Cotonou, Benin
March 3, 2008
National and
international rice specialists are taking part in a meeting to
launch a multi-million dollar project on “Stress-tolerant rice
for poor farmers in Africa and South Asia” at the
Africa Rice Center
(WARDA), Cotonou, Benin, 5–7 March 2008.
The
project, which will be carried out by the
International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) and its partners, has been approved
for funding by the
Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation through a grant to IRRI for US$19.9
million over three years.
The
Africa component of this project proposal was developed by IRRI
in partnership with the Africa Rice Center, which will be its
main partner in implementing this component. Both IRRI and the
Africa Rice Center are supported by the
Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
The project
targets resource-poor rice farmers in Africa and Asia, who
produce their crop under rainfed conditions, in which drought,
flooding, and salinity reduce yields and harm their livelihoods.
The project
aims to make available to such farmers improved, stress-tolerant
rice varieties, which in complement with improved management
practices, is expected to bring about a 50% increase in yield in
farmers’ fields within the next 10 years.
The project
is expected to benefit at least 400,000 households in South Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa in the short term and 18 million
households in the long term. In addition, the project aims to
build the capacity of researchers and seed producers and promote
the exchange of seed of stress-tolerant rice varieties.
The project
member countries in Africa comprise Benin, Burkina Faso, The
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal in West Africa
as well as Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania
and Uganda in eastern and southern Africa.
National
program scientists from all the project member countries have
been invited to the launching meeting, which will be inaugurated
by His Excellency,
Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries,
Government of Benin.
The
scientists and the Directors General of the Africa Rice Center
and IRRI are attending. IRRI’s delegation includes about 20
participants from its headquarters in the Philippines and its
representatives from eastern and southern Africa.
Dr David
Bergvinson, a program officer in Agricultural Development for
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is also taking part in this
meeting. The
Alliance for a Green
Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will be represented by Dr
Issoufou Kapran, Program Officer for Seed Production and
Dissemination.
Other
special invitees include:
-
The Directors General of national programs in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire,
Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and the
Democratic Republic of Congo;
-
Key development partners from non-governmental and private sector
organizations (SG
2000 from Ethiopia,
African Seed Trade
Association,
Songhai Center
and
Tunde from
Benin); and
-
Local and regional farmers’ associations in West Africa (ROPPA)
The first
day of the meeting (5 March) will be devoted to the project
launching ceremony, overviews and visits to the research
facilities of the Africa Rice Center.
The second and third days (6-7 March) will be used to develop
work-plans. A field visit to the non-governmental organization
“Songhai Center” in Benin is scheduled for 8 March.
Link :
http://www.warda.org/warda/newsrel-launch-mar08.asp |
