Olivier Therond: An INRAE Laureate in SLAM-B

Each year, the Lauriers INRAE awards recognise the work and expertise of its scientists at an official ceremony.

Olivier Therond was at the Elysée Montmartre on 28 November to receive the INRAE Lauriers ‘Innovation for Research’ award from Sylvie Retailleau, Minister for Research and Higher Education, and Marc Fesneau, Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty. This agronomist with a passion for integrated modelling is the creator of the MAELIA platform, an innovative tool that helps local players understand agricultural areas from a bio-ecological and bio-economic perspective.

Each year, the Lauriers INRAE awards recognise the work and expertise of its scientists at an official ceremony.

Olivier Therond was at the Elysée Montmartre on 28 November to receive the INRAE Lauriers ‘Innovation for Research’ award from Sylvie Retailleau, Minister for Research and Higher Education, and Marc Fesneau, Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty. This agronomist with a passion for integrated modelling is the creator of the MAELIA platform, an innovative tool that helps local players understand agricultural areas from a bio-ecological and bio-economic perspective.

MAELIA, which is the subject of major future developments in FairCarboN SLAM-B PC No. 2, is the first Open Source platform in France and internationally to simulate the dynamics of agricultural production and biomass processing in an area, incorporating so many different parameters. ‘This platform does not have too many equivalents in France or even internationally in terms of its integrating aspect’. (Olivier Therond).  Before MAELIA, there were tools that dealt with a single issue at a time, such as nitrogen in the soil, plant protection products, water, biomass and yields. MAELIA deals with these multiple aspects and allows cross-reflection on the different issues affecting agriculture and biomass production in the regions.

It is a real decision-making tool for local, regional and national players in agriculture and the bioeconomy. Olivier Therond has this to say on the subject: ‘I used to work for a local authority where we were thinking about opening up natural agricultural areas. And I felt the need to go further, to gain a better understanding of how these areas function, so as to be able to equip and provide knowledge to the players involved so that they can make the right decisions in their particular situations’.

Olivier Therond is also involved in the creation of the MAELAB start-up, which is responsible for exploiting MAELIA's potential.