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Bioversity
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To reinforce its role in guiding research priorities, ensuring better linkages between growers and scientists, as well as facilitating the dissemination and uptake of results and knowledge, the ProMusa Steering Committee has created a seat for each of the banana regional R&D networks, representing stakeholders from banana-producing regions: BAPNET in Asia and the Pacific, BARNESA in eastern and southern Africa and MUSALAC in Latin America and the Caribbean. The MUSACO network for West and Central Africa is being restructured as an innovation platform on plantains managed by WECARD and CARBAP, with technical backstopping from Bioversity International, IITA, CIRAD and FAO.
Until such time as the networks settle on a mechanism to choose who will represent them on the ProMusa Steering Committee, the regional network coordinators will assume this role. The Steering Committee further includes the chairs and vice-chairs of the ISHS banana section and of the three working groups, all of whom are elected by ProMusa members. The only non-elected member is the ProMusa coordinator.
Main roles and responsibilities of the Steering Committee are providing direction and oversight to the programme, identifying funding opportunities for global research priorities, and encouraging discussions and interactions between members. The Steering Committee is also solicited to give input to the development of ProMusa web resources, including the InfoMus@ newsletter.
In keeping with this expansion of the Steering Committee, InfoMus@ will provide access to the newsletters produced by the regional networks as they become available, starting with the BAPNET Bulletin.
For more information, contact Inge Van den Bergh.