GALILEO Project activities launched in Cameroon Living Labs with a Participatory Planning Meeting – Galileo Project

07/05/2025

GALILEO Project activities launched in Cameroon LLs with a Participatory Planning Meeting

The GALILEO EU-AU Project marked a significant milestone with its official launch and maiden planning meeting held physically in Cameroon from April 22–23, 2025. Representatives from partner institutions — IRAD, Nitidae, CIRAD, GDA, and WU — gathered to inaugurate the initiative. The ceremony concluded with a symbolic group photo and a tree planting in a cocoa-based agroforestry system to commemorate the start of the project.

The two-day planning session embraced a participant-centered approach, encouraging open dialogue and critical reflections on key project concepts and field experiences. Discussions revolved around innovative agroforestry practices, integration of animal farming, and the Living Lab (LL) and Innovation Platform (IP) concepts. Participants collaboratively explored stakeholder mapping, agroforestry legislation, farmer typologies, and the inclusion of diverse species and techniques to enhance sustainability in cocoa systems.

The fruitful discussions and insights gathered identified several aspects to explore during the implementation of the GALILEO project:

• Compatibility between cocoa and tree species preferred by farmers

• Profitability of trees planted alongside cocoa

• Use of cocoa pod husks as organic fertilizer

• Integration of mangosteen and other species into cocoa systems

• Animal rearing, beekeeping, and snail farming in cocoa plots

• Legal aspects surrounding cocoa agroforestry

• Impacts of climate change on cocoa production

• Cocoa cultivation in forest reserves

• Nursery techniques for specific tree species

• Intercropping cocoa with other food or cash crop

This landmark meeting laid the groundwork for dynamic, collaborative implementation of the GALILEO Project in Cameroon, reinforcing the commitment to innovation, resilience, and sustainability in cocoa agroforestry.

All project activities will be published on the project’s social media accounts. Stay tuned!

Funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement 101181623. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement 101181623. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.