetable crops using low quality water resources. The project started in October 2005 and will end in 2009. One of the 17 partners is the department of agrochemistry and plant physiology from the university of Belgrade (faculty of agriculture). The contact person is Radmila Stikic.
Read more
www.safir4eu.org/SAFIR.asp
Recent reports: Research cooperation and knowledge transfer
Significant cultural barriers, legal differences and difficulties in finding partners are some of the main factors hampering transnational research collaboration in Europe. Transnational cooperation, which is not part of a long-term, structural alliance, is therefore relatively unattractive for both the public and the private sector due to the added complexities, which such collaboration brings with it. This is one of the conclusions in the draft report on the online public consultation on transnational research cooperation and knowledge transfer.
Read more
http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/pdf/download_en/consult_report.pdf
Enlargement process: Latest news around WBC
EU-Western Balkans Forum: The regular meeting at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs took place on February 12th in General Affairs Council in Brussels. The EU Council President Frank-Walter described the relations between the EU and WBC as positively developing. The reflection of that meeting was on strengthening cooperation in economic and security affairs in regional dimension.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: The European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso congratulated Bosnia and Herzegovina for the formation of the new government. They also assure the new Chairman of the country's Council of Ministers Nikola � pirić that they will work closely to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in its European integration.
Serbia: “A new reform-oriented and pro-European government in Serbia can make a new start and get back on the road to Europe, and regain lost time”, said European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on February 12th at discussion meeting among the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) and that was one of principal conclusions.
Read more
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/press_corner/newsletter/index_en.htm
EU funding
FP7 Cooperation programme: Opportunities for WBC researchers
The call FP7-KBBE-2007-1 allocates 192 million euros for research in the agricultural, food and biotechnology sector. Around 80 projects will be financed in 2007. Organisations from the WBC can participate in any of these projects but there are 2 specific topics for which the EU expect participation of WBC partners: the topic KBBE-2007-1-4-05 (enlargement network) and the topic KBBE-2007-1-4-10 (sharka virus). One project is specifically targeted at WBC country: the topic KBBE-2007-2-1-02 entitled “Developing research tools for food consumer science in the Western balkan Countries”. The deadline for proposal submission is the 02.05.2007.
Read more
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CooperationDetailsCallPage&call_id=16
SEE-ERA.NET Pilot Joint Call
The EU project Southeast European ERA. network (SEE-ERA.NET) has launched a call for proposals. The call is taregted at 3 sectors: agri-food (sustainable production and management of biological resources from land, forest and aquatic environments), ICT and environment. Three types of projects will be financed: research projects, network projects and summer schools. The deadline for submitting the application is the 31.03.2007.
Read more
www.see-era.net/pjc/calltext.html
FP7 Capacities programme: Special calls for the WBC
The call FP7-REGPOT-2007-3 allocates 8 million euros to strenghten the capacities of research organisations from Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM, Montenegro and Serbia. Each project should involve 3 organisations: one from a New Member State (convergence region), one from a Member State and one from a Western Balkan Country. The projects should include activities such as networking, strenghtening of scientific relationships, exchange of know-how. The recruitment of researchers and the acquisition of equipments will also be financed. Each project will receive around 1.2 million euros for a 3-year period. Around 6 projects will be financed. The deadline for submitting the application is the 24.04.2007.
Read more
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CapacitiesDetailsCallPage&call_id=31
FP7 call for INCO-Net
The call FP7-INCO-2007-1 allocates 17 million euros to settle cooperation platforms between the EU and six different groups of countries (Western Balkan Countries, Mediterranean countries, Latin America, Asia, East Europe and Africa). One project will be financed to coordinate activities between the EU and the WBC. One of the objectives will be to identify research needs and capacities in the WBC. The call indicates that the Steering Platform on Research for the Western Balkan Countries (see-science.eu) established by the Austrian organisation ZSI should play a central role in the future project. The deadline is the 02.05.2007.
Read more
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CapacitiesDetailsCallPage&call_id=13
WBC opportunities
EU-Balkan-FABNet project
The project EU-Balkan-FABNet (EU-Western Balkan network for training and promotion of cooperation in research activities with in the FAB theme of FP7) started on the 1st of January 2007 and will run for two years, ending in December 2008. This project is taregted at the agri-food sector in the WBC. It will in particular offer the opportunity to scientists from the WBC to receive free training on FP7. More information will be given in the next newsletter.
Read more
www.balkan-fabnet.eu
Useful information
Agrifoodresearch.net
AgriFoodResearch.net provides a selection of information on the european research programmes in the area of food, agriculture and biotechnology. It contains:
- A directory of researchers in the New Member States and in the Candidate Countries.
- A library of FP6 projects
- Information on 15 ERA-Net relevant to the sector.
- The announcements of meetings, conferences or workshops as well as latest news on the FP7.
- A database of FP7 calls for proposals.
Read more
www.agrifoodresearch.net
see-science.eu
See-science.eu provides a selection of useful information for scientists from the Western Balkan Countries. It is not specific to the agri-food sector but it contains an exhaustive review of information relevant to scientific activities in the Western Balkans. The site contains in particular a selection of news on European research programme, a document database as well as directories of persons and organisations. We recommend to subscribe to the e-journal that is published every 3-month. The current issue focuses on the agri-food sector.
Read more
www.see-science.eu
Source: BAFN Mailing