Jérôme Degreef
|
Directeur scientifique Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles |
 |
I manage the 30 staff members from the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles collaborating in the achievement of the Meise Botanic Garden missions. In addition to my team leader activities and administrative tasks, my research focuses on the tropical fungi with a special interest in the edible African species and the valorization of these ecosystem services for development. I namely co-authored field guides for identifying the most commonly consumed fungi in central African dense forests, South-Eastern African miombo and West-African savannas and a book for promoting the mushroom cultivation by local population in tropical Africa.
Qualifications
Degrees
- PhD, Gembloux Agricultural University, Belgium, 1998
- Agronomist Ir, Gembloux Agricultural University, Belgium, 1995
Employment history
- Scientific Director Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Meise Botanic Garden, 2014 - ongoing
- Head of department, National Botanic Garden, Belgium, 2006-2013
- Senior Scientist, National Botanic Garden, Belgium, 1999-2005
Projects
- Development of a mushroom value chain in the Beni Territory (North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo The specific objectives of this ENABEL-funded R&D project are : 1) surveying the dietary habits and inventorying the wild fungi consumed by local populations in North Kivu province (D.R. Congo) through ethnomycological surveys; 2) isolating and preserving ex situ wild local strains with potential for cultivation from specimens collected in the Virunga National Park; 3) testing their cultivation potential on substrates from agricultural waste; 4) enhancing technical skills in mushroom cultivation through capacity-building and follow-up of production; 5) supplying top-quality spawn to mushroom growers in the Beni Territory; 6) Analysing the conditions required to establish a pilot Myco-hub; 7) Supporting the promotion and marketing of fresh and processed mushrooms and their by-products. Through this integrated approach, the project will offer the population a choice of domesticated key-species, whose production is controlled and economically viable.
- Edible Fungi of Tropical Africa (website)
Professional activities
- Staff management
- Research in taxonomy and valorization of African fungi (2006 – ongoing)
- Database & website manager Edible Fungi of Tropica Africa (2017 – ongoing)
- Co-editor AbcTaxa series (2006 – ongoing)
- Editor Fungus Flora of Tropical Africa (2007 - ongoing)
- Associate editor Plant Ecology and Evolution (2010 – ongoing)
- Scientific collaborator, ULiège-Gembloux (2001 - ongoing)
- Scientific collaborator, ULB (2019 - ongoing)
Publications
FRIS Research Portal
|
|
|
|
