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ICAC and the former Hellenic Cotton Board of Greece organized a meeting of regional cotton researchers in Athens, Greece in July 1984, which can be rightly called the origin and first meeting of the Inter-regional Cooperative Research Network on Cotton for the Mediterranean and Middle East Regions. At this meeting, Greece proposed to form a regional network and have regular meetings. Later, the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Near East and CIRAD-CA (then IRCT) of France also actively participated and sponsored meetings of the network. The network attained its formal status after many years. Currently, the network has working groups on varieties, irrigation, plant protection, nutrition, fiber quality, farming systems, etc., that may meet more frequently but plenary meetings of the network are held every four years.
First Meeting
Athens, Greece, July 9-13, 1984
Delegates from Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Spain, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Yugoslavia, International Institute for Cotton, CIRAD-CA (then IRCT) and ICAC attended the meeting. Proceedings are available from ICAC.
Second Meeting
Montpellier, France, March 3-7, 1986
The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier, CIRAD-CA (then IRCT) and ICAC jointly organized the meeting. Delegates from Bulgaria, Greece, Iran, Israel, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, International Institute for Cotton, Textile Institute of France, CFDT and ICAC attended the meeting. Proceedings and a brief report are available from ICAC. The meeting once again emphasized to have regular meetings of the network.
Third Meeting
Montpellier, France, April 13-15, 1988
FAO took the leading role in organizing this meeting. The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier and IRCT (now CIRAD-CA) helped to organize the meeting. Delegates from Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Sudan, Turkey, UK, FAO and ICAC attended the meeting. FAO published a report. ICAC also did its own brief report on the meeting.
Fourth Plenary Meeting
Thessaloniki, Greece, June 16-19, 1992
It was also called Second Consultation on the Interregional Cooperative Research Network on Cotton – Mediterranean and Middle East regions. Delegates from Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Iran, Israel, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, FAO, CIRAD and ICAC attended the meeting. Report on the Meeting was published in June 1992 issue of the ICAC RECORDER. Proceedings of the meeting were also published by Greece.
Fifth Plenary Meeting
Montpellier, France, October 2-5, 1996
Delegates from Belgium, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Mali, Morocco, Paraguay, Poland, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, USA, FAO, CIRAD and ICAC attended the meeting. FAO published a report on the meeting.
Dr. Urania Kechagia of Greece replaced Dr. Michel Braud of IRCT as new Chairperson of the network at this meeting.
Sixth Plenary Meeting
Adana, Turkey, September 20-24, 2000
Delegates from Bulgaria, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, USA, Uzbekistan, CIRAD-CA of France, FAO and ICAC attended the meeting. ICAC published a report on the meeting in September 2000 issue of the ICAC RECORDER. Abstracts and full proceedings were also published.
Seventh Plenary Meeting
Sindos, Greece, September 30-October 2, 2004
Delegates from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Poland, Sudan, Turkey, Uster Technologies (USA), CIRAD and ICAC attended the meeting. Proceedings were published on a CD in addition to the abstracts book which was distributed at the meeting.
Current Coordinator of the Network
Dr. Urania Kechagia
Director
Cotton and Industrial Plants Institute
57400 Sindos, Thessaloniki
Greece
Phone: 30-31-799444
Fax: 30-31-796513
email: ok31944@compulink.gr
The network has an electronic mailing list, hosted by ICAC, for communications among researchers. Subscription to the list is free: med@lists.icac.org.
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