Date: 15 May 2003

Identifying ways to improve taro quality and production is one of the objectives of a 3-day Taro Symposium to be held at Tanoa International Hotel, 21^st – 23^rd of May, 2003. 

Over sixty taro (dalo) research and development specialists from around the world will convene to review progress in taro research and development and share research findings and exchange ideas at the Third Taro Symposium. This meeting follows a successful Taro Symposium, held in 1994 in Indonesia.

The three-day symposium will also review research work in identifying different methods of conserving and using genetic diversity as well as looking at advances in pest and diseases.

The symposium also aims to stimulate international collaboration, information exchange and networking. Throughout the symposium needs and priorities will be discussed, so that a strategy can be developed for future work in taro research and development,

Taro is one of the most ancient of crops and plays a vital role in sustainable livelihoods in the relatively fertile and high rainfall environments of the Pacific. It is also a significant export commodity in the Pacific, particularly for Fiji and the Cook Islands.

Taro has faced many challenges, for instance, Taro Leaf Blight, which devastated production in Samoa and has threatened other Pacific islands, and the fast disappearance of genetic diversity, due to pests, diseases, urban migration and dietary changes. These problems have been addressed by researchers and development experts, and the symposium presents an opportunity for this work to be reviewed, along with the impact it has had on taro growers, since the second Taro symposium.

This symposium is sponsored by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Centre for International Research and Development (CIRAD) and the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and Japan.