PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Life in Angers
Angers, the first of France's major cities where it is good to live and study, is a commune of more than 150,000 inhabitants located in western France, on the banks of the Maine river. It is distinguished by its specialization in the area of plants: Vegepolys is the first European horticultural competitiveness cluster, the city also hosts the headquarters of the EU's Plant Variety Office.
Its universities, museums and cultural activity also make it an important cultural centre, including the 13th century castle of the Dukes of Anjou, which houses the Apocalypse hanging, the largest collection of medieval tapestries known to date.
Whether from the standpoint of industrial production, higher education or academic research, Angers is an essential site for working in the plant sector and more specifically on seeds.
Indeed, the Angevin ecosystem has unique characteristics that bring together a group of key partners around seed issues.
In terms of higher education, the University of Angers (UA), Agrocampus Ouest (ACO) and the Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture (ESA) offer specific "Master and Engineer" type training courses and specifically on seeds.
This pool of students is a considerable asset for academic research conducted at ESA, the Institute for Research on Aromatic and Perfumed Medicinal Plants (ITEIPMAI) and the Institute for Research in Horticulture and Seeds (IRHS), which bring together researchers from INRA, the University of Angers and Agrocampus Ouest.
The Angers area is also home to major international companies such as Vilmorin-Mikado, HM-Clause and Limagrain Europe for Groupe Limagrain, Bejo, Enza Zaden, Terrena, Technisem, Graine Voltz, as well as key national plant institutions such as the Fédération Nationale des Agriculteurs producteurs de Semences (FNAMS), the Variety and Seed Control Study Group (GEVES) with the National Seed Evaluation Station (SNES), the National Food Safety Agency (ANSES), the National Interprofessional Seed Group (GNIS) but also European institutions such as the Plant Variety Protection Agency (OCVV). Finally, these three components are articulated around the competitiveness cluster, Végépolys, and the RFI Objectif Végétal plant promotion program.