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Rice science at the service of Africa / La science rizicole au service de l’Afrique
Episodes
Friday Apr 07, 2017
Friday Apr 07, 2017
La 5ème rencontre des « Cafés de la Science » sur la thématique GESTION DURABLE s’est tenue a AfricaRice, Abidjan, le 7 avril 2017.
Elle a compris deux séquences :
- Séquence « Recherche » ,par Dr. Jonne RODENBURG, Agronome, sur la planification de l’utilisation des bas-fonds pour la gestion durable des ressources naturelles et agricoles en Afrique de l’Ouest.
- Séquence « institutionnelle » , par Dr. Patrice GRIMAUD, Directeur Régional du Cirad, sur les activités du Cirad dans la région Afrique de l’Ouest –Forêt et Savane humide.
La rencontre a été inaugurée par Madame Georgette AGNEROH-EBOI, Directeur Général de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de l’Insertion Professionnelle, représentante de Madame le Ministre de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique de Côte d’Ivoire (MESRSCI), en présence de Dr Ronan Jambou, Directeur de recherche, Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire ; Pr Abdourahamane Konaré, Directeur général de la Recherche et de l’innovation, Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique ; Dr Harold Roy-Macauley, Directeur général, AfricaRice ; Dr Jean-Marc Hougard, Représentant Délégué, IRD, Côte d’Ivoire.
Friday Apr 07, 2017
Friday Apr 07, 2017
La 5ème rencontre des « Cafés de la Science » sur la thématique GESTION DURABLE s’est tenue a AfricaRice, Abidjan, le 7 avril 2017.
Elle a compris deux séquences :
- Séquence « Recherche » ,par Dr. Jonne RODENBURG, Agronome, sur la planification de l’utilisation des bas-fonds pour la gestion durable des ressources naturelles et agricoles en Afrique de l’Ouest.
- Séquence « institutionnelle » , par Dr. Patrice GRIMAUD, Directeur Régional du Cirad, sur les activités du Cirad dans la région Afrique de l’Ouest –Forêt et Savane humide.
La rencontre a été inaugurée par Madame Georgette AGNEROH-EBOI, Directeur Général de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de l’Insertion Professionnelle, représentante de Madame le Ministre de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique de Côte d’Ivoire (MESRSCI), en présence de Dr Ronan Jambou, Directeur de recherche, Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire ; Pr Abdourahamane Konaré, Directeur général de la Recherche et de l’innovation, Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique ; Dr Harold Roy-Macauley, Directeur général, AfricaRice ; Dr Jean-Marc Hougard, Représentant Délégué, IRD, Côte d’Ivoire.
Wednesday Nov 23, 2016
Wednesday Nov 23, 2016
AfricaRice participation at the Joint IFAD-AfDB event on IFAD’s Rural Development Report 2016
Dr Samuel Bruce-Oliver, AfricaRice Director for Partnership and Capacity Strengthening, was invited to participate in the interactive panel discussion on the role of private sector and youth in West and Central Africa's inclusive rural transformation. The discussion was part of the Joint IFAD-AfDB event on IFAD’s Rural Development Report 2016, held on 23 November 2016, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The other panelists were Nouhoun Coulibaly, Director General of Planning, Project Control and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Côte d'Ivoire; Angela Dannson, Director, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana; Mamadou Cissokho, Honorary President of ROPPA (Network of West African Farmers’ Organizations); Ada Osakwe, Chief Executive, Agrolay Ventures, Nigeria; Adolfo Brizzi, Director, Policy and Technical Advisory Division, IFAD. It was moderated by Thiendou Niang, Afrique Communication, Senegal.
The Rural Development Report 2016 produced by IFAD focuses on inclusive rural transformation as a central element of global efforts to eliminate poverty and hunger, and build inclusive and sustainable societies for all. The report analyses global, regional and national pathways of rural transformation.
Tuesday Nov 15, 2016
Tuesday Nov 15, 2016
During his first visit to AfricaRice administrative headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 11-13 November 2016, in his capacity as the new Chair of AfricaRice Council of Ministers, Senegal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment H.E. Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, stated that AfricaRice has a historic responsibility to help its member countries achieve rice self-sufficiency.
In August 2016, Senegal took over the chairmanship of the AfricaRice Council of Ministers, which is the supreme governing body of AfricaRice. The Center is an intergovernmental association of 26 African member countries. It is also a CGIAR Research Center – part of a global research partnership for a food-secure future.
