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Notifications 1ICC-COGENT Appraisal of the International coconut genebank for South Asia and Middle East (ICG-SAME), located at ICAR-CPCRI Research Centre Kidu. Karnataka, India
May 20, 2022 : CPCRI- Kidu | Author:Web Admin
Appraisals of the five international coconut genebanks (ICGs), located in different coconut growing regions of the world, is underway under the aegis of the International Coconut Community and International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (ICC-COGENT) in order to assess the collections’ overall capacity and needs and based on the findings, recommend appropriate upgrades to technical capacity, information management, infrastructure and accessions, and help develop an ICG sustainability plan.
The International Coconut Genebank - South Asia (ICG-SA), hosted by India, presently designated as International Coconut Genebank - South Asia and Middle East (ICG-SAME), is located at ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Research Centre, Kidu, Karnataka. The tripartite agreement between GOI-FAO-IPGRI, for hosting the ICG-SA, was signed by the Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research on behalf of Government of India on 30.10.1998. ICG-SAME conserves about 49 designated germplasm, which are regenerated from Indian germplasm through controlled pollination and also accessions from regional member countries viz., Bangladesh (10 accessions) and Sri Lanka (four accessions). Further, representative germplasm from the Indian Ocean Islands collected through prospection from Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, Maldives, Comoros and Reunion are also conserved in the ICG-SAME.
ICC-COGENT appraisal of the International Coconut Genebank - South Asia and Middle East (ICG-SAME) was undertaken during May 20-22, , by the team comprising of the following members.
| Name | Affiliation |
| Dr.Jelfina C. Alouw | Executive Director, International Coconut Community, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Mrs. Erlene Manohar | ICC-COGENT Coordinator, Tayabao City, Quezon, Philippines |
| Ms. Mridula Kottekate | Assistant Director, International Coconut Community, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Mr. Vincent B. Johnson | COGENT Coordination Support, COGENT Coordination Support, Parc Scientifique Agropolisll, Montpellier, France |
| Dr. Lalith Perera | Additional Director, Coconut Research Institute, Lunuwila, Sri Lanka |
| Mr. Alit Pirmansah | Market & Statistics Officer, International Coconut Community, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Mr. Klaudio D. Hosang | Administrative & Finance Officer, ICC International Coconut Community, Jakarta, Indonesia |
The objective of the appraisal was: (i) To collect information on the ICG-SAME and literature review including hosting agreement status; management effectiveness; roles, services and use, and linkages with users and other stakeholders; performance targets and work plans; and collection status; (ii) Undertake on-site visit to the ICG-SAME for inspection and (iii) To compile a report on the ICG-SAME covering all aspects of genebank maintenance; ICG establishment/maintenance cost estimation and funding sources; ICG land ownership arrangements; income generation; and plantingmaterial production and present the recommendations.
The ICG appraisal team visited ICAR-CPCRI Kasaragod as well as CPCRI Research Centre Kidu and interacted with the Director, Heads of Divisions, researchers and senior officials/staff of the institute. They visited the International Coconut Genebank for South Asia and Middle East on 21/05/2022 and took a tour of the genebank and the facilities available at the centre. Dr.Anitha Karun, Director, ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod, welcomed the delegation and made a brief presentation about the status and achievements of the institute. Dr. V. Niral, V., Principal Scientist, ICAR-CPCRI and Curator, ICG-SAME made a brief presentation on the Current status of ICG-SAME hosted by India at ICAR-CPCRI Research centre Kidu, Karnataka. Mr. Diwakar Y, Scientist In-Charge, ICAR-CPCRI Research centre, Kidu, briefed the delegation about the centre, historical perspective, creation of facilities, accomplishments and the invaluable service rendered by the centre to the farming community through supply of quality planting material. In addition, Dr K Muralidharan, Principal Scientist & Head Division of Social Sciences, Dr KB Hebbar, Principal Scientist & Head Division of Plant Physiology, Biochemistry & Post Harvest Technology, Dr Vinayaka Hegde, Principal Scientist & Head Division of Crop Protection, Dr Ravi Bhat, Principal Scientist & Head Division of Crop Production, Dr K Murali Gopal, Principal Scientist and Scientist-in-charge PME Cell, Dr K Samsudeen, Principal Scientist, Dr R Sudha, Senior Scientist and Ms RanjiniTantry, Scientist, Division of Crop improvement, ICAR-CPCRI Kasaragod, interacted with the appraisal team. The team was accompanied by some of the international resource persons of the ICC-COGENT tissue culture workshop namely. Dr Bart Panis, from Alliances of Bioversity International & CIAT, Belgium, Dr Quang from the Vietnam National University, Dr Cristeta Cueto from Philippine Coconut Authority. The technical staff ofKidu centre, viz., Mr. Manamohan M., Senior Technical Officer (Mechanical Engineering), Mr. Gopala Krishna A.S., Technical Officer, Mr. Narayana Naik M., Technical Officer, Mr. Anoop Kumar P. P., Technical Assistant, Mr. Kamal Kumar V. And Mr. Chennappa Gowda V., Technician and Mr Shyama Prasad, CTO, CPCRI Kasragod, also accompanied the appraisal team.
The meeting ended with the following points submitted for consideration by ICC-COGENT.
- Support for development of ICG-SAME as model ICG and creation of centre of excellence for international collaborative research
- Exchange of germplasm between participating countries through ICGs can be on mutually beneficial terms.
- Support for data collection/ recording observation needs to be provided to ICGs for effective characterization and utilization of genetic resources
- Uniform platform for data management in all ICGs
- New MoU to be formulated for sustainable continuation of the ICGs