The delegation was received by the Secretary General of MINRESI in her capacity as representative of the Minister, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, who was unable to attend.  She was accompanied by the Inspector General of MINRESI, the Director General of IRAD and some of the Minister’s close collaborators.

The purpose of this courtesy visit was for CORAF to present the conclusions and prospects arising from the regional conference organized in Yaounde from 16 to 18 January 2024.  This conference is part of the process of revising the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) at ECCAS level.  CORAF, which covers 23 countries, is committed to supporting this process.  To this end, the organization intends to ensure that in the process of drafting the CAP, research and training are taken into account.  Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, CORAF is also planning to set up a representative office in Central Africa.  Talks are already underway to this end.

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On Wednesday 29 November 2023, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, granted an audience to H.E. SHRI ANINDYA BANERJEE, Indian High Commissioner to Cameroon. This was a farewell visit marking the end of the Indian diplomat’s stay in Cameroon. It reflects the excellent cooperation between MINRESI and Indian High Commission.

India and Cameroon enjoy long-standing and excellent relations in several key areas, including scientific research and innovation. During his stay in Cameroon, the Indian High Commissioner to Cameroon and Minister for Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, met on several occasions. On December 21, 2022, they met for an audience that focused on the India-Cameroon-Germany triangular project. The project, which concerned the transfer of agricultural technology known as Rooted Apical Cutting (RAC) technology, involved Bagalkot University in India, Agricultural Research Institute for Development (IRAD) in Cameroon and GIZ, German cooperation mechanism.

Rooted Apical Cutting (RAC) is a technique for producing potato seed using apical technology. This technology, developed in India, involves the mass production of seed potato through tissue culture. Cameroon is the second African country, modelled on Kenya, to benefit from this technology. As part of this project, a training workshop was organised in September 2022 in Bafoussam involving Indian experts. In October of the same year, IRAD researchers travelled to India to learn more about the said technology. IRAD then set up a project to produce potato seed using rooted apical cuttings (RAC), the pilot phase of which lasted 8 months. Hundreds of seed potato producers were trained in the use of the rooted apical cuttings technique. Cameroon’s objective is to reach a production level of 30,000 tonnes per year. Similarly, the Indian government is providing training grants to MINRESI researchers under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scheme, with a view to build capacity in various fields.

This farewell audience was an opportunity for the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation to express her gratitude to the Indian Government for its support in technology transfer between Cameroon and India. She also praised the strong involvement of H.E. SHRI ANINDYA BANERJEE who, during his stay in Cameroon, strengthened and diversified the scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries.

The Indian diplomat, who arrived in Cameroon on February 2022, said he was particularly pleased to learn that the triangular project on the transfer of apical technology for the production of seed potatoes had been a success in Cameroon.  He added that his successor would continue in the same vein, with the possibility of extending this cooperation to other sectors. At the close of the audience, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation exchanged courtesies with the diplomat, wishing him success all through his career.

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A delegation of Uruguayan investors was granted an audience at the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation on Wednesday 22 November 2023.  This audience was part of an economic and trade mission. This said mission is also a first in diplomatic relations between Cameroon and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The representative of the Ministry of External Relations (MINREX) who accompanied the Uruguayan delegation made it known that this is the very first time that Uruguayan businessmen have visited Cameroon since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1989. This mission was of an exploratory nature, so to speak. The investors explored areas on which cooperation between Yaoundé and Montevideo could be based. Based on the composition of the delegation received at MINRESI, these areas could include fishing, livestock farming, electricity and renewable energy.

In her opening remarks, the Secretary General of MINRESI, Professor Rebecca Madeleine EBELLE ETAME, who represented the Minister who was unavoidably absent, described the visit as proof of the high esteem the Uruguayan delegation has for players and communities involved in science and technology.  She then gave the floor to heads of Institutes under the technical supervision of MINRESI and those from the central administration who had been invited to the audience, so that they could exchange views with the Uruguayan delegation on the potential areas of cooperation with MINRESI.

Uruguay is one of four countries in the world specialising in renewable energy. Uruguay is also a major fish exporter, and Cameroon is one of its main partners in this sector. After this mission, we will be looking at ways in which Cameroonian investors can benefit from Uruguayan expertise in order to implement the import-substitution policy.

