News - May 22, 2008

Breathing space for Prota

Prota, the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa project, which is recording information on seven thousand useful African plants, has been given until the autumn year to find new funding.

Professor Raoul Bino, general director of the Plant Sciences Group (PSG), announced the news this week. In April the PSG management indicated that the Wageningen office of Prota would have to be reorganised because of a funding shortage. ‘We are very glad to have been given breathing space,’ said Dr Jan Siemonsma, head of the Prota Wageningen office. ‘A reorganisation would mean the end of Prota, while we have two books to finish this year. We are still negotiating with the Bill Gates Foundation for long-term funding.’ The decision about reorganisation will be postponed until the Prota Foundation management meeting in October this year.