INSTITUT AGRONOMIQUE ET VETERINAIRE HASSAN II

Their core work

IAV Hassan II is Morocco's leading agricultural and veterinary university, combining research in crop science, livestock health, and water management with a strong focus on Mediterranean and African farming systems. In H2020, they contributed expertise in animal disease epidemiology (bluetongue virus), solar-powered irrigation for arid regions, and wastewater treatment for agricultural reuse. Their work bridges European research with North African agricultural challenges, making them a valued partner for projects requiring field validation in semi-arid and developing-country contexts.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IAV's early H2020 work (2016–2017) focused on veterinary science and water treatment — classic agricultural university domains like bluetongue epidemiology and wastewater management. By 2020, their portfolio shifted decisively toward renewable energy in agriculture (solar irrigation) and transdisciplinary sustainable development approaches. This evolution reflects a broadening from discipline-specific research toward integrated rural development challenges where agriculture, energy, and community resilience intersect.

IAV is moving toward integrated food-energy-water systems for developing regions, making them increasingly relevant for projects addressing climate adaptation in Mediterranean and African agriculture.

How they like to work

IAV consistently joins as a participant or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, which is typical for non-EU institutions participating through international cooperation mechanisms. They work in large consortia (90 unique partners across 4 projects), suggesting they are comfortable in multi-partner environments and valued for their regional expertise rather than project management. Their MSCA-RISE participation indicates active researcher mobility and knowledge exchange with European partners.

Despite only 4 projects, IAV has built a remarkably broad network of 90 partners across 36 countries, reflecting their role in large international consortia. Their geographic reach spans Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and Sub-Saharan Africa, positioning them as a bridge institution between EU research and the Global South.

What sets them apart

IAV is one of the few Moroccan higher education institutions active in H2020, offering direct access to North African agricultural environments for field testing and validation. Their combination of veterinary science, water management, and solar agriculture expertise is rare — most partners offer only one of these. For any consortium needing a credible research partner with real-world testing capacity in semi-arid, water-scarce conditions, IAV fills a gap that European institutions cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SolAqua
  Directly addresses the critical intersection of solar energy and irrigation for water-scarce regions — highly relevant to climate adaptation in African and Mediterranean agriculture.
• PALE-Blu
  Tackled bluetongue virus epidemiology across pathogen-livestock-environment interactions, a topic of growing importance as vector-borne diseases spread with climate change.
• HIGHLANDS.3
  Long-running project (2020–2025) using transdisciplinary methods for highland community development, signaling IAV's commitment to participatory and inclusive research approaches.