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United StatesARRIP Institute: 50 Years of Bio Innovations
On 26-27 November 2008, the International conference ‘50 years of Serving Agricultural Security in the Country’ was held in the All Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology (ARRIP) to underline the 50 year anniversary of the institute. Representatives of leading research centers from Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia and USA, participated in the conference, which was co-sponsored by the ISTC Partner - Agriculture Research Service/United State Department of Agriculture (ARS/USDA). The Institute of Phytopatology is internationally recognized center focused on protecting crops from dangerous microorganisms.
Since 1999, ISTC has been a key collaborator to the development of the institute with 22 agreements signed and a total funding of $ 8,6 M. According to the institute, ISTC matched the funding of the Russian government in the period between 2001-2008 and 70% of the institute’s staff members have received grant payments from ISTC, thus preventing a brain drain of the more skilled researchers.
In order to assure bio security at the institute, different measures were implemented through ISTC projects. The National Collection of Phytopathological microorganisms have been re-created. New and efficient biosecurity systems were developed to prevent emissions of toxic agents into the environment.
ISTC projects provided the Institute with the opportunity to monitor the agricultural activity in the country and take part in various international conferences, meetings and seminars, visit institutes abroad and exchange with their counterparts from different countries. Twelve training courses in European and North American institutes were organized for the ARRIP specialists.
An important international recognition of the institute came in 2005 when the Senator and future US President, Baraсk Obama, along with Indiana Senator Richard G. Lugar, and ISTC’s former Executive Director, Norbert Jousten, visited the institute. President Obama was touring weapons destruction sites in Russia and other former USSR countries to review the status and expand the scope of the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program.
Barack Obama (2nd from the left) at the All Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology