Mr. Peter Robert Johnson, Expert Member of the TFNet Board of Trustees, paid a courtesy visit on 26 August 2026 to the TFNet headquarters in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
He was welcomed by Mr. Muhamed Salim bin Mohd Ali, CEO, Dr. Dorothy Chandrabalan, Technical Officer, and Mr. Christian Cangao, Information Officer.
During the visit, Mr. Salim shared updates on ongoing programmes and highlighted upcoming initiatives aimed to support the development of the tropical fruit sector, such as capacity building, technical exchange, and intergovernmental policy discussions.
As one of TFNet’s consultants for the recently completed project on enhancing Saudi Arabia’s tropical fruit landscape, Mr. Johnson provided insights on possible follow-up activities. He said that while the demo farms have been established, the local farmers lack the training on how to properly use and maintain the technology that were introduced. Training programs can be developed with partners in Saudi Arabia to ensure that the fruit trees will thrive and yield high quality fruits.
Mr. Salim also proposed the establishment of the TFNet Global Experts Directory, with the purpose of creating a credible global director of recognized experts covering the whole tropical value chain. This will strengthen TFNet’s role as an international knowledge and technical cooperation platform. Experts will be recognized from TFNet member countries, providing governments, research institutes, the industry, and development partners access to trusted technical expertise. This will enable TFNet to identify resource persons for technical missions, consultancies, research collaborations, and capacity building activities.
This courtesy call reflects Mr. Johnson’s commitment as an Expert Member, and will continue to support the Secretariat to achieve TFNet’s goal of promoting the sustainable global development of the tropical fruit industry.
