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September – December 2010

AfricaRice receives the South-South Cooperation Excellence Award 2010

AfricaRice was presented the South-South Cooperation Excellence Award 2010 at the just-concluded Third Annual Global South-South Development Expo in Geneva, Switzerland, for its NERICA rice varieties for the upland ecology (18 varieties) and for the lowland ecology (60 varieties), which were recognized as an innovative development option from the South.

On behalf of AfricaRice, Dr Inussa Akintayo received the award presented by Mr Yiping Zhou, Director, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Dr Josephine Ojiambo, President of the UN General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award,” said Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Director General of AfricaRice. “NERICA varieties have shown how science-based options can improve food security, reduce foreign exchange costs and improve the lives of poor farmers in Africa.”

With nearly 40% of Africa’s total rice consumption coming from the international market, African national rice economies are more exposed to unpredictable external supply and price shocks than elsewhere. The continent is especially vulnerable because of its high prevalence of poverty and food insecurity.

Adapted to the agro-ecological conditions in Africa and uniquely suited to smallholder rice farmers, NERICA varieties for the upland and lowland ecologies have been developed by AfricaRice researchers in close collaboration with many partners, particularly the national programs.

“The NERICA varieties are now grown in more than 700,000 hectares across Africa and since they are self-pollinating, farmers can keep the seed from year to year,” explained Dr Akintayo, who is spearheading the promotion of improved rice varieties in the region through the Center’s African Rice Initiative, with support mainly from Japan, UNDP and the African Development Bank.

Organized by the United Nations each year since 2008, the Global South-South Development Expo provides a forum to enable developing countries and their development partners, including donor agencies, organizations of the United Nations system, and private-sector and civil society organizations, to showcase their evidence-based South-South development solutions.

The Third Annual Global South-South Development Expo was attended by more than 400 delegates from over 40 countries and over 100 innovative solutions that can help achieve the Millennium Development Goals were showcased.

AfricaRice was invited to take part in the Expo as well as in the High-Level Meeting on South-South and Triangular Cooperation, which was organized to facilitate knowledge sharing of best practices in South-South and triangular cooperation and discussion of common challenges and innovative methods of capacity development.
 

EC-funded project in West Africa shows successful multi-stakeholder involvement in inland valleys

The establishment of multi-platform players at the village level – in southwestern Benin and in the circle of Sikasso in Mali – and the strong involvement of stakeholders are already positive signs of the successful management of land development by the actors themselves.

This was the verdict of the participants who attended the final workshop of the first phase of the European Commission-funded 2-year project “Realizing the agricultural potential of inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan Africa while maintaining their environmental services (RAP).” The workshop was held, 7-10 December 2010, in Cotonou, Benin.

The project seeks to improve the livelihood of the rural poor by enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of inland valleys through sustainable intensification and diversification of agricultural productivity and product value chain development, while conserving land and water resources.

Over 50 participants presented and discussed the results obtained in the first phase and made recommendations to identify methods and tools capable of ensuring the national and regional dissemination of technological innovations, institutional and socio-economic improvements to enhance the sustainable productivity of rice in the inland valleys and improve the lives and livelihoods of all the actors along the value chain.

The participants included partners involved in the project from France, Mali, Netherlands and Benin (AfricaRice, IITA, CIRAD, WUR, IER, INRAB, UAC-FSA ICRA); experts from Africa (Burkina Faso and Togo); development specialists; project managers (FAFA PAFIRIZ Benin) and institutions for agricultural development (CERP Department), NGOs, and government representatives.

This plurality of actors reflects the commitment of RAP to involve the entire range of stakeholders in the participatory learning and action research (PLAR) process.

At the workshop, 25 papers and 14 posters were presented, structured around three sessions:

• Success Factors of increased development of lowland
• Intensification and diversification in rice systems
• Development of value chains of agricultural systems based on rice

The meeting included a field trip to the inland valleys of Dogbo and Houinga in the Mono-Couffo area in Benin. It allowed participants to interact with the villagers and to evaluate in situ the relevance of the participatory process around the multi-platforms actors.

The participants were honored that Dr Lynn Haight, a member of the Board of Directors of the CGIAR Consortium to Benin, who was visiting AfricaRice during that period, joined the field trip.

