Field of expertise:

The Chamber of Agriculture was created by law in each “département” (administrative division of a region) and Region (6 départements in Centre Region) in France. It is a public institution which represents the farming interests in the region. It is independent from the national government.
The Chamber of Agriculture (CRA) has 4 main roles :
- an advisory role : the CRA expresses the farming interests in various commissions and official bodies, responds to requests for information and opinion coming from public authorities, submits propositions on agricultural policy.
- an expertise role : it is based on an observation and innovation capacity that is developed within the network of other Chambers of Agriculture in order to get an exhaustive knowledge of farming systems. This expertise role enables the CRA to evaluate the effects of the agricultural policy and to direct its evolution.
- an intervention role: the engineers and technicians of the CRA provide assistance, advice, training, animation and information services to the agricultural public.
- a role in local development : the CRA has a direct contact with people on the land and therefore maintains a privileged place in local economic development.
It initiates, coordinates and implements local action programmes in partnership with the State and the territorial authorities.
The Centre Regional Chamber of Agriculture is composed of 54 elected members who constitute the plenary Assembly (“assemblée plénière”). The Assembly represents different actors in the field of agriculture: farm managers, retired farmers, landowners, salaried employees in agriculture, professional organisations, and unions with a general vocation.
The "Chambre d'agriculture" network in the region is composed with about 250 engineers, specialized in the fields of agronomical sciences, technology, economic, environment, GIS…

Role in the project:
CRA will contribute to the identification and mapping of the best biomass resources by participating in the quantification of Biomass Potential. At the same time, CRA will support CENTIV in the identification of synergic effects in biomass production.
Besides, CRA will contribute in the determination of main aspects to be considered for the implementation of sustainable biomass production procedures.
Referring to dissemination and spread of knowledge, USRIEP will uptake the responsibility of developing publishable articles related to Biomass concerning issues.