Introduction

Duration of project: October 2009- October 2012

With a duration of 36 months this EU ACP Science and Technology project seeks to strengthen the science and technology capacity of early career scientists in ACP countries to undertake research on tropical root and tuber crops to support socio-economic development.

Overall objective

This project seeks to strengthen the science and technology capacity of ACP countries to use tropical root and tuber crops to contribute to a wide range of development issues. These include food security, poverty reduction, enterprise development and income generation, impacts of climate change and variability, impacts of urbanisation, impacts of the global food crisis and global economic downturn, opportunities provided by biofuels and export development. This will be achieved through partnership with the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC) and organisations in East Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific to support implementation of the Action.

Specific objectives

• To develop and consolidate an international "Community of Practice" tightly associated with ISTRC working to develop tropical root and tuber crops (TRCs) to achieve developmental outcomes.
• To increase capacity of scientists in ACP countries to assess research needs to facilitate the formulation and implementation of research policies favourable to enhancing the contribution of TRCs to development.
• To increase the capacity of scientists and technologists in ACP countries to submit research and development project proposals for funding to a range of national, regional and international donors that develop and apply new scientific and technical knowledge on TRCs to contribute to development.
• To better capitalize and disseminate research results on TRCs.
• To improve the quality of research results on TRCs in ACP countries.