The workshop concluded that a great deal of knowledge and experience has been gained and collaborations initiated with partners in development projects. The next step is to document this knowledge in scientific publications and produce tools that will facilitate decision-making (videos, agro-socio-economic geo-referenced databases on inland valleys, etc.) in partnership with the development actors.
 

BADEA and AfricaRice join forces to help build Africa’s capacity in rice R&D

For the 2nd year in a row, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and AfricaRice teamed up to strengthen Africa’s capacity in integrated rice management (IRM), to bridge yield gaps in farmers’ fields and raise rice production in the region.

As part of this, two training courses – one for English-speaking countries (15-26 November) and another for French-speaking countries (6-17 December) – were organized in Benin. The courses not only provided a foundation in IRM, but also gave young national researchers an opportunity to establish research partnerships among themselves and within the international research networks early in their careers.

More than 50 researchers and extension staff, including 20 women, from 20 countries across Africa took part in this year’s BADEA-AfricaRice Training course. The participating countries comprised Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.

Explaining the importance of this course, AfricaRice Deputy Director General Dr Marco Wopereis said, “Knowledge of IRM is crucial to bridge gaps that currently exist between actual farmers’ yields and attainable yields through better crop management and to fully exploit the potential of improved varieties.”

AfricaRice’s manuals on IRM based on the participatory learning and action research (PLAR) approach developed by the Center were used by the facilitators. Participants were also exposed to AfricaRice’s training videos and radio programs.
 

AfricaRice lays the groundwork for setting new research priorities

AfricaRice scientists and their partners attending the Center’s Research Days, 29 November to 2 December 2010, began an important exercise to set new research priorities as part of the Strategic Plan that the Center is developing.

Based on household- and village-level datasets collected from more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the participants were asked to give their best estimates on possible research options that would address some of the constraints identified in these surveys; associated costs and benefits; and the likelihood of success in developing such options.

“The priority setting exercise will be a consultative process that will involve not only rice experts from AfricaRice and its member States, but also our strategic partners and key stakeholders,” said Dr Aliou Diagne, who is leading this exercise.
 

Aligning with Global Rice Science Partnership

AfricaRice is an important partner in the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), which is a bold new rice research initiative that aims to lift 150 million people out of poverty by 2035 through partnership-based research and more ecoefficient production systems that are more resilient to climate change.

GRiSP was launched as the first new Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program in November 2010 in Vietnam at the International Rice Congress, which was attended by a delegation from AfricaRice led by the Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

Describing the potential impact of this global partnership for Africa, where rice is the fastest growing food staple, Dr Seck said, “It will help reduce Africa’s current reliance on rice imports by developing its huge potential to grow more rice.”

The main architects of GRiSP are three CGIAR Centers (IRRI, AfricaRice and CIAT), CIRAD, IRD, and JIRCAS which will play a strategic role in GRiSP, with hundreds of other partners worldwide representing governments, the private sector and civil society.

IRRI will lead this initiative and also oversee the activities in Asia; AfricaRice will lead the work in Africa, and CIAT in the Latin America & Caribbean region.

GRiSP will work with quantitative impact targets and develop 26 product lines through six research for development themes:

(1) harnessing genetic diversity to chart new productivity, quality, and health horizons;
(2) accelerating the development, delivery, and adoption of improved rice varieties;
(3) ecological and sustainable management of rice-based production systems;
(4) extracting more value from rice harvests through improved quality, processing, market systems, and new products;
(5) technology evaluations, targeting, and policy options for enhanced impact; and
(6) supporting the growth of the global rice sector.

“Our research structure broadly corresponds to these themes, so it is relatively easy for us to align our research activities to the GRiSP mode,” commented AfricaRice Deputy Director General Dr Marco Wopereis at the AfricaRice Research Days, held in December 2010, in Benin.

Africa’s national experts urge strong advocacy for rice R&D to help achieve MDGs

In view of the growing importance of rice for Africa’s food security and the strategic role played by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in advising policymakers on this critical issue, national experts from 24 AfricaRice member countries urged the Center to continue its strong advocacy efforts for increased investments in the domestic rice sector to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This was one of the key recommendations made at the National Experts Committee (NEC), held in Cotonou, Benin, 13-15 September 2010. AfricaRice is a pan-African intergovernmental research association of African member countries. It is also a member of the Consortium of Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

The NEC felicitated the AfricaRice Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck and the staff for their “Outstanding” rating from the World Bank based on scientific, administrative and financial indicators.

Underlining the scarcity of national rice scientists, technicians and extension workers in sub-Saharan Africa, the NEC endorsed several measures taken by AfricaRice and its partners to strengthen national rice R&D capacity:

Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP): The NEC reiterated its support to the new GRiSP initiative of the CGIAR-supported Centers and other key partners working on rice. GRiSP is expected to bring the best of international rice science to Africa in a coordinated manner.

Revival of the task force mechanism: The NEC approved the revival of AfricaRice’s successful task force mode of research partnership. In line with sub-regional and regional organizations, the new Africawide task force mechanism – with strong ownership by national systems – will help build critical mass around major thematic areas of the rice sector. As part of this, an African Rice Breeding Task Force has just been launched with support from the Government of Japan.

Regional harmonization: To ensure regional price stability of rice and harmonization of rice seed and fertilizer legislations and variety release catalogues, the NEC supported AfricaRice’s strategy to strengthen links with regional economic communities.

Harnessing Egypt’s rice expertise: The NEC encouraged AfricaRice to pursue its strategy of harnessing the expertise of Egypt – which became a member of AfricaRice in 2009 – in irrigated rice systems and hybrid rice technology for the benefit of other member countries.

Priority to post-harvest technologies: The NEC stressed the importance of looking beyond increasing rice production in Africa and addressing marketing issues of locally produced rice through a value chain approach – special emphasis will need to be paid to the introduction of suitable harvest and post-harvest technologies.

A major concern was raised by the NEC regarding possible risks to rice germplasm exchange for research purposes if the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) would be expanded to include material currently under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The current arrangement as regulated by the ITPGRFA allows easy access of African countries to rice germplasm from each other or from other regions.

AfricaRice member countries were recommended to initiate an advocacy addressed to their Ministries of Agriculture and Environment to make sure that the African representatives present during the CBD negotiations are well informed of the current benefits for African agriculture from ITPGRFA.
 

May-Aug 2010

Madagascar delighted to join AfricaRice as member State

The Government of Madagascar has conveyed its deep appreciation to AfricaRice Council of Ministers for accepting its application to join the Center.

“Rice is critical to our country’s economy. We have joined AfricaRice because we realize that the future of rice production in the continent depends on this partnership,” stated His Excellency Mr Mamitiana Jaonina, Minister of Agriculture of Madagascar in a letter to the AfricaRice Director General Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

Madagascar is one of the biggest per capita consumers of rice in the world. Rice provides over 50% of calories consumed in the country and rice production involves about 80% of rural households. However, the country is desperate to boost production as it is importing about 200,000 tonnes of rice every year to meet its growing demand.

Warmly welcoming the new member State, Dr Seck said that the Center has already been working closely with the country. “We have several joint projects, such as the Japan-funded Emergency Rice Initiative.” The Minister of Agriculture has invited Dr Seck to attend a seed donation ceremony as part of this Initiative.

Madagascar has also greatly benefited from an innovative farmer learning tool developed by AfricaRice – known as Participatory Learning and Action Research for Integrated Crop Management (PLAR-ICM) – which has helped double average rice yields in farmers’ fields in northern Madagascar through a project supported by the Aga Khan Foundation.

With the joining of Madagascar, the number of AfricaRice member States has gone up to 24. The Center was created in 1971 by 11 African states as an autonomous intergovernmental research organization. Today its membership comprises 24 countries, covering West, Central, East and North African regions. It is also one of the 15 international Centers supported by the CGIAR.

IFAD-funded rice project makes steady progress in DR Congo, Guinea and Sierra Leone

The IFAD project to boost rice production in West and Central Africa (WCA) held its second and critical implementers’ meeting, 12-15 Jul 2010 in Cotonou, Benin.  The key themes of this meeting were to share results, to review progress and to strengthen existing strategies to sustain activities even as the project concludes.

