Global Okra Round Table – GORT II

Okra as a crop has witnessed significant growth in the last decade with India garnering 70 percent of the global share followed by Nigeria at 15 percent. Recognizing the importance of the crop, the first Global Okra Round Table (GORT) meeting was held in India under the aegis of ATPBR (Advanced Training in Plant Breeding Research) with the support of ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, India on Oct 10-12, 2022. The conference was attended by more than 250 professionals. One of the decisions in the plenary session on Oct 12, 2022 was to make GORT as a biennial event and by consensus of participants it was decided to host GORT 2 in Nigeria recognising its prominence as a second most producer of okra globally. NIHORT, Ibadan, Nigeria, has agreed to co-host the event and provide all local support for this important meeting planned from October 2 to 4, 2024.

The Conference aim to facilitate discussion on Okra improvement status. With Nigeria being the second largest producer of okra globally, this makes it an ideal host for round two conference on okra improvement. Discussions can revolve around best practices, research findings, and innovations in okra cultivation, and also addressing breeding, genomics, agronomy, IPM, nutritional quality, socioeconomic aspects and agribusinesses in not only Nigeria but whole of Africa and rest of the world.