Coopération Scientifiques & Techniques

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

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

The sixth session of the COMECA Project Steering Committee was held on Friday, 14 June 2024 under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of MINRESI.

The sixth and final session of the Committee Steering the Co-creation project on innovative forest resource management, that combines ecological methods and indigenous knowledge (COMECA) was held on Friday, 14 June 2024 in MINRESI’s conference room. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary General of MINRESI, who represented the Minister, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, unfortunately unavailable. This meeting was also attended by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), the Chargé de Mission of the Japanese Embassy, the Resident Representative of JICA in Cameroon and other members of the committee.

In her introductory remarks, Prof Rebecca Madeleine EBELLE ETAME thanked the Japanese side for all the multifaceted support that facilitated the smooth running of this project which began in July 2018. She reported that the expected results had largely been achieved, especially regarding the design of: a model to sustainably use wildlife; a system to produce and process Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) that would provide a source of income other than the bush meat trade; and finally a model to sustainably manage forest resources. This project has thus made it possible to propose alternatives to bush meat income through improving, producing, processing and marketing NTFPs. Thanks to this project, local communities in the Boumba Bek and Nki national parks (in the East region) have strengthened their capacities in producing and processing njansang kernels. In addition to these achievements directly linked to the project, the Japanese Cooperation has built a research station at Zoulabot, which will be handed over to the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD).

As a reminder, the COMECA project is a continuation of the FOSAS project (Establishing Sustainable Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management Strategies in the Rainforest of Cameroon and Surrounding Areas) which was carried out between 2011 and 2016. It was implemented by the KYOTO University and IRAD. This project was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Program. It was executed by MINRESI and implemented by IRAD in collaboration with several national partners such as MINFOF and the universities of Dschang, Yaounde I and Douala.

The aim of this COMECA project was to create conditions facilitating a close collaboration between people living alongside national parks (BoumbaBek and Nki) and the government, thus permitting them to make a living from products of their environment. In this line, it was necessary to develop innovative mechanisms that will help local people manage forest resources, in order to support them develop activities that would enable them benefit from forest products other than bushmeat.

After operating for 6 years, the project has come to an end. It is now timetoconceive mechanisms thatwould facilitate the monitoring and effective implementation of results obtained. To this end, a platformto ensure that residual activities are carried out in the interest of local population is envisaged.

Lastly, it was on a satisfying note that the Secretary General of MINRESI closed the meeting, requesting Japanese and Chinese parties’ representatives to develop new projects, likely to contribute even more effectively to the well-being of people.

©CelTrad/MINRESI

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, granted an audience to the AUF Regional Director for Central Africa and the Great Lakes Region on 13 June 2024.

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, granted an audience on Thursday 13 June 2024 to Professor Alain KIYINDOU, AUF Regional Director for Central Africa and the Great Lakes Region. Discussions focused on new avenues for collaboration and partnership between AUF and MINRESI through its supervised institutes. Consequently, the said institutes were convened for this meeting.

The heads of the Agricultural Research Institute for Development (IRAD), the Local Material Promotion Authority (MIPROMALO) and the National Committee for Technology Development (CNDT) reviewed their state of cooperation with AUF, and identified new activities and research areas that are worth exploring. Examples of such areas include artificial intelligence, agricultural digitisation and civil nuclear power.

The AUF Regional Director lauded the initiatives undertaken by MINRESI with a view to making Cameroon a hub for research and innovation in Central Africa. He however expressed the wish that these initiatives be carried out in collaboration with other countries in the Central African region so that the latter might benefit from Cameroon’s experience and expertise.

In addition to the above, he echoed the Minister’s concerns regarding the correlation between research and societal needs. It was pointed out that research is supposed to provide concrete solutions to society’s problems. This requires encouraging young researchers to create jobs, in line with the “one researcher, one company” slogan adopted by MINRESI. So the projects carried out jointly by MINRESI and AUF should have a tangible positive impact on the local people, who are expected to be the main beneficiaries of this research.

©CelTrad/MINRESI