Entry: James Quiroz, INIAP (Ecuador)

My name is James Quiroz Vera. I work at Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP) in Ecuador on the national cocoa program in the area of improving genetics. For my first visit to the US, I must say that I have been very impressed by the hospitality, caring nature, and the great spirit of cooperation demonstrated by the institutions that financed and supported my stay for eight weeks (June 1-July 27).

Initially, participating in the Cocoa Borlaug Fellows Program interested me because of its principles and goals such as support for developing countries, and its staff that are involved in different activities to improve living conditions and food security. First, I participated in the WCF Partnership Meeting in Washington, DC, an event that really surpassed my expectations. The meeting covered important topics related to farm level research and the cocoa market. The meeting allowed me to interact with scientists from different regions of the world that are too numerous to name. However, I must mention the welcoming reception from the President of the World Cocoa Foundation Bill Guyton, as well as Program Director Robert Peck, Office Assistant Clementine Leahy and Program Coordinator Virginia Sopyla who did a great job to make our stay a great experience.

At the WCF Partnership Meeting (from left to right): Raquel Guerrero, myself, Alexis Matute and TJ Ryan from ACDI/VOCA.

The visit to the US Department of Agriculture research center in Beltsville was a very enriching experience. I had the opportunity to learn about their work on methodologies to apply biological controls for diseases of cacao (such as frosty pod) and processes for applying microelements to increase the capacity of plants to absorb nutrients and improve their productivity. The meeting with Dr. Lyndel Meinhardt, research leader of the Sustainable Perennial Crops Lab, allowed me to learn about the study and collection of cocoa germplasm material in the Upper Amazon areas of Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Colombia – new potential areas for collaboration between INIAP and USDA.