31 July 2024 – Bacteriology Group Leader Vittorio Venturi was in Rabat, Morocco to explore joint collaboration with the long-standing ICGEB Member State.
World expert in plant microbiomes, Dr. Vittorio Venturi is long-standing Group Leader of the Bacteriology lab at ICGEB in Trieste. Since June 2024 he is also Professor at the African Genome Center of the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Ben Guerir, near Marrakech. Working on plant-associated bacteria and sustainable agriculture focusing on Africa, he recently visited H.E. Armando Barucco, Ambassador to Italy in Morocco, at the Italian Embassy in Rabat.
Dr. Venturi combines his research associations to build bridges between ICGEB and Africa. He is coordinating the ICGEB project funded under the “Piano Mattei” B-INOC: Bio-inoculants for Food Security in Africa, striving to ensure more sustainable agriculture in developing countries.
“This meeting was an opportunity to explore possible future collaborations within the Piano Mattei” with Morocco – a strategic country in this area” confirms Dr. Venturi, adding “As well as a full ICGEB Member State since 1990.”
Dr. Venturi also visited the ICGEB Affiliated Centre in Morocco, the “Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique” (CNRST), a state-of-the-art research and service institute, to meet Dr. El Mostafa El Fahime, Director of Scientific Services. Together with Prof. Jamila El Alami, Director, Dr. El Fahime endorses and coordinates ICGEB activities in Morocco.
ICGEB Affiliated Centres are historically established research institutes in Member States with high-standard research, which represent a network hosting many of the Centre’s training activities and services to local institutions, such as the Collaborative Research Programme (CRP) – ICGEB Research Grants, Meetings and Courses and Fellowships.