Virginia,US IMG America/New_York About UsNewsletterLogin
LOGO COGENTNETWORK
Coconut genetic resources for enhanced livelihoods
Recent Posts
Home ITAGS Introduction to itags
ITAGS

Introduction to ITAGS

by Administrator - 21 Sep 2021 2862 Views

COGENT has (re-)established four International Thematic Action Groups (ITAGs) to lead in the identification and coordination of priority projects for germplasm conservation and use, linked to implementing COGENT’s Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Coconut Genetic Resources.

During the 2012 SC meeting, participants from 18 countries recognized the need to create six International Thematic Action Groups (ITAGs), aiming to promote and coordinate international theme-specific research related to coconut genetic resources. The terms of reference for these ITAGs were discussed during the SC meeting. ITAGs are not decision-making bodies. Their objectives are to:

·         Assemble a group of the best thematic specialists

·         Strengthen communications between researchers working in different countries but in the same thematic field.

·         Provide useful recommendations to COGENT’s SC, (the decision-making body) and secretariat.

·      Proovide new research ideas to spearhead the implementation of the Global Strategy in the relevant thematic area,   and develop funding proposals (see below for list of current priority projects).

·        Help to protect the specific research interests of COGENT member countries

The 2012 recommended 6 ITAGs were:

i) Ex situ conservation;

ii) Genomics;

iii) Breeding;

iv) Phytopathology & germplasm movement;

v) Ethnobiology & Socioeconomics

vi) In vitro culture.

During the funding hiatus little was further developed until the ACIAR/DFAT proposal development. In 2018 the SC recommended the addition of one new ITAG and slight changes to ITAGs 5 and 6 as follows:

v) Farmers’ Participatory Research, Ethnobiology & Socioeconomics, and

vi) In vitro culture and cryopreservation, and the new group

vii) dedicated to value-chain research.

In 2019, ACIAR/DFAT endorsed the proposal to support revitalizing COGENT, as a programme within ICC (see section 6), with a caveat that the ITAGs be rationalized to 3-4 in number. Also, since COGENT is now an ICC programme, the socioeconomic and value-chain work can be housed in other ICC programmes. The 4 proposed ITAGs are:

i)             Ex- & in-situ conservation

ii)            Genomics & breeding

iii)           Phytopathology, entomology & germplasm movement

iv)           In vitro culture & cryo-preservation