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CIRAD CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN CAMEROON:  A STRONGER COMMITMENT TO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

CIRAD celebrated its 40th anniversary on 17 September 2024 with a round table discussion at IRAD, attended by a large delegation from MINRESI.

On 17 September 2024, IRAD’s ‘Salle des actes’ hosted the ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of the International Cooperation Centre for Agronomic Research and Development (CIRAD) in Cameroon. Under the theme: “Shared research to grow the world of tomorrow in Central Africa”, this celebration brought together eminent personalities. The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, was represented by the Secretary General of MINRESI, Prof Rebecca EBELLE ETAME. It was also attended by the French Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E.  Thierry MARCHAND, the Director General of IRAD, Dr Noé WOIN, and the CIRAD Regional Director for Central Africa, Dr Thierry LEROY.

The ceremony was divided into four phases. The first entailed speeches, with five speeches highlighting CIRAD’s history and activities in Cameroon. In her closing speech, Prof EBELLE ETAME Rebecca Madeleine praised the collaboration between CIRAD and the State of Cameroon, and expressed the Government’s desire to “further engage with this exceptional partner in the training and capacity-building of young researchers, with a view to promoting the emergence of a new generation of local experts capable of addressing and advancing issues crucial to our country’s development”.

The second phase was the round table discussion. It brought together five experts who explored key themes, namely: “Evolution in Cocoa Research and Cooperation”, “40 years of partnership: impact, challenges and prospects”, “Presentation of the agroforestry partnership research scheme”, “Presentation of the R2FAC partnership research scheme” and “Innovations brought by ONE HEALTH”. The interactive session, which formed the third phase, enabled participants to exchange ideas and make their own contributions to the discussion.

The celebration ended in a convivial atmosphere with a cocktail offered by CIRAD to its guests, after a family photograph was taken.  The celebration reinforced CIRAD’s commitment to research and sustainable development in Central Africa.It also highlighted the historic partnership between CIRAD and IRAD.

©Translation Unit/MINRESI

MINRESI PARTICIPATES IN THE 68TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE IAEA GENERAL CONFERENCE

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, addressed the 68th Ordinary Session of the IAEA General Conference, held in Vienna, Austria.

As Head of Delegation, the Minister of Scientific Research and innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE was actively involved at the 68th Ordinary Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference, which kicked off on Monday 16 September 2024 in Vienna, Austria.

On Tuesday 17 September 2024, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE addressed the IAEA General Assembly on behalf of Cameroon, which was warmly welcomed by the participants.
She congratulated IAEA Director General and his team for “enhancing nuclear safety and security in the world thereby helping to prevent nuclear accidents, particularly in conflict zones”.
Likewise, she pointed out that Cameroon welcomed initiatives undertaken by IAEA to meet the needs of Member States in the face of global challenges by applying nuclear techniques. She went on to highlight technical cooperation with Cameroon.The Minister stated that:”Cameroon strongly commends efforts to prioritise the emergence agenda and actions aimed at enhancing food and agricultural production sustainability and resilience as well as related means of livelihood in Member States“.

The following officials were part of the delegation led by MINRESI:Mr Victor NDOCKI, Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Mission of Cameroon to the IAEA; Mr Augustin SIMO, Director General of ANRP; Mr Patrice ELE ABIAMA, National Coordinator of the AFRA Programme; Mr Colince NGUELO, Representative of MINADER, Mr Francis Emmanuel NGOME AJEBESONE, Deputy Director General of IRAD.

©Translation Unit/MINRESI

PHC BANTOU EXPLAINED TO FOCAL POINTS OF INSTITUTES UNDER MINRESI’S SUPERVISION

On 29 August 2024, a meeting was held in the MINRESI conference room to explain the modus operandi of the Bantu Hubert-Curien Partnership. This meeting was convened by the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, and chaired by the Technical Advisor No. 2, Pr Eddy NGONKEU. The meeting aimed at raising awareness in institutes under MINRESI’s supervision, in response to the poor turnout during the first edition held in 2024. Therefore, focal points were appointed in the 8 institutes under the supervision of MINRESI. They are responsible for informing their colleagues about the PHC and encouraging them to attend the next edition in 2025 in their numbers.

One of the highlights of the meeting was a presentation by the Attaché  for Scientific and University Cooperation at the French Embassy in Cameroon, Professor Stephanie Mailles VIARD. She detailed the presentation on the modus operandi as well as the objectives of the PHC Bantou. Her presentation then led to a discussion with the focal points, who were given the opportunity to obtain as much information as possible about PHC Bantou. 

It should be noted that PHC is a French bilateral scientific mobility programme implemented and funded by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR). The programme seeks to promote excellent scientific and technological cooperation between Cameroon and French laboratories, thereby fostering new forms of cooperation involving junior researchers.

©Translation Unit/MINRESI

THE MINISTER OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND INNOVATION GRANTS AN AUDIENCE TO THE ITALIAN AMBASSADOR IN CAMEROON

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr. Madeleine TCHUINTE granted an audience to the Italian Ambassador in Cameroon, Fillipo SCAMMACCA DEL MURGO, on Wednesday, 28 August 2024. The diplomat came with an invitation from the Minister of Higher Education and Research, of the Republic of Italy, regarding Cameroon’s participation in the G7 Conference on Research and Training with African countries, which will be held in October.

