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The burgeoning of small gourmet chocolate boutiques worldwide serves as a key driver for niche and ultra-niche marketing of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), branded as (a) geographical indication (b) estate origin or (c) based on unique genetics. Over 90% of the cacao farms globally, are small with an average size between 2 and 5 hectares and can benefit from supplying to the gourmet boutiques.
Brookhaven National Laboratory delivers discovery science and transformative technology to power and secure the nation’s future. Primarily supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, Brookhaven Lab is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and more than 70 years of pioneering research. The laboratory is open to users from all countries and areas of STEM. The workshop will give an introduction to the capabilities of the laboratory, how to access facilities and collaboration tips for working with BNL scientists.
The worldwide ginger market was valued at US$6.82 billion in 2020, with India, Nigeria and China being the top global producers (Global Ginger Market Report, 2021). Jamaican ginger once held pride of place in the global market, with its widely accepted superior quality, uniqueness of flavor and high oil content. However, since the initial outbreak of the ginger rhizome rot disease in 1995, production has drastically plummeted to insignificant levels and the industry has not yet recovered. In this regard, a number of intervention strategies have been implemented by the Government of Jamaica over the years, including the Eastern Jamaica Agricultural Support Project of 1993 under RADA, the Ginger Agricultural Science, Technology and Innovation Working Group initiative supported by the CTA ACP-EU under the National Commission and Science and Technology in 2005, the Ginger Resuscitation and Expansion Programme of 2011 led by the Export Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ginger Value Chain Study supported by the FAO, the Ginger Varietal Study funded through the Jamaica Business Development Fund in 2018 and the ongoing Ginger Value Chain and Certification Programme supported by the FAO, with propagation and production of disease-free planting materials. These programmes, amounting to investments of millions of dollars, through partnerships with the key private, governmental and international stakeholders, have been met with varying degrees of success.
The majority of scientific discoveries remain confined to dissertations and peer review publications where they remain hidden from their possible industrial applications. Given the challenges offered by current global events like environmental pollution, climate change effects, and diseases, the need for more rapid transmission of scientific discoveries from the realm of postgraduate dissertations and research papers to industrial applications is most critical. Hence, the need for a clear road map, allowing the connection of both pure and applied scientific discoveries to their industrial applications is obvious. Of course, for this to be achieved, a clear understanding of the constituent steps of such a process is germane. Hence, this brief workshop aims to map a possible path for achieving the aforementioned central goal, using previous experiences and examples.
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