(Photo courtesy of Fundecitrus)
Brazil’s Fundecitrus hosted the first in-person workshop for the Center for Applied Research in Innovation and Sustainability in Citriculture (CPA Citros) Oct. 21–22. CPA Citros, also known as ARC-Citros, aims to help address the primary challenges facing the citrus industry, most notably citrus greening. The workshop followed eight months of activity by the center.
“This is a great moment where we can share our experiences — both the successful ones and those that were less successful — to foster true collaboration,” researcher and CPA Citros director Lilian Amorim said.
The need to join forces in the face of the complexity of citrus greening was emphasized by James Graham, University of Florida emeritus professor and an external evaluator for the collaborative network.
“Collaboration among many researchers and diverse institutions is essential; anything less — which is what we have seen over the last 20-plus years — has not brought us anywhere near what we would call a solution,” Graham said.
Graham highlighted the potential for attracting new collaborators, including those from various regions of the United States. He emphasized how the knowledge accumulated by Fundecitrus regarding the management of citrus greening has contributed to the development of research.
Workshop participants noted the involvement of young researchers who had not previously worked directly in citriculture. Luiz Fernando Girotto, agricultural director at Faro Capital and a member of the citrus sector’s advisory committee, spoke about the diversity of experience and the enthusiasm of these new members.
“It was clear that there are young talents here — people who hadn’t worked in citriculture before — who are very excited about the projects proposed by the Applied Research Center,” Girotto said.
This first in-person workshop marked an important milestone in consolidating the CPA Citros research network. By bringing together different fields of expertise, backgrounds and institutions, it strengthened the collective pursuit of scientific breakthroughs to help address citrus greening and other challenges facing the citrus industry.
Source: Fundecitrus
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