Hainnaux, Guy

Horizon / Pleins textes

Cassava Flour and Starck Progress in Research and Development 
CHAPTER 2
c o w  NETWORKS1 
G. Hainna& 
What Is C O W ?  
The Conférence des responsables de 
recherche agronomique en Afrique de 
l'Ouest et du Centre (CORAF) is a tool 
for cooperation in agronomic research. 
It provides a framework €or collective 
action and for the exchange of 
information and experience. C O W  
aims to: 
Promote cooperation, collective 
action, and information exchange 
among member institutions: 
Define common research 
objectives; 
Prepare c o m o n  research 
projects: 
Create, operate, and develop 
associate networks and regional 
research workers' teams; and 
Collaborate with intemational 
agronomic research centers, 
regional or international 
organizations, and funding 
agencies. 
The institutional and operative. 
organs of C O M  are the plenary 
conference, follow-up committee, 
executive secretariat, and associate 
networks. 
* Cassava Network, Institut français de 
recherche scientifique pour le développement 
en coopération (ORSTOM), Montpellier, , 
France. 
No abstract was provided by the author. 1. 
CORAF is run by a 10-man 
follow-up committee, six who represent 
African national programs and four 
who are associate members from 
European countries. This committee 
elects, from among its members, a 
president and a vice president to 
represent C0Fh.F. They are assisted 
by the executive secretariat. 
Associate Networks 
An associate research network is a 
group of researchers who work 
together on a research theme 
recognized as priority by CORAF. The 
network aims to: 
(1) Strengthen existing agronomic 
research systems and give them 
regional and international 
dimension; 
(2) Promote the acquisition of 
scientific knowledge and optimal 
use of results; 
International Agricultural Research 
Centers (LARCs) and with other 
intemational and regional 
organizations; 
(4) Prepare projects and submit them 
to external funding agencies; 
(5) Encourage evaluation of research 
in various agroecological and 
socioeconomic conditions; and 
(6) Facilitate the setting up o€ 
interdisciplinary teams, and the 
training of researchers. 
(3) Encourage joint action with 
. I  . . n 
C O W  Networks 
At present, six associate 
networks belong to C O W ,  doing 
research on groundnuts, cotton, 
maize, cassava, rice, and resistance 
to drought. The C O W  networks 
take into account the bilateral and 
multilateral relationships of 
member institutions. 
Organization and operation of 
associate networks 
An associate network has a general 
assembly, and a steering 
committee. The general assembly is 
composed of the coordinator, 
national correspondents, and one to 
several associate correspondents. 
The steering committee comprises 
the coordinator, correspondents, 
three members nominated by the 
general assembly, two scientific 
authorities outside the network and 
nominated by the general assembly, 
and donor representatives. The 
steering committee assists the 
coordinator in managing the 
network and in following up its 
scientific activities. 
The general assembly’s mission 
is to establish scientific priorities 
and research orientations. It liaises 
with scientific partners and with 
other networks, and convenes once 
every 3 years. 
Research projects 
The scientific activities of a given 
network are divided into major 
themes that emerge according to 
national program needs. These 
themes are implemented as 
projects, which take into account: 
(1) The scient& priorities within 
each theme, identified by the 
network’s general assembly; 
(2) The potential of each of the 
networks partners; and 
(3) Acquired experience and 
existing work. 
The network appoints an authority 
to lead each project and specifies the 
scientific objectives, duration, 
partners, and resources to be 
acquired. The network‘s steering 
committee determines the timing and 
methodology for the internal scientific 
evaluation of the work. 
Base Centers 
A base center is an agronomic 
research center that belongs to a 
national network and is open to 
regional and international cooperation 
within the framework of a network. It 
brings together sufficient human, 
financial, and material resources to 
attain scientific objectives and achieve 
results that are applicable or 
adaptable to other countries having 
the same development preoccupations. 
Operation 
A base center is placed under the 
aegis of an intemational network and 
of the national network that shelters 
it. It: 
(1) Provides the networks with 
supplementary means for 
reinforcing a national program 
(scientific personnel, equipment, 
operations) ; 
cooperation by improving the 
working relationships among 
research workers of the same 
region (visits, workshops, 
seminars) ; 
(3) Participates in the training and 
retraining of scientific and 
technical personnel of countries of 
the region; 
