TFNet Board of Trustees meeting was held at the Ocean Hotel, Guangzhou, China on 6-7th July 2010. It was attended by 9 members and 15 observers. The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of TFNet, H.E. Dato’ Mohd Mokhtar bin Ismail, who is also the Secretary General of Ministry of Agriculture and Agrobased Industry, Malaysia. The staff of TFNet East Asia Office based at the Fruit Tree Research Institute, Guangzhou, China also attended the meeting. In his opening remarks, the Chairperson expressed his hope that TFNet will in due course be a relevant global network which will benefit tropical fruit growing countries and be financially independent.
Members of TFNet BOT meeting
The main agendas discussed during the meeting included the action taken to address the initiatives specified in the TFNet strategic plan workshop which was held in February 2009 and the TFNet progress report from the last General Assembly in August 2009 until the end of June 2009.
The board members also discussed on the proposed amendments of the TFNet constitution circulated by the Secretariat and agreed to review the constitution for the benefit of the organisation and member countries. The review will be presented for approval at the 5th General Assembly in 2012.
TFNet BOT meeting in progress
The discussion on the progress report and strategic planning initiatives, focussed on the TFNet membership status, financial sustainability and promotion of the network. While, members agree that there has been an increase in country members and activities pertaining to income generation, there is still room for TFNet to expand its role to be a more global player. Future activities such as workshops, seminars and consultancies should be focussed on the involvement of more tropical fruit growing countries.
Other recommendations for TFNet include the submission of project proposals to CFC (Common Fund for Commodities), expanding the expert roster list, engaging experts for projects, organizing a tropical fruit trade forum in China and inviting tropical fruit processing associations to become members.
The meeting also decided that the next Board meeting will be held in Damascus, Syria. It will be hosted by Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (MAAR), Government of Syria. The meeting concluded with representatives from Bangladesh and Indonesia, each receiving the country membership certificate from the Chairperson.
Dr. Yi Ganjun, Director of Fruit Tree Research Institute, Guangzhou present a momento to the Chairperson
Besides the meeting, a field trip was organized to visit the biggest fruit wholesale market in China, which is in Guangzhou, and a research fruit farm in Zhuhai.
Visit to the Fruit Wholesale Market in Guangzhou
Field visit to a guava farm in Zhuhai