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Indeed, this conference, which aimed to open the doors for scientific cooperation between Universities and Research Centers in America, Cameroon and Africa, was a success across the board thanks to a frank collaboration between the University of Michigan on the one hand, and the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Higher Education on the other. At the University of Michigan, we saw the full participation of the institution’s teacher-researchers. In Cameroon, the MINRESI research institutes and universities played a major role in organizing the conference.

The participation of various African countries in this event testified to their interest in Africa. Researchers and teachers from Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Gabon, Benin, Zimbabwe, Uganda and other countries took part.

In addition, the meeting addressed topical African issues such as the environment, conservation of biological resources, climate change, health, youth training, ICT, industrial transformation in Africa, and research funding.

In short, this Conference was a prime example of win-win cooperation between countries of the North and South. It gave rise to a number of resolutions. Now it’s time to follow up on their implementation.

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In her opening remarks, the Secretary General of MINRESI, Madame Rébecca madeleine Ebelle Etamè, welcomed the delegation led by Christian Fusillier and comprising the Regional Directors of the Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).

She then expressed the Minister’s wish to see the solid and fruitful scientific cooperation between MINRESI and the Agence Française de Développement further intensified with the desired eligibility of MINRESI in the third-generation C2D. Mrs. Ebellé also underlined Dr. Madeleine Tchuinté’s firm determination to do everything in her power to make a reality of the creation of a sub-regional Biosciences Center for the Environment in the Nkolbisson district of Yaoundé, where a site is already available and feasibility studies are underway. In addition to MINRESI, the Center will benefit from the combined contributions of players such as AFD, CIRAD and IRD, and its focus will be on the Congo Basin and the Gulf of Guinea.

Taking his turn to speak, Christian Fusillier expressed his satisfaction at the quality of AFD/MINRESI cooperation. He also pointed out that he had come to enquire about the priorities or particular difficulties of this Cameroonian ministerial department in terms of needs relating to cooperation files currently being analyzed between his structure and the Ministry of Research and Innovation. The aim of his visit, he added, was to raise awareness among decision-makers and to ensure MINRESI’s eligibility for the third-generation C2D. In this respect, he indicated a number of parameters that could militate in favor of the national research system. These include projects focusing on climate change, technologies, agroforestry, sustainable development, soil fertility, forest resource management and land issues.

The visit is part of a series of missions to supervise the Programme d’Appui à la Sécurisation et à la Gestion Intégrée des Ressources Agropastorales (ASGIRAP) and monitor the Programme national de Développement Participatif (PNDP). For the Minresi guests, the aim is to supervise and assess the state of completion of the PNDP HIMO programs funded by the European Union’s Emergency Fund, and to monitor the progress of the PNDP phase 3 Agropastoral project funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), as well as the 3rd Debt Reduction and Development Contract (C2D 3) involving the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. The delegation will travel to Garoua, in the North region, and visit the ASGIRAP microprojects, among others.

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Setting up Technology Transfer and Innovation Units (UTTI).

UTTIs facilitate collaboration with public and private players through technology transfer, know-how transfer, scientific analysis and technological feasibility studies.
The aim of these Units is to valorize and popularize research results at user level. It follows decision n0 000334/MINRESI/B00/F00 of December 16, 2014. The establishment of the “Convention relative à la collaboration en matière du développement et du transfert des technologies, la valorisation de la recherche entre le MINRESI et le Ministère de la Science, de la Technologie et de l’Innovation Productive de la République d’Argentine (ci-après désignée “Convention”), the purpose of which is to set out the terms and conditions of collaboration between MINRESI and MINCYT with a view to protecting and valorizing the results of research developed in their countries.

According to the ministerial decision, UTTIs are operational structures responsible for promoting technology. Their main missions are to:

.Draw up and negotiate research and transfer contracts;

.Control intellectual property aspects;

.Identify inventions to be protected and evaluate their transfer potential;

.Patent inventions;

.Identify potential business partners and market inventions;

.Select and involve other external partners as required.

This transfer is essentially carried out by means of a contract by which the research institute grants to a private company, a public body or an entity “derived” from the university or the research organization, which thus receives the right (license) to use a new technology in exchange for a royalty or other consideration. In this sense, intellectual property rights, which allow the institute to control the use of the results of its research work, constitute the foundation of the technology transfer mechanism. Technology transfer, however, is a bandwagon. Moreover, as the country puts in place mechanisms to stimulate innovation and intellectual property strategies favorable to research activities, complemented by a new vision of knowledge-driven growth, in which intellectual property plays a central role.

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