At anniversary celebration: French organisation, CIRAD, counts achievements in 40 years of existence in Central Africa.

This was during the organisation’s 40th anniversary celebration organised on the premises of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, IRAD, in Yaounde.

The anniversary celebration which took the guise of a roundtable was chaired by the Secretary General at the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovations, Prof Ebelle Etame Rebecca, who represented her boss, Minister Dr Madeleine Tchuinte.

The gathering was attended by the French Ambassador to Cameroon, His Excellency Thierry Marchand and the Director General of IRAD, Dr Noé Woin.

The Regional Director of CIRAD for Central Africa, Dr Thierry Leroy, who spoke during the ceremony, said in 40 years, the targeted, contextualised and participatory research carried out by CIRAD and its many partners in developing countries has helped to build more sustainable and resilient farming and food systems, improved animal and plant health, while preserving biodiversity.

The Frenchman said CIRAD has trained thousands of young people and strengthening the links between science and decision-making.

He said in Central Africa, several projects of CIRAD focus on issues linked to the forests, agroforestry, zero deforestation, the environment and sustainable development.

Speaking further, Leroy said his organisation has also carried out projects on landscape management, food security, cocoa and coffee agroforestry, agroecology, climate change in the dry zone of North Cameroon and agroecological productivity in cotton systems in Cameroon, Chad, Benin amongst others.

“We have built partnerships with institutions like IRAD. We have also engaged in capacity building between our organisation and partners,” he said adding that: “We have also been working with universities like those of Yaounde, Ngaoundere…and also with international networks like CIFOR-ICRAF…”. 

He said partnerships of CIRAD with Central African countries have been carried out in Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Sao Tome and Principe.

Founded by decree on June 5, 1984, CIRAD, is a merger of nine technical institutes for agricultural research institutes.

The organisation is France's agricultural research and international cooperation organisation for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions.

With its partners, CIRAD co-constructs knowledge and solutions for resilient agriculture in a more sustainable and inclusive world. It mobilises science, innovation and training in order to achieve sustainable development goals.

It puts its expertise at the service of everyone, from producers to public policy-makers, to promote the protection of biodiversity, agro-ecological transitions, the sustainability of food systems, the health, the sustainable development of rural areas and their resilience to climate change.

With a presence on every continent in some fifty countries, CIRAD draws on the skills of its 1,800 employees, including 1,140 scientists, and on a global network of 200 partners.

CIRAD's expertise covers the fields of production and productivity in a context of agro-ecological transition, crop protection, genetic improvement, food and non-food processing, sustainable supply, adapting supply chains to adaptation to climate change, multi-criteria performance evaluation, development of markets and standards that promote sustainable production and social responsibility and academic and technical training for industry players.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3234 of Thursday September 19, 2024