The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB) is part of CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Studies on Mediterranean Agriculture). This is a Centre for post-graduate training, applied scientific research and a promoter of regional and in-situ partnership activities.

It works in four thematic areas:

• Land and water resources management
• Integrated pest management of Mediterranean fruit tree crops
• Mediterranean organic farming
• Sustainable agriculture and rural development

At present, the focus on sustainable livelihoods is in two main activities.

The Sustainable Agriculture course, organised every year, trains operators that can promote agriculture and rural development processes based on people centred approaches and natural resource conservation. There is a focus on innovators, local groups, and institutions as part of the social structures, which influence the livelihood choices, and on the adoption of the conservative and regenerative technologies and practices, whose output will have an impact on the available capitals, both positive and negative. Participants, through field activities in the home countries,  learn how to use tools for participatory socio-economic research to analyse rural livelihoods, with emphasis to the worse off categories.

Via Ceglie, 9,  70010 VALENZANO (Bari) ,  ITALY