Olam International, a leading agri-business operating across the value chain in 70 countries, and Agropolis Fondation signed a Partnership Agreement in September 2015 which aims to explore ways of working collaboratively to enhance knowledge and know-how, understanding and awareness at the interface between agriculture and other disciplines.
Joint actions in four thematic areas, namely, (1) crop protection and IPM ; (2) remote sensing for the monitoring of plantations and agricultural system ; (3) genetics and plant breeding (including crops such as palm, rubber, cacao, coffee...) and (4) agriculture-society interface (including corporate social responsibility) may take several forms such as, but not limited to, research and development, capacity building and expertise advice.
To date, two actions have been carried out, i.e., a preliminary mission to study Rhynchophorus sp. status as an important oil palm pest in Gabon, particularly in Olam’s plantation (conducted by L. Ollivier and C. Cilas, UPR Bioagressors, Cirad) as well as a technical support from L’Avion Jaune (a Montpellier-based small company specializing in drone technology) on plantation monitoring using drones in Olam’s Mouila palm plantation in Gabon. The Foundation has likewise facilitated the capacity building of Olam’s GIS specialist through the latter’s enrolment on Master SILAT (Systèmes d’Informations Localisées pour l’Aménagement des Territoires) programme.
