CIRAD was founded in 1984 from nine tropical research institutes, most dating back to the 1940s. The institutes were primarily non-profit-making organizations, each working to promote a specific production chain. They joined forces in 1958 to form a liaison committee specializing in the French overseas regions, before merging in 1970 to form the Groupement d'étude et de recherche pour le développement de l'agronomie tropicale, the direct predecessor to CIRAD. Original institutes:
Institut de recherches pour les huiles et oléagineux ;
Institut de recherches sur les fruits et agrumes ;
Institut de recherches sur le caoutchouc ;
Institut d'élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux ;
Centre technique forestier tropical ;
Institut de Recherches du Coton et des Textiles Exotiques ;
Institut de recherches agronomiques tropicales et des cultures vivrières ;
Centre d'études et d'expérimentation du machinisme agricole tropical.
Mandate
CIRAD's main task is to contribute to rural development in tropical and subtropical countries through research activities, experimentation, training and the dissemination of scientific and technical information. It works with more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and Europe. Its operations are conducted at its own centres and those belonging to national agricultural research systems in its partner countries. CIRAD makes its scientific and institutional expertise available to fuel public policy in those countries and the global debate on the main issues surrounding agriculture. It also supports French scientific diplomacy.
Human, material and financial resources
CIRAD has a staff of 1650. Its annual operating budget totals 200 million euros, two thirds of which is covered by the State research and technological development budget and the remainder by contractual resources.
Main CIRAD activities in Montpellier
Research in interaction with field projects. The Montpellier centre provides scientific methods, techniques and tools.
Services to researchers and farmers in warm regions.
Performance of Tropical Production and Processing Systems
Environment and Societies.
It is split into 33 research units: nine internal research units, 23 joint research units and a service unit. Since 2006, its publishing operations have been under the banner of Editions Quae, which is based at INRA.
