Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD)

The Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement is the name of the French agricultural research centre for international development better known as CIRAD. It is an industrial and commercial public organisation working for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions under the joint authority of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs1 .

History

CIRAD was created in 1984 following the merger of nine institutes specializing in tropical agricultural research. These institutes, most of which were founded in the 1940s, were generally non-profit associations, each specializing in a tropical production chain, such as cotton, oil crops, food crops and rubber.2 .

In 1958, a liaison committee for agricultural research organizations working overseas was created. In 1970, the Groupement d’étude et de recherche pour le développement de l’agronomie tropicale (GERDAT), which subsequently gave rise to CIRAD, was set up. The original nine departments have since been restructured into the current three scientific departments.

The institute at the origin of CIRAD's work on fruits was the Institut des fruits et agrumes coloniaux (IFAC), created in 1942. It was renamed the Institut français de recherches fruitières outre-mer and replaced in 1975 by the Institut de recherches sur les fruits et agrumes.

Research on bananas

A number of research units work on bananas and plantains:

• Banana, Plantain and Pineapple Cropping Systems
• Biology and Genetics of Plant-Pathogen Interactions
• Genetic Improvement and Adaptation of Mediterranean and Tropical Plants
• Integrated Approach to Food Quality
• Markets, Organisations, Institutions and Stakeholders Strategies
• Plant Resistance to Parasites
• Tropical and Mediterranean Cropping System Functioning and Management

References

External links

See also on this website