CCER for Research Program 1

The Research Program 1 – Genetic Diversity and
Improvement – at AfricaRice underwent a comprehensive Center-Commissioned
External Review (CCER). The Review Panel was chaired by Dr Alain Ghesquiere,
and had Dr Oumar Niangado and Dr Flavio Breseghello as members.





In addition to visiting the Center’s facilities
and having detailed discussions with AfricaRice scientists at headquarters and

EU project reviewed

AfricaRice project Rice policy and
technology impact on food security and poverty reduction, funded by the
European Union, and implemented by Research Program 4, was reviewed and the
favorable report was announced in December.





The review team commended AfricaRice for
generating high level of interest for its work on identifying and quantifying
factors of importance for ensuring

USAID emergency rice project takes stock of progress made in target countries

A regional workshop of
the project “Emergency initiative to boost rice production in Ghana, Mali,
Nigeria and Senegal,” was held in Cotonou, Benin, 9 -13 November 2009 with
representatives from AfricaRice and partner institutions.





This project is led by
AfricaRice in partnership with the International Soil Fertility and
Agricultural Development Center (IFDC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

AfricaRice Research Days

The Research Days function for AfricaRice was
organized from 2 to 5 November. In addition to AfricaRice scientists from all
locations, it had participation from senior representatives from the Center’s
partner organizations. In 2009, the Center had used a new format for the
research days which permitted a greater time for scientific discussions when
compared to the earlier years. 





The

AfricaRice researcher wins Japan International Award

Dr Amos Onasanya, AfricaRice researcher, won the
2009 Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers, on 4
November at the University of Tokyo, for his contribution to the molecular and
pathotyping characterization of major rice diseases and insect pests in Africa.
He was one of the three recipients of the award during 2009.





The Japan International Award for Young

UNDP project indicates positive impacts of NERICA

In Benin, NERICA adoption resulted
in a 6% increase in school attendance, 14% increase in the gender parity index,
and an increase of 11,400 CFA (about $20) in school expenditure per child.
These were some of the findings from impact studies on NERICA adoption that
were shared with research partners at the concluding workshop of the project on “The Research on Inter-specific Hybridization

Chevalier honor for DG

AfricaRice Director
General, Dr Papa A Seck was honored by the French Government with the Chevalier
de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole for his service for strengthening
agricultural research. His other distinctions include the Chevalier de
l’Ordre National du Lion conferred by the Government of Senegal in
2005 for his services to the country; the Certificate of recognition from Forum
for 

27th Council of Ministers Meeting

The 27th Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting of
AfricaRice was held at Lomé, Togo, on 2 and 3 September. The COM resolved to
change of the Center from West Africa Rice Development Association to Africa
Rice Center (AfricaRice), “considering the expansion of the geographical
mandate of Africa Rice Center towards Eastern Africa, Central Africa and
Northern Africa.





Further, the COM endorsed

Gabon joins as the 23rd member state

Gabon joined AfricaRice as a member state. This
extended the Center’s reach outside the West African region.

Gabon also has one of the highest per capita
rice consumption levels in the sub-region. The Government of Gabon aims to
boost domestic rice production and reduce imports.

JICA and ARI enhance rice seed production capacity of national African technicians and extension agents

Jointly organized by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Rice Initiative (ARI) of the Africa
Rice Center, the Seed training workshop was held at the Songhai Center in Porto
Novo, Benin, 3-7 August.





More than 20 technicians, including four women,
from five countries (The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)
participated in this training course,

BADEA and Africa Rice Center boost Africa’s rice research and development capacity

As part of a new partnership between the Arab
Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the Africa Rice Center, a
capacity building program to make the rice sector in the region competitive by
improving the capacity of operators at the research and extension levels was
launched.





The program is complementing the Center’s
efforts to raise rice productivity in sub-Saharan Africa

Japan-funded Emergency project addresses Africa’s critical needs in rice seed and data

As part of its overall support to the Africa
Rice Center’s Emergency Rice Initiative in response to the world food crisis,
Japan is providing significant support to carry out activities in two
major areas:  

Enhanced access to quality seed of improved rice
varieties in selected
countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 20 out of 21 Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) candidate

CFC-funded Inland Valley project workshop reviews achievements

An end-of-project meeting was held at Africa
Rice Center, 3-4 June, on the CFC-funded project on “Sustainable productivity
improvement for rice in inland valleys in West Africa (SPIRIVWA).”





SPIRIVWA is carried out
in three in three different
agro-ecologies in West Africa (savanna – Burkina Faso; intermediate zone – Côte
d’Ivoire; humid forest zone – Nigeria) with the respective national

7th African Rice Initiative Steering Committee meeting organized

The 2009 Steering Committee/Experts meeting of
the African Rice Initiative (ARI) of the Africa Rice Center was held in
Cotonou, Benin, 4-6 May.





More than 35 participants attended, including
four representatives from the African Development Bank (AfDB) as well as
representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), the AfDB-funded NERICA® project countries, the

Strengthening national partners’ capacity in impact assessment

Strengthening the capacity of national partners
in impact assessment is an important component of the Policy and Impact
Assessment Program activities at the Africa Rice Center.





A training course on impact assessment was
jointly organized by the Africa Rice Center, Institut sénégalais de recherches
agricoles (ISRA) and the University Gaston Berger (UGB) in St Louis, Senegal,
20-24 April.

Helping African agriculture adapt to climate change

As part of a multi-partnership project led by
the University of Hohenheim on “Developing rice and sorghum crop adaptation
strategies for climate change in vulnerable environments in Africa (RISOCAS),”
a workshop was organized in Cotonou, Benin, 16-17 April, to evaluate the
results from the first year.





The main objective of this project is to deliver
coping strategies for crop adaptation to

Regional harmonization of USAID-funded emergency rice project

Two regional coordination committee meetings
were held as part of the USAID-funded Emergency project to boost rice
production in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal to harmonize project management,
evaluation and reporting mechanisms.





The first one was organized in Cotonou, Benin
(8-10 April) for Ghana and Nigeria and the second one in Saint Louis, Senegal
(14-15 April) for Mali and Senegal.

UNDP and Africa Rice Center team up to rebuild rice capacity in post-conflict Liberia

With support from the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the Africa Rice Center through its African Rice Initiative
(ARI) is rebuilding the capacity of smallholder rice farmers in post-conflict
Liberia within the framework of the Millennium Village Project located in
Kokoyah Village (KMV).





Through this collaborative project, ARI seeks to
provide technical assistance and guidance

Realizing the agricultural potential of inland valleys in sub-Saharan Africa

The European Commission-funded project
“Realizing the agricultural potential of inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan
Africa while maintaining their environmental services (RAPS)” was launched in
Benin (25-27 March) and in Mali (30 March – 1 April).





The project seeks to improve the livelihood of
the rural poor by enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of inland
valleys through

Board highlights Africa Rice Center’s achievements

At the Board meeting held, 7-10 March, the
following achievements of the Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck and the
staff of the Africa Rice Center were applauded:



Significant
increase in contribution from member States
Increase
in the number of member States from 17 in 2006 to 22 in 2008
Doubling
of the Center’s budget compared to 2007
Clear
and coherent research

Stakeholders take stock of stress-tolerant rice for Africa

Stakeholders of the project on “Stress-tolerant
rice for poor farmers in Africa and South Asia (STRASA) met, 26-27 February, at
the Africa Rice Center regional station in Ibadan, Nigeria to review the
progress made by the project and plan for 2009.





Funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the
STRASA project aims to

International experts team up to stimulate rice production in Africa and Asia

An international meeting to plan a project on
“Green Super Rice for the Resource-poor of Africa and Asia” was hosted by the
Africa Rice Center, 24-25 February, at its regional research station in Ibadan,
Nigeria.





The project aims to reduce poverty and hunger
and increase food and income security of resource-poor farmers in Africa and
Asia through the development and dissemination of “Green

Maintaining stewardship over NERICA quality

A delegation from the CGIAR Central Advisory
Service on Intellectual Property (CAS-IP) led by its Project Manager Dr
Victoria Henson-Apollonio met with staff from the Africa Rice Center, 13
February, in Cotonou, Benin to discuss issues relating to NERICA branding and
highlight the relationship between product quality and trust building.





As the expanding range of NERICA varieties is
being

Africa Rice Center hosts Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) meeting

Africa Rice Center is an active steering
committee member of the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) – a joint
initiative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) – which seeks to double rice
production over the coming 10 years.





CARD was officially launched in May 2008 at the
Tokyo International Conference for

USAID and Africa Rice Center join hands to provide emergency assistance in West Africa

To
assist vulnerable households who have been severely affected by
soaring rice prices, the Africa Rice Center with support from the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the USA
Government’s Famine Prevention Fund facility, is spearheading a 2-year
emergency project to boost the rice
production in four West African countries – Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and
Senegal.