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 (

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

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

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

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

Experimental auctions

Dr. Matty Demont says that experimental auctions are fun to do. Since 2007, AfricaRice in Saint Louis, Senegal has been doing them to find out how much consumers are willing to pay for high-quality rice. This is one of the first experimental auctions on rice in a developing country. Experimental auctions may be fun, but they are also an important research tool and a big improvement over

Ventes aux enchères expérimentales

D’après Dr. Matty Demont, les ventes aux enchères expérimentales sont très amusantes. Depuis 2007, AfricaRice à Saint Louis, Sénégal les organise pour connaître le prix que les consommateurs sont prêts à payer pour le riz de haute qualité. Il s’agit là d’une des premières ventes de riz aux enchères expérimentales dans un pays en développement. Les enchères expérimentales peuvent être drôles,

Policy changes

Rice is now prominently on the agenda of many countries and they are serious about domestic production, explains AfricaRice economist, Dr. Ibrahima Bamba.

In the old days of structural adjustment, policy makers were led to believe that the market would take care of seed, fertilizer and everything else. But laissez faire failed Africa. While Asian governments worked to guarantee local production

Changements stratégiques

Aujourd’hui, le riz  figure en bonne place dans le programme de développement de beaucoup de pays qui s’appliquent à améliorer leur production domestique, explique l’économiste d’AfricaRice, Dr. Ibrahima Bamba.

Dans le temps, à l’époque de l’ajustement structurel, on a fait croire aux décideurs politiques que le marché va s’occuper des semences, des engrais et  tout ce qu’il faut. Mais le ‘

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

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 –

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,

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

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,

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

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

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

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,

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

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

Interview with Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck on food crisis

Interview with Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Director General of the Africa Rice Center, on food crisis(15 April 2010)Dr Seck warns of the continent’s continuing vulnerability to food crises and describes vigorous measures being taken to strengthen domestic production.Q: The food price crisis of 2008, while impacting people around the world, hit Africa’s rice consumers especially hard. Is the crisis

Interview du Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck sur la crise alimentaire

Interview du Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Directeur Général du Centre du riz pour l’Afrique, sur la crise alimentaire(15 Avril 2010) Dr Seck prévient que le continent est toujours vulnérable aux crises alimentaires et décrit toute la batterie de mesures vigoureuses en cours pour renforcer la production locale.Q: La crise des prix des produits alimentaires de 2008, tout en ayant un impact sur les

Birds and weeds

Hungry birds destroy ripening grain all over the world, yet few researchers study on them. Farmers in Senegal told AfricaRice researchers that their two major rice pests were birds and weeds.

 Farmers have insights about birds. In a farmer survey by AfricaRice near Saint Louis, Senegal farmers said that birds did lower yields, especially when the fields were weedy. The weeds

Oiseaux et adventices

Partout dans le monde, les oiseaux affamés s’attaquent aux grains mûrs et occasionnent des dégâts; cependant, ils font l’objet de peu d’études de la part des chercheurs. Les paysans sénégalais ont dit aux chercheurs d’AfricaRice que les oiseaux et les adventices étaient leurs deux principaux ennemis du riz.

Les paysans ont une connaissance approfondie des oiseaux. Dans une étude paysanne menée

Developing the next generation of rice varieties

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 April, in Kirundo Province of Burundi.





The launch was attended by scientists from IRRI, AfricaRice and 38
national research and extension partners from

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,

African Rice Challenge Initiative launched

The Rice Challenge Initiative launching meeting was held in
Montpellier, France, from 13 to 15 April. This four-year project, funded by the
CGIAR 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

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

Strengthening MAS capacity of national partners

A regional training workshop organized by AfricaRice jointly supported
through its Green Super Rice (GSR) project and the West and Central African
Council for Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) project on research methods
in marker-assisted selection (MAS) was held in Cotonou, from 29 March to 3
April.





The aim of the workshop was to upgrade the capacity of plant breeders
from

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

AfricaRice wins Communication and Young Scientist awards

At the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development
(GCARD), which took place in Montpellier, France, from 28 to 31 March,
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

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,

Diseases and climate change

This year AfricaRice is starting one of the first efforts to look at the relationship between plant diseases and climate change. The project is funded by the GTZ (German Technical Cooperation), and is called “Mitigating the impact of climate change on rice disease resistance in East Africa.” It will work in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, led by Dr. Yacouba Séré. According to the International Panel

Maladies du riz et changement climatique

Cette année, AfricaRice a initié un de ses premiers efforts pour étudier la relation entre les maladies des plantes et le changement climatique. Le projet est financé par la coopération allemande GTZ, et s’intitule “Atténuation de l’impact du changement climatique sur la résistance du riz aux maladies en Afrique de l’Est.” Il est dirigé par Dr Yacouba Séré et couvrira l’Ouganda, le Rwanda et la

Africa Rice Congress calls for strengthening capacity building

The second Africa Rice Congress, with the theme of Innovation and
partnerships to realize Africa’s rice potential, was held at Bamako, Mali, from
22 to 26 March. The Congress was organized in collaboration with the Malian
national agricultural research system, the Institut d’économie rurale (IER). The
Government of Mali hosted the Congress, which brought together about 500
participants from 54

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

Board of Trustees congratulates AfricaRice team for success

The Board of Trustees of AfricaRice congratulated Director General Papa
Abdoulaye Seck and the staff of AfricaRice for placing the Center on a path of continuous
growth. The Board of Trustees had its meeting from 7 to 10 March in Cotonou.





The Board congratulated the AfricaRice team for the following
achievements.



 Doubling of the Center’s budget in 2010 compared
to 2007, with a

Dr Robert Carsky Awards presented

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.





The Carsky Awards for 2010 were presented at the end of the meeting of
the Board of Trustees on 10 March by Mrs Rebecca Khelseau-Carsky.

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

Marker Assisted Selection (MAS)

Some of farmers’ favorite rice varieties have a flaw or two. African rice farmers often want to keep a variety they have grown for years, but it may be susceptible to a certain disease, or easily damaged by drought or salinity, which cause large losses of rice in Africa.

Geneticists at AfricaRice are using a technique called “marker assisted selection” (MAS) to improve the resistance of rice

Sélection assistée par marqueurs (SAM)

Certaines des variétés préférées par les paysans ont un ou plusieurs défauts. Les riziculteurs africains veulent souvent garder une variété qu’ils ont cultivée pendant des années, mais elle peut être sensible à une maladie ou facilement affectée par la sécheresse ou la salinité, qui causent des pertes considérables en riziculture en Afrique.

Les sélectionneurs d’AfricaRice utilisent une

AfroWeeds project launched

The AfroWeeds project was launched at a workshop from 1 to 5 February,
at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in Cotonou, Benin. The project aims to create
the first ICT-based network for weed scientists from Europe, and West, Central
and East Africa, and to facilitate the development of a knowledge base to identify
and control the major weeds in rice.





For the first time, all the project

Indica rice in the African uplands

Asian rice (Oryza sativa) includes tropical japonica and indica. For years, farmers and scientists alike have not grown indica varieties on the dryer uplands of West Africa, assuming that indica varieties were poorly suited there. AfricaRice scientist Dr. Kazuki Saito spent five years in Laos doing his PhD research. As in Africa, most of the farmers in Laos did not apply fertilizer, and they

Le riz Indica dans les plateaux africains

Le riz asiatique (Oryza sativa) comprend les types japonica tropical et indica. Pendant longtemps, les producteurs tout comme les chercheurs n’ont pas voulu cultiver les variétés indica sur les plateaux secs d’Afrique de l’Ouest, pensant qu’elles n’étaient pas adaptées pour ce milieu. Le chercheur d’AfricaRice, Dr. Kazuki Saito a passé cinq années au Laos pour sa recherche de PhD. Comme en