The overall goal of this Project is to improve the contribution of rice production and post-harvest technologies for poverty reduction and food security in WCA.  Its specific objectives are to:

• Develop comprehensive packages of NERICA seed and grain production practices and make them available to project beneficiaries

• Build capacities of rice scientists and technicians in order to strengthen national rice research and production”

Three key studies were designed to support the on-going processes and activities, i.e. i) seed; production, distribution, capacity among local producers ii) PVS; rice varietal selection, field learning processes and iii) information; packaging, review and dissemination.  The respective studies are i) indigenous seed institutions ii) evaluation of PVS and iii) gendered access to rice information through media.

AfricaRice is implementing the IFAD WCA Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Sierra Leone through core partnerships with INERA, IRAG and SLARI respectively. Other institutions involved include NGOs, extension organizations, ministries, farmer organisations, IFAD investment projects, universities, FAO and other projects e.g. EUcord and PARSAR, and the BTC.

Key themes of the project and the main outcomes from 2009 were highlighted in the meeting by the overall coordinator based in AfricaRice. Emphasis was placed on i) access to rice seed and ii) knowledge among smallholders iii) partnerships, especially for the sustainability of the project achievements iv) activities aimed to build capacities and iv) field researches.  Details for these themes were then presented by country teams.

AfricaRice student wins 2009-2010 Africa-wide science competitions

Ms Esperance Benedicte Zossou of Benin, who is pursuing her postgraduate studies at AfricaRice, won the Third Prize in the 2009-2010 Africa-Wide Women & Young Professional in Science Competitions for her work on the “Technological and institutional innovations triggered by farmer-to-farmer rice parboiling video in Central Benin.”

The Science Competitions were organized jointly by CTA, FARA, RUFORUM, ANAFE, AGRA, NEPAD in Burkina Faso, 19-20 Jul 2010, as a side event during the 5th African Agricultural Science Week and FARA General Assembly.

The Africa-wide science competitions sought to identify, recognize and reward the hard work and excellence of young professionals (aged 25 – 40 years) and women scientists who are engaged in innovative and pioneering research and communicating their outputs (knowledge, technologies and approaches) to improve agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of rural communities.

One hundred submissions were received for both competitions from which 41 top entrants were selected to develop their abstracts into full papers.

In Mar 2010, Ms Zossou had won the Outstanding Young Scientist Award at the Africa Rice Congress 2010, organized by AfricaRice in Bamako, Mali.

Japan Emergency Rice Project benefits over 58,000 vulnerable rice farmers

The Emergency Rice Project launched by AfricaRice with support from Japan in the wake of the food crisis has been able to help a total of 58,226 vulnerable farmers get access to quality seed and at the same time, to reinforce or rebuild seed systems.

More than 60% of the project countries have now a good starting seed capital for the production of newly released varieties, including upland and lowland NERICAs. On average the number of hectares to be covered ranges from 350 (Sudan) to 1000 hectares (Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar) and the majority of countries (more than 75%) will cover at least 600 hectares.

The seed component of the Japan Emergency Project was designed to provide access to quality rice seed to vulnerable farmers in 20 countries in Western, Eastern and Southern Africa, most of which belong to the group of 21 CARD candidate countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Liberia, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo in West Africa and Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and in East Africa.

A total of 73 institutions participated including 20 NARS, 11 seed companies, 19 input-dealers and 23 NGOs promoting rice production. The project led to a reinforcement of the seed system in most countries and in some cases, to start rebuilding them (Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire).

As part of the project, seed donations were made to farmers in the participating countries in the presence of partners and government officials. In Côte d’Ivoire, AfricaRice Director General attended the seed donation ceremony held in May 2010.

Training course on rice seed production technology for Africa held in Egypt

A training course, Seed Production Technology for Africa, jointly organized by AfricaRice, IRRI, and the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt, was held in Kafr-el Sheikh, Egypt, 1-6 August 2010, under the Green Super Rice (GSR) project with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through CAAS.

The course was attended by more than 30 researchers from 10 African countries (Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda). It covered the areas relating to quality seed production technology for both hybrids and inbreds, as well as the use of CropStat software for statistical analysis.

The main objective of the course was to train researchers to become trainers themselves and promote a similar course in their respective countries with support from their local GSR coordinator and the regional coordinator based at AfricaRice.

Project launched to tap rice potential of Africa’s lowlands

A project to help African rice farmers maximize the vast potential of inland valleys through ecological management was launched in Cotonou, Benin, 16-17 Aug 2010, by the Benin-based Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) with technical and financial support from Japan.