This audience was equally the opportunity to review scientific cooperation between Cameroon and Italy. The Minister encouraged the mobility of researchers between the two countries through study visits and joint projects. The aim of this mobility is to enable Cameroon benefit from Italian expertise and creativity in various fields, including biotechnology, genetics and the processing of local materials such as marble for tile manufacture. This transfer of skills and experience promotes the development of scientific entrepreneurship, which is at the heart of MINRESI’s concerns under the motto ‘One researcher, one company’.

The Italian diplomat on his part praised the dynamism of Cameroonian researchers, highlighting that his country’s industrial structure, based on small and medium-sized enterprises, is well suited to set collaborations and equal partnerships with research structures based in Cameroon. Moreover, he expressed his country’s commitment to support Cameroon and other African countries in the production of medicines based on local resources. He also expressed Italy’s interest in agricultural research and research into zoonoses such as Mpox. The audience closed with a friendly exchange of courtesies.

© Translation Unit/MINRESI

MINRESI ENDORSES GRANTS AWARDED BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT TO 25 RESEARCHERS

Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE meets the 25 researchers who were awarded grants by the French Government during the Cameroon Science Week in France on 5 August 2024 at MINRESI’s conference room.

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, chaired an important meeting on Monday 5 August 2024with the 25 researchers who received the mobility grants awarded by the French Government . In attendancewasMINRESI’s Secretary General, Pr EBELLE ETAME Rebecca Madeleine, the representative of the French Embassy, Madame Amel AHMED-BOUBOUDA, Directors General of Institutes under MINRESI’s technical supervision and Directors of the Ministry’s central administration.

Grant winnersendorsed by their hierarchy

This meeting was an occasion to commemorate the cooperation between Cameroon and France. During the Cameroon Science Week in France, led by the Minister, from 3 to 7 April 2023, 25 mobility grants were awarded by the French government to Cameroon researchers. Thanks to these grants the recipients were able to have access to prestigious French university laboratories, enabling them to complete their doctoral theses.

Following the launch of the call for applications, grantwinnerswere selected based oncriteria taking into account both the relevance of the research topics and gender approach. Based on the latter, 14 women and 11 men from 8 research institutes under MINRESI’s supervision were selected. By the end of the mobilityperiod, some had defended their doctoral theses and several were in the process of finalising them. Given all the facilities they had benefited from, the grant winners’spokespersons expressed their gratitude and appreciation to the Minister for her unwaveringinvolvement and commitment, which made it possible not only to award grants but also tocomplete the process.They also commended the generosity of France and the collaborative spirit of the French researchers, who had added value to their work.

An occasion to commemoratethe scientific cooperation between France and Cameroon

In her speech, the Minister set out the purpose of the meeting. The 25 recipients were gathered, after they returned, to be honoured for their efforts and the added value of their work. She expressed her satisfaction with the seriousness with which the recipients had conducted their work during their stay in France. Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE acknowledged the longstanding ties between Cameroon and France, extolled the cooperation between the two countries and expressed her sincere gratitude to the French Government, and to the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research in particular.

The representative of the French party, speaking on behalf of the French Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E. Thierry MARCHAND, expressed his admiration for the quality of work carried out by the 25 grant winners. He underscored that all these, strengthens Cameroon’s position as a true hub for research in Central Africa.

The meeting ended on a happy note, with some family pictures and one-to-one discussions between the Minister and each of the grant winners.  Celebrations continued at the Ministry’s restaurant, where a cocktail was offered in honour of the recipients.

©CelTrad/MINRESI

IAEA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON RADIOLOGICAL CRIME SCENE MANAGEMENT

The IAEA held a regional workshop on radiological crime scene management at the Mont Febe Hotel from 8 to 12 July 2024.

The regional workshop on radiological crime scene management began on Monday 8 July 2024 at the Mont Febe Hotel. The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, who was unavoidably absent, was represented at the opening ceremony by the Secretary General of the same ministry, Prof. Rerbecca EBELLE ETAME.   The 5 day workshop was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with the Government of Cameroon through the National Radiation Protection Agency (ANRP).  Participants from four countries (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic) were enlightened on procedures and techniques to deal with crime scenes involving nuclear and radioactive materials.

These radiological crime scenes require specific procedures and operations, such as taking into account the time spent in the controlled zone, the distance between radionuclide-contaminated evidence, the experts who collect the evidence and their radiological protection etc. However, Cameroon and many other African countries do not have the expertise required for nuclear safety.  As a result, they often turn to foreign experts.  This was the case for Cameroon during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Based on this observation, the workshop on radiological crime scene management was approved by the Government of Cameroon. In her opening address, the Secretary General of MINRESI noted that “the growing prevalence of terrorist acts, which spare no country in the world and which make use of sophisticated technologies, calls for great vigilance by security forces.  It has been established that certain terrorist organizations can obtain radioactive or nuclear materials to manufacture radiological dispersal devices in order to spread radioactive contamination in a targeted area,which will result in human, material and environmental damage”.   

Through this workshop, the IAEA, which is committed to helping States develop nuclear forensics, provided participants with technical tools to enable them intervene efficiently while dealing with radioactive materials. 

©Celtrad/MINRESI

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