Research highlights

ANNUAL REPORT2015

04Research highlights

Annual Report2015

CONTENTS

Food security & global transitions

Agriculture and forestry: integrating economic viability, social responsibility & environmental stewardship

Mitigating the effects of global warming & helping agriculture & forestry respond to climate change

Making effective use of biomass, biomaterials & alternative energy sources

Creating healthy and sustainable food systems

Developing predictive approaches

Agroecology

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

FOREWORDBy Olivier Le Gall, Deputy Director General for Scientific Affairs

Health: an environmental issue

Genomes and wine

Hosts and pathogens: who is manipulating whom?

INRA and public policy

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MetaprogrammeM

(i.e., published in Cell, Current Biology, Nature or an affiliate, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Biology, PNAS, and Science)

High-impact publication

06Research highlights

Annual Report2015

INRA 2015Inra 2015

KEY FIGURES

8165 permanent staff, of whom 50.8% are women

1815permanent researchers

2616 interns& 522 PhD students on stipends

250 research units including 48 experimental units

13 scientific divisions& 8 metaprogrammes

4081 publications, including 814 available via open access

114 publications selected, of which 63 are included in the research highlights

Ranked n1 in Europe and n 2 in the world in the agricultural sciences

17research centres

354 patents owned, including 55 new patents

14 new plant varieties 33 new software programs & registered databases

Budget of 881.57 million

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INRA metaprogrammes

ACCAFAdaptation of agriculture and forests to climate change

DIDITDiet impacts and determinants: interactions and transitions

ECOSERVEcosystem services

GISAIntegrated management of animal health

GLOFOODSTransitions to global food security (in partnership with CIRAD)

MEMMeta-omics and microbial ecosystems

SELGENGenomic selection

SMACHSustainable management of plant health

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Research highlights

By Olivier Le Gall,Deputy Director General for Scientific Affairs

FOREWORDOur strategies, our priorities, and our research

In 2015, INRA researchers co-authored more than 4,000 peer-reviewed publications with colleagues from over 130 countries. It was therefore an extremely hard task to choose which research should be highlighted here. We did not choose the best research, which is a subjective assessment anyway, but rather the research that best reflects INRAs strategic priorities, which aim to generate high-quality research with an impact that is also socially responsible and collaborative.

High quality because the production of quality research is a strong motivator for the institute and its researchers.With an impact because INRA is a public institution that serves society by studying agricultural systems and food-related issues. At the start of this new millennium, we are facing a period of transition that is unprecedented in its intensity, speed, and complexity: there are ever emerging challenges related to demography, nutrition, biomass use, and climate change, just to name a few.

Collaborative because science is not a solitary pursuit. Tackling these challenges requires multiscale, multidisciplinary research whose quality will be enhanced by the contributions of a multitude of collaborators.Socially responsible because INRA research addresses issues that affect our daily lives as well as our futurethe institute conducts science for society.

Within these pages, you will learn about INRA research related to biomaterials, candy, climate imbalance, fried foods, the relationship between health and nutrition, rose perfume, public policy, and pollination

I hope that you will relish reading the following chapters as much as we relished writing them.

08Research highlights

Annual Report2015

INRA 2015

Food security &

global transitions

The Universal Exposition held in Milan in 2015 was organized around the theme Feed the planet. Energy for life. This issue is at the core of INRAs work and has inspired the institute to tackle research topics of key importance - including crop yield, livestock systems, trade,

and development - at both the national and international level.

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CONTENTS

Trade and development: a summary of current challenges and recent research

Increased temperatures have decreased overall wheat yields

Strategies for mixed crop-livestock systems that increase small-scale producer resilience

Only 2% of wild bee species play a significant role in crop pollination

Legume crop yields vary across the different regions of the world

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010Research highlights

Annual Report2015

011Research highlights

Annual Report2015

INRA 2015

1.

Food security & global transitions

Trade and development: a summary of current challenges and recent research

INRA economics researchers have been studying the relationship between international trade and development. Using collections of original data and new statistical techniques developed in-house, they examined the connections among tariff liberalization, non-tariff measures, aid for trade, and the international insertion of developing countries. The results show that when developed countries reduce customs duties on products from emerging and developing countries, it favours the latters international insertion. The range of products that experience tariff reductions could be a strategic tool in trade negotiations. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for local regulations when predicting the impact of regional trade agreements. Furthermore, the researchers found that non-tariff measures such as health regulations increase food prices in Africa and that this price hike has the greatest impact on the poorest households. However, this effect can be mitigated by standardizing requirements via trade agreements. Ultimately, the impact of export support programmes in developing countries seems to be extremely limited. It remains difficult to explain why certain exports from emerging and developing countries are successful, and it is a struggle to come up with general rules that can be used to enhance export success. There is evidence, though, that export success is related to the comparative advantages of different countries. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/wber/lht039http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/roie.12198

MetaprogrammesGloFoods / ACCAFM

Increased temperatures have decreased overall wheat yields Models of crop yields are an essential tool for evaluating the threats that climate change poses to local and global food production. The models currently used to predict future wheat grain yields as a function of temperature remain relatively unreliable. INRA scientists compared thirty models of wheat yield developed by the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) and examined the results obtained for mean growing-season temperatures ranging from 15C to 32C. Several models were found to provide less accurate results at higher temperatures. In general, the results indicate that global warming has already resulted in diminished yields in major wheat-growing regions. It is predicted that global production will fall by 6% for each 1C increase in temperature and will become more variable over space and time. Asseng S. et al., Nature Climate Change. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2470

MetaprogrammeGloFoodsM

High-impact publication

Legume crop yields vary across the different regions of the worldDespite their agricultural benefits, legumes are grown far less frequently in Europe than in North America. INRA researchers have found that legume yield varies more in Europe than in North America, results that have made it possible to identify the legume species best suited to Europe and the regions in which they can be grown successfully. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep11171

MetaprogrammeGloFoodsM

Strategies for mixed crop-livestock systems that increase small-scale producer resilienceSmall-scale producers that use mixed crop-livestock systems produce around 50% of the worlds food. Ironically, they also represent 50% of the worlds undernourished. Using surveys and models, researchers at INRA, CGIAR, and CSIRO (the Brisbane centre) identified innovative strategies for carrying out mixed crop-livestock farming, with a view to increasing the resilience of smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa. These strategies have been implemented by participatory innovation platforms, which bring together stakeholders from many different sectors. This work has been placed in a multiscale analytical framework, and high-impact complementary studies are being carried out throughout the world and within Sub-Saharan Africa. Frelat R. et al., PNAS. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2015.12.017http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2015.12.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518384112http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-031113-093503

MetaprogrammesACCAF / GloFoods

High-impact publication

Only 2% of wild bee species play a significant role in crop pollinationPollination by wild and domesticated bees is a major ecosystem service provided to agricultural systems worldwide. However, 80% of pollination is carried out by 2% of wild bee species, namely the most common species; indeed, their contribution is equal to that of d