For the Research & Extension SPC Center for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) database please follow this link: http://www.spc.int/lrd/cepactacc/index.php

PAPP is working towards improving the dissemination and adoption of climate change adapted agriculture and forestry production technologies. The Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT), both to reflect the importance of trees to food and nutritional security, and income generation in the Pacific, and the role of CePaCT within the international PGR network. CePACT is a regional genebank dedicated in developing a climate-ready collection of crops and varieties with characteristics that will tolerate marginal extreme climatic conditions.

The aim of CePaCT is to assist Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) to conserve the region’s genetic resources, and to provide access to the diversity they need, when they need it. Conservation is the core business of the centre, with priority given to the region’s staple crops: taro, yam, sweet potato, banana, cassava and breadfruit. The centre houses over 2,000 accessions in all. The taro collection is particularly unique, being the largest collection of taro diversity globally – over 1,000 accessions. Efforts are currently focused on building up regional collections of banana, breadfruit and yam in recognition of the diversity that exists in these crops in the Pacific. This diversity needs to be conserved, evaluated and made available to countries so that farmers can use this resource to improve food production and income generation. The centre not only conserves the region’s valuable genetic diversity, but also undertakes the important mission of distributing it, making it available for growers throughout the Pacific to use. Quarantine services throughout the Pacific region recognise that virus-tested plantlets (tissue cultures) are a safe method for importing plant material. In 2009 CePaCT distributed over 8,000 sweet potato, banana, cassava, yam, Irish potato, taro, breadfruit, vanilla, Alocasia and Xanthosoma plants to PICTs for evaluation and use.

PAPP continues to assist CePACT to facilitate the establishment of field trials of new techniques. The new technologies demonstrated and adopted under PAPP will improve the community resilience of smallholder farmers to adapt challenges posed by climate change to Pacific ACP.

 

 

SIGN-UP TO PAFPNet