Kanaks chiefs in the french territory of New Caledonia are interested in Vanuatu's expertise on research on root crops.
They have visited a specialist root crop garden about 5km out of the capital Port Vila.
A researcher at the centre, Doctor Vincent Lebot says the Kanaks chiefs, who are members of Custom Senate of New Caledonia, were surprised to learn of the the progress Vanuatu has made in the last 11 years in research on yams, sweet potatoes, taro and cassava.
He says it is their intention to request the government of New Caledonia to liase with Vanuatu to benefit from the expertise in the development of root crops.
Vanuatu has come up with a number of hybrids of yams, taro, sweet potatoes and cassava.
