International COCOTECH Conference and Exhibition 2021 is the largest technical conference conducts once every two years dedicated solely to showcase the different development activities in the coconut sector. This conference is organized by the International Coconut Community (ICC) together with the ICC member country who offers hosting facilities. Many ICC member countries that have experienced hosting this event physically in earlier years are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Although the event was planned to be held physically in 2020 by the Government of Malaysia in association with ICC, due to the uncertain situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Government of Malaysia has approved to hold up into a physical 50th International COCOTECH Conference and Exhibition in 2022. For the first time in its history, the 49th International COCOTECH Conference & Exhibition was held virtually from 30 August-2 September 2021 hosted by ICC Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
It was officially inaugurated by H.E. Hon. Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, Republic of Indonesia. In his inaugural remarks, the honorable minister emphasized, “The Indonesian government will continue to support the coconut sector and the ICC secretariat in Indonesia. He added that other member countries of the International Coconut Community (ICC) can also continue to support sustainable coconut development in their respective countries considering the large contribution of coconut not only from the economic aspect but also from the social and environmental aspects.”
Dr. Jelfina C. Alouw, Executive Director, ICC delivered the welcome speech. She mentioned, “Productive deliberations are expected from the conference and can come up with policy recommendations that would be implemented for supporting the resilient and sustainable coconut sector for the benefit of small scale farmers, industries and other stakeholders.”
The 49th International COCOTECH Conference was well attended by over 600 participants from 42 countries virtually which was the mode of participation. The Conference theme, “Promoting Smart Farming, Eco Friendly and Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Coconut Development”, is strategic efforts of building the coconut industry that will focus on optimizing economic growth and considering long-term impacts on social, and environmental factors. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the coconut sector and the strategic program to address these challenges would be valuable information in building forward better.
The 4-day conference covered seven technical sessions by 26 eminent resource speakers, where they have shared their idea, knowledge, and experience with the latest technologies and development. The subjects covered during the Conference assisted in preparing farming communities to counter the challenges and maximize benefits from the opportunities that are presented.
The Sessions were on: Policies & Programs Promoting Sustainable Coconut Development Session; Recent Scientific Evidence on Health Benefits of Coconut Based Products Session; Enhancing Competitiveness of Coconut Base Products in the Era of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA); Advanced Technologies for Supporting Adequate Supply of Raw Materials to Meet Current and Future Demand for Coconut Based Products; Strategies for Ensuring Sustainable Demand for Coconut as Functional Foods, Nutraceutical, Pharmaceutical, Cosmeceutical and Environmental Friendly Products; Smart Farming and Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change for Sustaining Coconut Production and Increasing Farm Productivity; Innovative Strategies for Preventing Economic Losses Caused by Pests and Diseases. Each Session was followed by an open forum or discussion coordinated by Session Chairman. The queries raised by the participants were attended by the resource speakers.
A virtual exhibition was also included. The cutting-edge digital technology has enabled a virtual exhibition conducted in a 3D virtual reality tour, which could transform a physical booth into a virtual booth. The ICC Secretariat has developed a dedicated website that has features like a physical booth, such as products display, company profile, videos, brochures, posters, even a chatbox for B2B appointments. The virtual exhibition offered a one-stop platform to MSMEs, big coconut industries, suppliers, coconut associations, and coconut research institutes to show the latest technologies/industry trends, coconut products, machinery, build brand proximity, network, and conduct business. 45 exhibitors from 11 countries participated in the exhibition, which includes Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and Samoa. Visitors could virtually walk around the hall, visit the exhibitor booths, and interact with the exhibitors. There was an average of 500 daily unique visitors.
The recommendations emanating from COCOTECH were endorsed by the plenipotentiary delegates, session chairs, and resource speakers from the countries for implementation by the member countries. Amongst the emergence of new knowledge and the development of innovative technologies shared at the Conference are the introduction of mobile apps technology under Internet of Things (IoT) for smart irrigation systems for coconut plantations sustainable development; new online tools for visualizing and analyzing trade integration using RIVA to understand any country’s involvement in global value chains developed by UN-ESCAP; innovative micropropagation method as an alternative to the clonal propagation method that relies on somatic embryogenesis; and the use of coconut oil as feedstock of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Many International partner organisations, research institutes, and commodity boards of the member countries participated in the Conference, they were United Nations Economic and Social Commision Asia and The Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Non-Aligned Movement-Center for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM-CSSTC), Coalition of Coconut Producing Districs (KOPEK), The Pacific Community (SPC), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique Pour le Dévelopment (CIRAD), Coconut Development Board (CDB) of India, Indonesian Palm Crops Research Institute (IPCRI), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA),Coconut Development Authority (CDA) of Sri Lanka, Coconut Research Institute (CRI) of Sri Lanka, Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) of Sri Lanka, Centre de Investigaci’on Cienti’fica de yucat’an (CICY) of Mexico, University of Queensland (UQ) and Conservation and Development of Coconut Oil Forum of Thailand (CDCOT), International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA-FAO),International Trade Center (ITC), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), and Australian Cetre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
The Conference concluded with the adoption of the policy recommendations and announcement of the 50th International Cocotech Conference in 2022 to be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture & Food Industry, Government of Malaysia.