Cocoa Borlaug Fellows Program - Southeast Asia
Project Dates: 2007-2012
Eligible Countries: Indonesia and the Philippines
Funders: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service and World Cocoa Foundation
Implementer: World Cocoa Foundation and select research institutions
Overview:
The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program is sponsoring six scientists to complete a 6 to 8-week fellowship in the United States. Fellows will work closely with their assigned mentor, learn new research techniques, access fully equipped libraries, and learn 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 institutions and throughout their countries. The Fellows’ mentors then have the opportunity to travel to the Fellows’ institutions.
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 sectorTo improve researchers’ understanding of the cocoa supply chain
- To strengthen networks between U.S. and producing country research institutes
Progress to Date:
Two of the Fellows from Southeast Asian countries have completed their fellowships and two have been selected as follows:
- Nilda Butardo, University of Southern Mindanao (Philippines): will work with Dr. Dapeng Zhang at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland in late 2010. She will work on identifying mislabeling and assessing the genetic diversity of the cocoa collection at the university and verify the genotype diversity of elite clones.
- Rhodina Cena, University of Southern Mindanao (Philippines): developed skills that can be applied to mass rearing cocoa pod borer with mentor Dr. Jim Carpenter at the USDA/ARS Crop Protection and Management Research Unit Laboratory in Tifton, Georgia from March 23 to May 15, 2009.
- Muhammad Junaid, Hasanuddin University (Indonesia): studied the molecular identification of Oncobasidium theobromae, the causal agent of vascular streak dieback disease, as well as potential biocontrols. He completed his fellowship at the USDA/ARS Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Lab in Beltsville, Maryland with mentor Dr. Gary Samuels from March 27 to May 20, 2009.
- Leonila Tolentino, University of Southern Mindanao (Philippines): will work with Dr. Yuncong Li at the University of Florida to learn to conduct and interpret the results of soil analysis tests in order to further her work to develop organic compost for cocoa. She will complete her fellowship in 2011.