The Eleventh Board of Trustees (BOT) Session of the International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet) was held in Nadi, Fiji on 26 October 2017, a day after the International Symposium on Tropical Fruits (ISTF2017).
It was attended by 13 Board Members from 7 TFNet member countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC). Five observers and 3 members of the TFNet Secretariat were also present in the meeting.
His Excellency Mohd Sallehhuddin bin Hassan, Deputy Secretary General for Planning, Ministry of Agriculture Malaysia, officiated the meeting as Chairperson. Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary Uraia Waibuta of the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture was appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the meeting.
During the meeting, TFNet CEO Mohd Desa Hassim presented on the progress report for 2016-2017 that includes workshops and study visits conducted, finance and administration, and membership status.
A subcommittee was formed to review TFNet’s Strategic Plan and advise the Secretariat on its future direction. Members of the subcommittee include Australia representative Robert Williams, Fiji Representative Shalendra Prasad, Philippines representative Danilo Dannug, CFFRC representative Felix Miller, and Expert Member Yacob Ahmad.
The venue for the next General Assembly will be announced after the Board has finalized the venue. Minutes of the meeting will be sent to all members of the Board of Trustees before 29 December 2017.
Board of Trustees and Delegates
Chairperson
HE Dato’ Mohd Sallehhuddin bin Hassan
Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, Malaysia
TFNet Chairperson and Representative of the Government of Malaysia
Vice Chairperson
Mr. Uraia Waibuta
Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fiji
Representative of the Government of Fiji
Secretary
Dr. Mohd Desa Hassim
Chief Executive Officer
International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet)
Mr. Pascal Liu
Team Leader, International Investment and Tropical Fruits
Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Mr. Robert Williams
Representative of the Government of Australia
Mr. Shalendra Prasad
Principal Research Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Fiji
Bureau Officer of the Government of Fiji
Dr. Prakash Patil
Principal Scientist and Project Coordinator, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR)
Bureau Officer of the Government of India
Mr. George Culaste
Director, Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines
Representative of the Government of Philippines
Mr. Danilo Dannug
Supervising Agriculturist, Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines
Bureau Officer of the Government of Philippines
Dr. Shiiromani Edirimanna
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung
Director General, Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute
Representative of the Government of Vietnam
Mr. Felix Miller
Chief Corporate Services
Associate Member, Crops for the Future Research Centre
Mr. Yacob Ahmad
Expert Member, International Tropical Fruits Network
Observers
Ms. Fatin Nadhirah Jazamuddin, Ministry of Agriculture, Malaysia
Dr. Ellina Mansyah, Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute, Indonesia
Dr. Arry Supriyanto, Indonesian Citrus and Subtropical Research Institute, Indonesia
Dr. Affandi, Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute, Indonesia
Mr. Sant Kumar, Bula Agro Nursery, Fiji
Secretariat
Ms. Dorothy Chandrabalan, TFNet
Mr. Arifurrahman Rusman, TFNet
Mr. Christian Anthony Cangao, TFNet
Written by Christian Cangao