On July 18th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (MAPDR) of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR Ghana) of Ghana and the Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr (IMVF) from Portugal signed a pioneering memorandum towards the development of on the coconut sector São Tomé and Príncipe. This memorandum is the result of a long extensive process of dialogue and cooperation that has been taking place between our institutions, thanks to the opportunities created within the framework of the Project to Support São Tomé and Príncipe’s agricultural export crops (PAFAE).
The tripartite cooperation involving these three entities – MAPDR, CSIR, Ghana and IMVF – will make a clear contribution to promoting innovation and greater efficiency in structuring the coconut value chain, promoting youth employment and, consequently, wealth for the country in the agricultural sector.
This collaboration will materialize in the areas of joint research on innovation, technologies for laboratory analysis and agricultural practices focused on productivity, mainly in the coconut sector; exchange of researchers, experts and farmers for mutual learning and capacity building; plant material exchange initiatives, namely the introduction in São Tomé of new varieties of dwarf coconut for the production of coconut water, which is imperative to meet the growing demand from tourists and nationals; organization of seminars, workshops, conferences and training programmes; among many other activities.
Following the signing of the Memorandum, a team of three Ghanaian technicians will stay in São Tomé for two weeks to work together with CIAT and PAFAE. The actions to be carried out are: carrying out CIAT’s laboratory diagnosis with a focus on repairing and calibrating equipment, fieldwork to identify local coconut varieties, with the aim of studying the introduction of new, early-bearing varieties, and training for CADR technicians on the coconut value chain.
The Memorandum was signed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of São Tomé and Príncipe, Abel Bom Jesus, the Director of CIAT, Gaspar da Graça, the Director General of the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Ghana, Paul Bosu and the Director of the Industrial Research Institute, Francis Boateng Ageynin and the Executive Directors of IMVF, Carolina Quina and Ahmed Zaky in the presence of technicians from CIAT, the Ministry of Agriculture, the technical team from CSIR, Ghana and PAFAE, and representatives of the coconut associations and cooperatives.
The PAFAE Project is funded by the European Union, co-financed by Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I.P. and implemented by IMVF in partnership with the São Tomé and Príncipe Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries.