1st International Acrocomia Workshop Acrocomia plus: Latin America's plant diversity and its bioeconomic potential

From 11th to 13th September 2019, leading scientists from Latin America and Germany met for the first time to present on-going research activities and discuss knowledge gaps, research priorities and future collaborations with regard to Acrocomia spp., (Macaw palm, Macauba) and its bioeconomical potential. Our guests represented different geographic regions and scientific disciplines with complementary expertise along the Acrocomia value chain. Topics discussed ranged from agricultural topics such as seed germination and agricultural systems to fully developed applications, while considering sustainability aspects through-out. This lead to a fruitful interdisciplinary and cross-regional “academic space” addressing the question: What are the major research advances, challenges and future possibilities in Acrocomia research - from fundamental to applied research on plant and biomass, processing and products as well as the overall aspects of sustainability?

With the aim to involve non-academic stakeholders in the Acrocomia research agenda, various partners from the local and transnational industrial sector dedicated to food and cosmetic applications, non-governmental organizations and public-private projects were also invited. Shared interests as well as concerns were raised and potential involvement strategies in future research were explored. The 1^st International Acrocomia Workshop resulted in a highly participatory space where the seed for interdisciplinary baseline projects was planted and a great network of scientists and practitioners was established. With the results of this interdisciplinary workshop international Acrocomia research is one step closer to provide answers for a successful implementation of the palm tree and its products within a sustainable bioeconomy.

We express our gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for their esential support that allowed us to invite a diverse group of Latin American scientists and carry out this unique event. We specially thank to the participants from Latin America, the University of Hohenheim, the University of Göttingen and all organizations and companies that joined in the workshop for their positive engagement as well as to the commited team that conceived it and organized it.

Organizer commitee

Hohenheim Research Center for Global Food Security and Ecosystems (GFE)

Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institute) of the University of Hohenheim