Prompt action by AwF on UTMarT collaboration
Category:UpdatesFollowing the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF) and the Universidad Tecnológica Del Mar De Tamaulipas Bicentenario (UTMarT) on 15 September 2013, a number of activities have taken place highlighting the importance that both organisations have placed on the arrangements.
Roy Palmer, AwF Executive Director, said, “AwF has immediately appointed Antonio Garza de Yta as its Capacity Building Director with a specific role to manage the AwF Aquaculture Learning Centre at the International Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer for Aquaculture (CIITTA) project with UTMarT. We recognised the very important role that Antonio played in establishing the agreement and the high regard in which he is held. We note that Antonio has also just become the President of the Capítulo Latino Americano y del Caribe de la Sociedad Mundial de Acuacultura (LACC-WAS) and we are grateful to have him on our team.”
Palmer added, “Additionally, through AwF’s strategic alliances we are able to confirm that three aquaculture specialists have been engaged through the ‘Farmer to Farmer’ program managed at the University of Arizona by former WAS & AwF President, Professor Kevin Fitzsimmons, to visit UTMarT in the next 4-6 weeks. They will primarily be engaged in strategic planning for the Crassostrea Virginica (Virginia oysters) project, which will be located in La Pesca, Tamaulipas (just where hurricane Ingrid hit). This is seen as a major development for the population living in the coastal areas where the poorest communities in the state are located.”
Another AwF volunteer, Dr. Imad Saoud from the American University in Lebanon, is visiting CIITTA in Tampico at the moment and engaging in discussion with UTMarT students, industry and government on activities relating to his specialty, Arid Land Aquaculture. Utilisation of water is seen as a major issue and Dr. Saoud’s experiences and research in this area are world renowned.
Commenting on the AwF activities, Chancellor of UTMarT, Dr. Guadalupe Acosta Villarreal, said “We have been impressed with the urgency that AwF have shown in these activities relating to the agreement with high quality aquaculture specialists that will make a long term improvement in growing aquaculture and alleviating poverty and hunger in the area. From our side we have commenced the construction at CIITTA, which will be AwF’s first Aquaculture Learning Centre (ALC).”
AwF’s ‘Farmer to Farmer’ completed project reports are detailed on our website and are the subject of the FARMD Forum for Agricultural Risk Management in Development.