The Executive Director and Market Statistics Officer of the International Coconut Community (ICC) visited the offices of CIRAD in Montpellier, France, for a meeting with CIRAD leaders and researchers. The meeting took place on September 13, 2024, in the CIRAD meeting room.
Dr. Philippe Petithuguenin, Director of Research and Strategy at CIRAD, welcomed the ICC delegation, providing an overview of CIRAD’s role, mission, and ongoing activities. He emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration between CIRAD and the ICC, particularly noting CIRAD’s readiness to facilitate a quarantine center for coconut germplasm exchange. This initiative is expected to stimulate the process of germplasm exchange among International and national coconut gene banks.
Dr. Jelfina C. Alouw, ICC Executive Director, expressed her gratitude for CIRAD’s warm reception and enthusiasm for collaboration. She was particularly pleased with CIRAD’s willingness to support the quarantine center for coconut germplasm exchange, announcing her intent to propose this idea at the upcoming ICC Session and Ministerial Meeting in Sri Lanka later this year. Dr. Alouw also extended an invitation to CIRAD to attend the Session and Ministerial meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Dr. Andrea Garavito provided a detailed explanation of CIRAD’s programs and activities, reminding ICC of the need to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organizations, which had recently expired. Dr. Alouw agreed to proceed with the renewal. Additionally, Dr. Frederick Gay elaborated on CIRAD’s ABSys activities, while Dr. Gilles Trouche provided insights into the programs and initiatives of the AGAP Institute. The CIRAD researchers updated ICC on recent and coconut-related projects including missions to Lethal Yellowing affected countries Ghana, Mozambique, a Coconut audit in Dominican Republic, the production of Biochar from Nam Hom-by-products, and exploratory missions on Bogia diseases and coconut pests in Papua New Guinea.
The visit concluded with a guided tour of CIRAD’s premises, including laboratories, and a modern and automated germplasm conservation system, led by Dr. Andrea Garavito. This visit reaffirmed the shared commitment between ICC and CIRAD to further enhance our collaboration in coconut research and development.