The new project will focus on the testing and adaptation of a proven rice production technology used in Asia – known as Sawah – which helps to boost rice production through improved water and soil management. The Sawah system includes the use of small machinery for land preparation and good crop management practices.

“With increased risk of droughts in large parts of Africa because of climate change, well-managed inland valleys can contribute to food security through enhanced productivity of rice-based systems,” explained Dr Paul Kiepe, speaking on behalf of the AfricaRice Director General at the project launching meeting. Dr Kiepe is heading the Center’s Sustainable Productivity Enhancement Program.

It is estimated that the annual potential production of 20 million hectares of Sawah systems in sub-Saharan Africa would be at least 30 to 40 million tons of milled rice. The increased production would help African countries to sharply curtail their risky over-dependence on rice imports and stave off future food crises.

The new project will initially cover Benin and Togo and is expected to expand to other countries that are members of the Inland Valley Consortium (IVC). The Consortium is convened by AfricaRice.

The project partners include the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the national programs of the IVC member countries, Hitotsubashi, Tsukuba and Kinki Universities in Japan and the Universities of Hohenheim and Munich in Germany.

In addition to the representatives of all project partners and other organizations with related expertise, the meeting brought together high-level dignitaries of the Government of Japan, notably the Ambassador of Japan in Benin and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

Japan has prioritized agriculture in its support to African development at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development-IV in 2008. As Japan has a long tradition and expertise in rice production, it has forged strong collaboration with AfricaRice since more than three decades. Currently seven Japanese scientists are working in several joint projects at AfricaRice.  

Good quality rice pays off: Highlighting importance of rice postharvest

AfricaRice was invited to participate in a special side event on “Rice post-harvest systems: Saving rice harvest and moving towards better livelihoods,” at the 2nd West & Central Africa Agricultural Science Week and the General Assembly of CORAF/WECARD, 24-28 May 2010, Cotonou, Benin.

AfricaRice experts presented a strategic overview of the Center’s rice research for development activities ranging from rice genetic diversity, seed systems, new breeding direction to the postharvest practices and the quality of rice in West Africa and rice policy and impact research.

It was highlighted that although rice is known to be a hardy crop in terms of withstanding grain deterioration, locally produced rice has not been competitive qualitatively and quantitatively.

Quantitative losses come from bird attacks, lodging, shattering, spillages, incomplete and threshing. Qualitative losses come from the presence of stones, delayed harvest, poor handling after harvest, including stacking, drying, parboiling, milling, packaging, and the presence of mycotoxins.  Improper parboiling can result in more breakages. The processing of rice mixed with stones can damage milling equipment. Additionally, the technical capacity of millers is too low to enable them do a good job. 

Experts emphasized the need for training of farmers and processors in improved processing technology to encourage marketers to properly package their products.

AfricaRice rated as Outstanding by World Bank

As part of its annual evaluation of 15 international Centers belonging to CGIAR) based on performance-linked measurements, the World Bank announced in Jun 2010 that it has rated AfricaRice as 'Outstanding,' in the 2009 Performance Measurement exercise. This is the highest of three performance categories.

The assessment was based on a number of criteria that included results, impacts, quality and relevance of the Center’s research and publications, financial and institutional health, and stakeholder perceptions.

The Performance Measurement System (PMS) is a regular annual feature in the CGIAR monitoring and evaluation system, which provides Centers with a barometer to better gauge their own performance and demonstrate accountability and transparency to their stakeholders. The World Bank uses the performance measurement data as a guideline for allocating part of its funding to the Centers.

Earlier this year, the Director General, Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, and the staff of AfricaRice were congratulated by the Board of Trustees for placing the Center on a path of continuous growth as a result of the following achievements:

• Doubling of the Center’s budget in 2010 compared to 2007, with a significant rise in fund reserves;

• Increase in recovery of contributions from African member States, which now collectively rank as the number one core donor of the Center;

• High rate of accession to membership of the Center by African countries in the period 2006-2010 than ever before;

• Large number of exciting research projects addressing major challenges of rice in Africa, including climate change;

• Close partnership with national programs, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and advanced research institutions;

• International recognition such as the Agricultural Merit Order of France and the Merit Order of Senegal presented to the Director General, the CGIAR’s Outstanding Communication and Young Scientist Awards to AfricaRice researchers.

