MUSACO

The Réseau Musa pour l'Afrique Centrale et Occidentale (MUSACO) was founded in 1997, at the invitation of theWest and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD).

The goal of MUSACO is to improve income and food security through sustainable increase in production and productivity of banana and plantain. Its objectives are to strengthen and coordinate regional cooperation, strengthen the capacity of National Agricultural Research Systems, facilitate information exchange, technology transfer and facilitate the monitoring of banana research and development and assess its impact in the region.

Activities

• Increasing productivity and market opportunities for banana and plantain: A strategy for economic growth for rural communities in Africa.

• Addressing micronutrient deficiencies in urban and peri-urban populations in West and Central Africa through Musa–based foods

Meetings:
Regional Steering Committee meeting 2008: to be scheduled

MUSACO Members
Benin – Institut national de recherches agricoles du Bénin (INRAB)
Cameroun – Centre africain de recherches sur bananiers et plantains (CARBAP)
Cameroun – International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Côte d'Ivoire – Centre national de recherche agronomique (CNRA)
Congo – Délégation générale à la recherche scientifique et technologique (DGRST)
Gabon – Institut de recherches agronomiques et forestières (IRAF)
Ghana – Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Guinée – Institut de recherche agronomique de Guinée (IRAG)
Nigeria – National horticultural research institute (NIHORT)
République Centrafricaine – Institut Centrafricain de Recherches Agricoles (ICRA)
République Démocratique du Congo – Institut national pour l'étude et la recherche agronomique (INERA)
Sénégal – Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA)
Sierra Leone – National Agricultural Research Co-ordinating Council (NARCC)
Togo – Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA)