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The Second Session of the PAVSGS-2C Project Steering Committee took place on Thursday, October 30, 2025 in the conference room of the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation (MINRESI). The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, who was unavoidably absent, was represented by the Secretary General of MINRESI, Professor EBELLE ETAME Rebecca Madeleine.

The meeting which took place in the conference room of MINRESI in the presence of the Director General of the Cocoa and Coffee Sector Development Fund (FODECC), also witnessed the attendance of members and representatives of Cooperatives of the PAVSGS-2C Project, and actors of the different components of FODECC. The meeting centered on the Presentation of activities and achievements for the year 2024, the Presentation of the 2025 Annual Budgeted Technical Program and achievements of the first half of 2025.

In her opening remarks, the Secretary General of MINRESI indicated that the holding of this second Steering Committee meeting is of particular importance, as it takes place after the mid-term completion of the activities outlined in the Project document and the Financing Agreement signed between the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation (MINRESI) and the Cocoa and Coffee Sector Development Fund (FODECC), on April 12, 2023. It is certainly worth recalling that since the first session of the Committee, held in May 2024, FODECC, the Project’s main funder, has undergone a significant overhaul of its legal and organizational framework to further enhance its support for these two strategic agricultural sectors for the State of Cameroon. The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation places great hope in this evolution of the status of FODECC, to better support the contribution of national research in the Cocoa and Coffee sector, in accordance with the guidelines described in the document on the National Development Strategy of Cameroon 2030 (SND30).

The PAVSGS-2C Project is clearly one of the operational tools available to the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation (MINRESI) to improve, in the short and medium term, the impact of research on the promotion of these two revenue-generating products. This justifies the high expectations that the Ministry’s leadership places on this Steering Committee. It represents both the compass and the rudder that will guide this Project to successful completion by the end of 2026. In other words, the Committee must ensure that the Project’s objectives are on track to be achieved and that the initial deliverables expected at this stage of activities are clearly visible on the ground.

Terence EYONG

On Friday August 22, 2025, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE granted an audience to Mr. ANYANWU CHUKWU Macline, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Project Management Officer for Cameroon. The meeting was also attended by close collaborators of the Minister, amongst which the Director General of the Radiological Safety and Nuclear Security Authority (ASRAN), Dr SIMO Augustin and the Permanent Secretary of the National Technology Development Committee (CNDT), Dr ELE ABIAMA Patrice.

During the audience, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation saluted the excellent cooperation ties existing between IAEA and the government of Cameroon, which led to the creation of ASRAN. She equally expressed satisfaction with the numerous projects being carried out in Cameroon by IAEA notably the creation of a Radiotherapy Centre in Douala which is a fruit of the Cameroon-IAEA cooperation, hoping that such Centres be created in the other regions of the country. She also made mention of the fact that the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation has been attending all IAEA annual meetings in Vienna, Austria.

The IAEA official on his part expressed the readiness of his Institution to collaborate with the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. Ever since his appointment last year as the IAEA Programme Management Officer for Cameroon, many successes have been recorded. He has visited the Douala General hospital to inspect the Radiotherapy Centre he also paid a working visit to the Yaounde General Hospital, HYDRAC, LANAVET and IRAD amongst other to identify the challenges which can be addressed by IAEA.  He disclosed that Cameroon possesses a lot of potentials and therefore proposed that during future IAEA meetings, the Government should send an advance team to meet with top IAEA officials before the main event. This will facilitate signing of numerous accords and partnership agreement. The IAEA official indicated that he intends to continue consultation meetings with other Members of Government before setting up a meeting with potential donors. The audience ended in a friendly atmosphere with an exchange of pleasantries and family photographs.

On Wednesday August 20, 2025, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE granted an audience to the Indonesian Ambassador to Cameroon, His Excellency AGUNG CAHAYA SUMIRAT. The Diplomat was accompanied by his close aids at the Indonesian Embassy. Also attending the audience, were close collaborators of the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation.

The audience was an opportunity for both parties to take stock of existing areas of scientific and technical cooperation between Cameroon and Indonesia. Scientific cooperation between Cameroon and Indonesia can be traced back from 2008 when IRAD worked with Indonesian scientists on oil palm varieties and the identification of new oil palm species. This led to the signing of an agreement between IRAD and PT-ASTRA for seed production by IRAD and the payment of royalties by the Indonesian counterpart. Since then, two IRAD scientists have done PhD studies in Indonesia. The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation expressed her willingness to encourage mobility and exchange visits between researchers of both countries. New areas of cooperation were identified such as Agriculture, infrastructures, livestock and technology transfer from Indonesia to facilitate Cameroon’s emergence in diverse domains.

The Indonesian diplomat, on his part, expressed the readiness of his government to collaborate with the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. He identified Indonesian institutions such as BRIM, for cooperation in the domains of agriculture, infrastructures and livestock. He also announced that Indonesia offers annual scholarships suitable for Cameroonian students for both Masters and PhD programs.  The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation promised to relay information on these scholarships to the entire research community and Universities once it is made available by the Indonesian Embassy. The audience ended in a friendly atmosphere with an exchange of pleasantries and family photographs.