Marc Châtel

Marc Chatel was a retired senior scientist with broad international experience in plant breeding and international cooperation. He held a scientist position at the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (Cirad) for 40 years, mainly in collaboration with national and international institutions. He spent 8 years in Madagascar, working as maize, cassava, and rice breeder. He also worked for 10 years in Brazil as a rice breeder at the Rice and Beans Center of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). Finally for 19 years he worked at CIAT headquarters as a rice breeder and was responsible for the Cirad–CIAT Rice Collaborative Project.

During his career, Marc was responsible for the co-creation and release of numerous rice varieties adapted to upland and lowland ecosystems. He also co-developed and managed a Latin American rice breeders network that facilitates sharing of basic and promising germplasm throughout the region, as well as the dissemination of the innovative method of rice breeding and enhancement through recurrent selection techniques. Marc Chatel passed away in February 2024.