(4) Provides expertise to third parties 
in the form of support or 
consultation; and 
(5) Promotes the diffusion of i 
information and publication of 
scientific and technical 
documents. 
(2) Contributes to regional 
7 
1 
Cassava Flour and Starch: Progress in Research and Development 
Activities 
Base center programs are planned with 
the following factors taken into 
account: national agricultural policies; 
development needs of each country; 
national research programs; priorities 
defined by the respective network; 
scientific capabilities of members of the 
respective network; and other regional 
and international arrangements in 
member countries or outside. These 
programs aim to: 
(1) Improve crops and livestock 
according to socioeconomic, 
agronomic, biological, and 
edaphoclimatic conditions; 
(2) Develop living collections to make 
possible the sharing of available 
genetic resources among member 
institutions; and 
(3) Establish databases and encourage 
joint studies of common interest. 
The Cassava Network: 
An Example of an Associate 
Network 
Members 
Network members number 156 
researchers from agricultural research 
institutes of C O M  member (or 
associate member) countries, that is, 
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, 
Central African Republic, Chad, the 
Congo, Côte d‘Ivoire, France, Gabon, 
Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, 
Senegal, and Togo. 
Associate network members are 
researchers from agricultural research 
institutes of countries who do not 
belong to C O W :  Belgium, Colombia, 
Italy, Rwanda, Spain, United Kingdom, 
USA, Germany, and Zaire. 
Other organizations connected with 
the Network are the International 
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), 
based in Ibadan, Nigeria; the 
Intemational Board for Soil Research 
and Management (IBSRAM), based in 
Bangkok, Thailand; and the 
Intemational Plant Genetic Resources 
Institute (IPGRI), based in Rome, Italy 
Major research priorities 
The Network has three main areas 
of priorities: 
(1) Make an inventory of, characterize, 
and evaluate germplasm for 
selection; 
longer shelf life, postharvest 
handling, and improving nutritional 
quality; and 
cassava-based systems to improve 
system productivity and conditions 
for propagation. 
(2) Develop technologies for promoting 
(3) Study the management of 
Major collaborative projects 
CORAF has begun establishing thematic 
base centers in the Congo and Togo. 
Four projects are under way: 
(1) “Setting up and monitoring a 
multisite agronomic evaluation of 
cassava in Africa.” Located in Togo, 
it has researchers from the Congo, 
Côte d‘Ivoire, France, and Togo. 
cultivars.” Located in the Congo, 
the researchers come from the 
Congo, Côte d‘Ivoire, France, Italy, 
and Spain. 
(3) “Improving detoxification methods.” 
Also located in the Congo, the 
researchers are from the Congo, 
France, and Togo. 
(4) “Improving foodstuffs processed 
from fermented cassava.” Again 
located in the Congo, the researchers 
are from Belgium, Colombia, the 
Congo, France, Mexico, and Togo.2 
(2) “Improving African cassava 
2. For more information about the Cassava 
Network, contact the Coordinator, Dr. Joseph 
Mabanza, DGRST-ORSTOM, BP 181, Brazzaville, 
Congo: tel.: (242) 81 26 80 or 81 26 81; telex: 
5404 (Attn. ORSTOM); fax: (242) 83 22 05. 
8 
C O W  Networks 
Summary of projects and activities carried out by the Cassava Network 
Project Activity Country 
(1) Improvement of production, 
processing, and nutritional improve cassava varieties and Zaire 
transformation and quality of 
cassava in Central and West 
Airica 
(a) Create a base center to 
cropping systems 
Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, 
(b) Search and evaluate local 
cultivars; set up a multisite 
trial network to assess the 
genotype-by-environment 
interaction 
(c) Improve cassava processing 
and conservation practices: 
improve nutritional quality of 
products and byproducts 
Central Africa, Cameroon, the 
Congo, Gabon; Guinea, Benin 
Network member countries: 
France, Gemany, Spain 
(2) Cassava agronomy in West (a) Create a thematic base 
Africa center on the improvement of Germany, Ghana, Guinea, 
cassava agronomy 
(b) Improve management of soil 
fertility in cassava-based 
farming systems 
(c) Implement biological control 
of cassava pests 
Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, France, 
Senegal, Sierra Leone. Togo 
Same countries as above 
Countries of the networks 
9 
ISBN 958-9439-88-8 
Progress in Research and Development 
Edited by: D. Dufour 
G M. O’Brien 
Rupert Best 
Centre 
de coopération 
internationale 
en recherche 
agronomique 
pour le 
développement 
Département 
des systhes  
agroal imentaires 
et ruraux 
CI RA D-S A R 
:enter for Tropical Agriculture 


Cassava flour and starch : progress in research and development

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Horizon / Pleins textes