Warmly congratulating the AfricaRice staff for their dedication and performance, Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck said, “This is a great achievement, but we consider this as just the beginning of our journey towards our goal. So we cannot rest on our laurels.”

Dr Seck also expressed his deep appreciation to all the donors and R&D partners of AfricaRice, particularly the national programs, which work hand in hand with the Center to boost rice production and rural development in Africa.

 Project to mitigate climate change impact on rice disease resistance in East Africa launched

East Africa and mainly the Great Lakes region are among the most vulnerable regions to climate change in Africa. Studies indicate that climatic change will induce increasing temperature and declining rainfall in East Africa with frequent periods of drought which may intensify crop disease occurrence and severity. Also by impacting on both pests and host plants, climate change may enable some pests and diseases to expand beyond their current locations.

A project on “Mitigating climate change impact on rice disease resistance in East Africa,” was launched in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, 1-2 Jun 2010 to help address the urgent demand for climate-proof disease-resistant rice varieties and help adapt crop management practices to climate change, thus greatly reducing farmer risk.

Research results are expected to lead to the development of rice varieties resistant to strains of blast and bacterial leaf blight in the region and of rice management practices adapted to climate change. Breeders will directly benefit because of greatly improved knowledge of pathogen strains and related rice resistance genes and alleles.

Results will be used to determine the likely impact of climate change on rice disease occurrence and severity, develop recommendations for farmers to adapt crop management practices reducing the risk of disease related yield loss, and guide breeders in development of climate proof, disease resistant rice varieties for different rice production situations.

Jan-Apr 2010

Africa Rice Congress 2010: Africa calls for "Marshall Plan" for capacity building

In view of the severe lack of capacity in rice production, which is throttling the development of Africa’s rice sector, participants at the Africa Rice Congress 2010 held in Bamako, Mali, 22-26 Mar 2010, called for a "Marshall Plan" to overcome this weakness.

The Congress brought together nearly 450 participants from 54 countries, particularly from Africa. The participants included rice farmers; seed producers; processors; input dealers; manufacturers of agricultural machinery; national rice research and extension systems; representatives from agricultural ministries, international and advanced research institutes, nongovernment organizations, and the donor community; and other development partners.

The Africa Rice Congress 2010, with a theme “Innovation and partnerships to realize Africa’s rice potential,” was organized by AfricaRice in collaboration with the Mali national program, IER, under the aegis of the Malian government.

During the opening ceremony, on behalf of Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Touré, Prime Minister Modibo Sidibé presented distinguished service awards to Drs. Jacques Diouf, Eugene Terry, and Kanayo Nwanze for their outstanding contributions to rice research and development in Africa during their respective terms as director general of AfricaRice.

Dr. Getachew Engida, AfricaRice Board chair, presented a plaque of appreciation to President Touré for his government’s tremendous efforts to raise rice productivity through the Presidential Initiative on Rice in Mali, which has led to a 50% increase in rice production in the country. 

The participants took the opportunity to deliberate on strategies to significantly increase rice production in Africa, develop competitive and equitable rice value chains, reduce imports, and enhance regional trade.

They enthusiastically supported the newly proposed Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), an initiative of the AfricaRice, IRRI, and CIAT to harmonize national and international rice research agendas worldwide for increased impact in Africa

Under the main theme, the topics included rice genetic diversity and improvement; ecological intensification and diversification of rice-based systems; developing competitive rice value chains; new alliances and tools for rural learning and innovations and policy implications; integrated management of pests, diseases, and weeds in rice-based systems; and rice physiology and modeling.

A major part of the Congress was a forum on “Investing in Africa’s rice sector: opportunities and challenges,” in which ways to increase investments in the rice sector in Africa particularly through innovative public-private partnerships were explored. Issues such as the need to increase investments for increasing the area under irrigation, improving rural infrastructure, and introducing agricultural mechanization were raised. The forum featured exhibitions of machinery, inputs, and rice products.

At the end of the Congress, key recommendations were made to boost Africa’s rice sector. Awards for the best presentation per theme, the best poster, and the Most Promising Young Scientist were also presented.

GCARD: AfricaRice wins two prestigious international science awards

At the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development, which took place in Montpellier, France, 28-31 Mar 2010, AfricaRice was crowned with two prestigious international science awards by the CGIAR: one for Outstanding Communication and another for Outstanding Promising Young Scientist.

