Cocoa Borlaug Fellows Program - ecuador
Project Dates: 2009
Eligible Countries: Ecuador
Funders: PL 480 Corporation
Implementer: World Cocoa Foundation and select research institutions
Overview:
The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program sponsored three scientists from Instituto Nacional Autónomo de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP), the national agricultural research institute of Ecuador, to complete 6 to 8-week fellowships in the United States. Fellows worked closely with their assigned mentors, learned new research techniques, accessed fully equipped libraries, and learned about public-private research partnerships. It is expected that the Fellows will apply the knowledge obtained through the program in their own research and teaching activities, and share it with colleagues at their home institution and throughout their country. The Fellows’ mentors will then have the opportunity to travel to the Fellows’ institution.
Program Objectives:
- To build the capacity of research institutes in cocoa-producing countries to conduct research that supports the modernization and competiveness of the cocoa sector
- To improve researchers’ understanding of the cocoa supply chain
- To strengthen networks between U.S. and producing country research institutes
Progress to Date: The three Fellows completed their fellowships in 2009 as follows:
- Raquel Guerrero: worked with Dr. Bryan Bailey at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service/Sustainable Perennial Crops Lab (USDA/ARS/SPCL) in Beltsville, Maryland. She focused on formulation research and early evaluation techniques regarding use of parasitic fungi in the genus Trichoderma as a biocontrol for fungal diseases such as frosty pod rot (caused by Moniliophthora roreri) and witches’ broom (caused by Moniliophthora perniciosa).
- Alexis Matute: also worked with Dr. Bailey in Beltsville, Maryland. His work focused on developing techniques for farmers to improve productivity and reduce incidence of disease through plant nutrition.
- James Quiroz: worked with Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service/Subtropical Horticulture Research Station in Miami, Florida. He learned to use microsatellite markers to identify potentially mislabeled trees within the collections at Pichilingue.