International training network for tropical plant health management

International training network for tropical plant health management

 

The main goal of this exploratory project funded by Agropolis foundation is to build an international network for training and higher education in tropical plant health management. This network would aim to promote research, innovation and transfer to reduce the impact of major pests on major tropical crops by environment friendly control methods.

The specific objectives are (i) to build-up a network of universities in the Indian Ocean to better coordinate their actions in the field of plant protection training and (ii) to create links with European Universities, such as Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier 2, University of Louvain, also involved in tropical crop management trainings and education and with African initiatives such as “Proveg” (Western and Central Africa) and BecA (Kenya) in the field of plant protection.

The proposed international network will be then a collaborative effort among multiple universities and research units to promote growth of the plant health management profession through training of undergraduate and graduate students in the field. This project is an opportunity to formalize and strength this network and to increase the involvement of higher education in the field of plant health in developed and developing countries.