The 2009 CGIAR Outstanding Communication Award was presented to Dr. Paul

Van Mele, AfricaRice Program Leader on Learning and Innovation Systems, for the Rice Rural Learning Initiative based on farmer-to-farmer videos on improved rice production practices.

The videos, combined with mass media, have helped strengthen the capacities of over 600 farmer organizations across Africa, stimulated greater innovation than did conventional farmer training techniques and had tangible impact on the livelihood of rural women.

The 2009 CGIAR Outstanding Promising Young Scientist Award was presented to Dr. Jonne Rodenburg, AfricaRice Weed Scientist, for his commitment to help resource-poor rice farmers in Africa, especially women, through the development of integrated approaches to managing parasitic weeds, the major source of yield loss in rice in Africa.

Dr. Rodenburg was appreciated for his high-quality research, excellent record in publications, close involvement in building capacity of national scientists and successful efforts in mobilizing resources for research projects.

“We are very proud of our two awardees, whose achievements testify to the new dynamism in research at AfricaRice,” said Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

Africa Rice Center establishes Dr Robert Carsky Award

To honor the contribution and dedication of the late Dr Robert Carsky, who served as Agronomist at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) until his tragic death in 2004 in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, an annual award in his memory has been set up by the Center.

Announcing the launching of this award, Africa Rice Center Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck said that it would recognize the staff who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of research and research support. “The Dr Robert Carsky Award will be conferred on the most outstanding Internationally Recruited Staff (IRS) and the most outstanding General Support Staff (GSS).”

The Award function was held at the end of the Board meeting of the Africa Rice Center in March 2009. Mrs Rebecca Khelseau-Carsky was invited to hand over the Award, which consists of a certificate and a token in the form of cash, to the selected staff members.

The two recipients of this Award selected by a special jury for 2008 are Dr Koichi Futakuchi from Japan for IRS and Mrs Oyin Oladimeji from Nigeria for GSS.

Dr Koichi Futakuchi

Dr Futakuchi, who works from Cotonou, Benin, has been with the Africa Rice Center since 1997 first as Post-doctoral Fellow and then as Ecophysiologist. He is now the Acting Head of the Genetic Resources Unit. At the Africa Rice Center, he has been coordinating most of the Japanese-funded special projects and has enabled the posting of Post-doctoral Fellows from Japan at the Center.

The jury highlighted that Dr Futakuchi’s scientific contributions and insights are very useful to rice breeders of the Africa Rice Center and the national programs. He has an extensive publication record with publications on rice genetics, physiology, and grain quality in internationally refereed journals.

Describing Dr Futakuchi as a very hard working scientist and a warm and helpful colleague, the jury stated, “Through his activities, Dr Futakuchi has raised the visibility of the Center and greatly contributed to the continued support of Japan.”

Mrs Oyin Oladimeji

Mrs Oyin Oladimeji, Research Assistant, is based at the Africa Rice Center Regional Station in Ibadan, Nigeria. 

Praising her dynamism and dedication, the jury described her as “an excellent facilitator in the interactions between rice scientists, extension staff, and farmers for activities relating to participatory varietal selection (PVS) and seed production.”

Under the supervision of various Africa Rice Center breeders, Mrs Oladimeji has been actively involved in the development of rice varieties for upland and lowland ecologies. She is also proficient in processing rice into high value products.

Both the recipients expressed their deep gratitude. “I am honored to receive this special award with the name of Dr Robert Carsky, who was an outstanding scientist with long experience in Africa,” Dr Futakuchi said.

Building marker-assisted selection capacity of national partners

A regional training workshop organized by AfricaRice jointly supported through its Green Super Rice (GSR) Project and CORAF/WECARD Project on “Research methods in marker-assisted selection (MAS)” was held in Cotonou, Benin, from 29 Mar to 3 Apr 2010. MAS is a tool that allows the direct application of molecular markers to make plant breeding programs easier and more efficient.

The aim of the workshop was to upgrade the capacity of plant breeders from research centers and universities of 12 African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda) to use research methodologies applied in MAS. AfricaRice and IRD experts served as resource persons for the workshop.

