Tackling rural poverty, together

Banana and plantain in Africa:

Harnessing international partnerships to increase research impact

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in partnership with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Bioversity International, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), is organizing an Africa-based conference that will focus on banana and plantain research across Africa : lessons learnt and the way forward. Fostering international partnerships is a major objective of the conference, with particular emphasis on establishing the role of research in promoting future commercial activities and trade in banana, plantain and enset. There is an urgent need to target basic and applied research that connects to existing and emerging markets. This unique conference will be the first pan-African meeting to link research to markets in an African context. Key priorities of the conference are:

• Develop an African strategy for the next decade to exploit banana and plantain research
• Strengthen research partnerships to overcome production bottlenecks
• Harmonize research with production trends, emerging markets and trade networks

For more information visit  www.banana2008.com