The Regional School of Postgraduate Studies in Forestry and Tropical Territories Management (ERAIFT), a UNESCO Category 2 Centre, organized the private defense of the doctoral thesis by Mr. Louis-Pasteur Bamenga Bopoko, ERAIFT Research Assistant, on Friday, April 4, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM (Kinshasa time). The thesis is titled "Socio-economic Evaluation of Robusta Coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner) (Rubiaceae) in the Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Status and Potential". This study was conducted through a collaboration between ERAIFT and the Meise Botanic Garden under the B2/191/P1/COFFEEBRIDGE grant.

The defense was held in a hybrid format, with both in-person sessions at ERAIFT and online, in front of an international and interdisciplinary jury comprising researchers and faculty members from ERAIFT, IFA Yangambi, the University of Dschang, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, and KU Leuven.

After the oral presentation, discussions, and exchanges between the candidate and the jury members, the thesis was accepted for public defense with distinction. The public defense is scheduled for May 2, 2025.

ERAIFT sincerely thanks the Meise Botanic Garden for the support of this thesis. It also expresses gratitude to its financial and technical partners for their diverse support and renewed trust. The same gratitude is extended to the jury members for their availability and commitment.