The workshop, which included theoretical and practical sessions, helped the participants gain a better understanding of the importance of molecular markers in breeding. Participants were able to learn various practical techniques relating to DNA extraction, PCR reactions, thermal cycler programming and amplification, PCR product separation on agarose and polyacrylamide gels, gel staining, data scoring and interpretation.

The participants highlighted the importance of forming a network that will enable them to exchange information on MAS-related research activities in the participating countries. They also pointed out the importance of establishing functional biotechnology laboratories in their countries and regional supply system to facilitate procurement of laboratory material.

African Rice Challenge Initiative launched

The Rice Challenge Initiative launching meeting was held in Montpellier, France in 13-15 Apr 2010. This 4-year project, funded by the Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) and led by AfricaRice, focuses on breeding for drought tolerance in the rainfed lowland ecosystems in Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria.

The main objective is to develop cultivars possessing high-yield potential in normal years and considerably good yield under drought and other major stresses of each target environment in rainfed lowland, which will help sustain rice production, beyond the three target countries, in the large rainfed lowland ecosystem across Africa.

Details of research activities, responsibilities of each partner, the time frames and the budget were discussed at the launching meeting.

Reviewing impact and planning the future of the AfDB-funded NERICA dissemination project

The 2010 Steering Committee Meeting of the African Rice Initiative (ARI), held in Cotonou, Benin, 19-21 Apr 2010, reviewed the progress made by the $35 million, five-year AfDB-funded NERICA dissemination project and planned the next steps.

The AfDB project supports the dissemination of NERICA and other improved rice varieties in seven West African countries – Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

The AfDB project is coordinated by the African Rice Initiative (ARI), which is hosted by AfricaRice. ARI has been supported by several partners and donors, including AfDB, Rockefeller Foundation, JICA and UNDP. Two JICA rice specialists who are working with the Initiative have been particularly involved in group training programs on important aspects of rice cultivation – ranging from quality seed production to agronomic packages.

The Steering Committee highlighted the progress made in the pilot countries as many promising new varieties – including new NERICA varieties – have been selected by farmers using farmer-participatory approaches. Thanks to these, rice farmers are able to make enough profit from their farms to send their children to school and provide them with better health care.

Since seed shortage is the biggest bottleneck in rice development in the region, the project has mounted a major effort on the production and diffusion of quality seed. Efforts are being made to put in place sustainable quality seed production and delivery strategies.

To increase the productivity of improved rice varieties, complementary technologies, such as agronomic packages, are currently evaluated in all pilot countries in collaboration with AfricaRice scientists and other resource persons. The Regional Coordination Unit has contributed to the dissemination of relevant information through the publication, NERICA Compendium, which was published jointly with FAO and Sasakawa Africa Association.

In view of the tangible impact made in the pilot countries and the keen interest of other sub-Saharan African countries to be included in the AfDB rice project, the ARI Steering Committee meeting focused on the strategy and the development of the next phase. The project was launched in 2005 but began its operations only from 2006.

Project launched to develop the next generation of new rice varieties for sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia

IRRI and AfricaRice jointly launched the Japan-funded project on “Developing the next generation of new rice varieties for Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.” The eastern and southern African launch of this project took place on 24 Apr 2010, in Kirundo Province of Burundi.

The launch was attended by scientists from IRRI, AfricaRice and 38 national research and extension partners from nine east and southern Africa countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda.)

The overall aim of the project is to accelerate the development and deployment of the next generation of elite rice varieties for major production systems in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where poverty is prevalent and the risk of food shortage is high.

The project has the following three objectives:

• Accelerate the development of high-impact varieties in SSA and Southeast Asia

• Accelerate rice variety testing, approval, and dissemination in SSA and Southeast Asia

• Contribute to building a new generation of rice breeders

To ensure delivery of products well-accepted by farmers and consumers, this project aims to establish a network of NARS breeders in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia that would constitute an Africawide Breeding Task Forces to develop the next generation of rice varieties in both regions of the world.

This project will allow IRRI and AfricaRice to rebuild rice breeding capacity at the national level in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia and pursue a systematic collaborative approach to rice breeding that will greatly shorten the time needed to develop new varieties. Delivery of varieties will also be accelerated through streamlining and harmonizing of varietal release procedures across the regions.

The regional launch of this project in West Africa took place in Segou, Mali, 23-26 Jun 2010.