The main objective of Dr Seck’s visit to AfricaRice was to participate in the handover ceremony, where he received documents relating to the chairmanship. Extending a warm welcome to him, AfricaRice Director General Dr Harold Roy-Macauley said, “This is a great honor for AfricaRice as it is not customary for the Chair of the AfricaRice Council of Ministers to visit, but this shows Dr Seck’s special bond with the Center.”
Friday Apr 15, 2016
Friday Apr 15, 2016
Monday Dec 14, 2015
Monday Dec 14, 2015
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) received the 70th anniversary commemorative medal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for outstanding contributions and remarkable collaboration in support of FAO’s mission.
On behalf of the FAO Director General, the FAO Representative in Côte d’Ivoire Mr Germain Dasylva handed over the medal and the commemorative publication “70 YEARS OF FAO 1945-2015” to the AfricaRice Director General Dr HaroldRoy-Macauley at a simple award ceremony held on 14 December 2015 at the FAO Office in Abidjan.
“We are very pleased to announce that AfricaRice was selected for this award based on a rigorous and competitive process,” stated Mr Dasylva. Highlighting the important work of AfricaRice, he gave the example of the emergency projects in Côte d’Ivoire carried out from 2006 to 2012, where seed of improved rice varieties developed by AfricaRice were distributed by FAO to vulnerable households.
The award ceremony was attended by FAO and AfricaRice representatives as well as by the Director General of Scientific Research and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Prof. Séraphin Kati-Coulibaly, who is also AfricaRice Board Member.
Gratefully accepting the award on behalf of AfricaRice and its 25 member States, Dr Roy-Macauley said that AfricaRice considers FAO as a strategic development partner in its quest to realize Africa’s huge rice potential to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in the continent.
“We are convinced that Africa has the human, physical and economic resources to produce enough quality rice in a sustainable manner to feed itself and in the long run to export to other regions,” reiterated Dr Roy-Macauley.
He explained that to achieve this goal more attention needs to be paid to improving the entire value chain. AfricaRice is developing a business model around this concept based on the solid experience of Côte d’Ivoire and other leading countries in the region.
Both Mr Dasylva and Dr Roy-Macauley referred to the COP21 climate agreement and its relevance for Africa, which is most vulnerable to climate change.
“AfricaRice is increasingly putting emphasis on the development of climate-smart and gender-sensitive technologies for a productive, resilient rice sector in Africa, based on a sustainable management of natural resources,” Dr Roy-Macauley said.
He added that efforts are also being put on rice innovation that will respond to the creation of employment and incomes especially for women and youth.
Speaking on the different institutional strengths of FAO and AfricaRice to make a more significant contribution to Africa’s food security needs in terms of rice, Dr Roy-Macauley said that FAO has vast networks, strong technical expertise and long-term commitment to rice research and development in Africa.
AfricaRice and FAO are actively participating in several important initiatives such as the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD). Moreover, the Declaration of the Third Africa Rice Congress held in October 2013 requested FAO to stimulate national, regional and global partnerships to help develop Africa's rice sector.
Dr Roy-Macauley mentioned that discussions during his recent meeting with the FAO Director General focused on the need for strong demonstration and visibility of the partnership efforts.
“That is why AfricaRice and FAO are especially conceptualizing the organization of an African Heads of State summit in 2016, which we are convinced will play a critical role in boosting rice sector development, in cross-cutting areas, and in particular related to the policy domain,” explained Dr Roy-Macauley.
Congratulating AfricaRice for the FAO award, Prof. Kati-Coulibaly said that this sends out a strong signal of encouragement to the Center to continue in its efforts to help African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, attain their ambition of rice self-sufficiency. “Cote d’Ivoire needs the strong support of both FAO and AfricaRice.”
Related links :
Tuesday Mar 17, 2015
Tuesday Mar 17, 2015
Dr Kazuki Saito, AfricaRice agronomist from Japan, was awarded the Agropolis Foundation’s Louis Malassis Young Promising Scientist Prize in a ceremony held on 16 March 2015 in Montpellier, France, during the Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture 2015.
Named after Louis Malassis, a renowned French agronomist and agricultural economist who was an ardent supporter of farmers’ cause, the Prize recognizes exemplary and promising contributions of scientists in the field of agriculture and food. It consists of two categories – Distinguished Scientist and Young Promising Scientist.
Accepting the Louis Malassis Prize from Mr Henri Carsalade, Chair of the Board, Agropolis Foundation, Saito said, “I want to thank Agropolis Foundation for this incredible honor. This honor must be shared with all those who have worked with me and supported me. I recognize that our work within the Africa rice agronomy network with national partners has just begun. We have a huge challenge in front of us. I will continue to work hard to make a positive difference in rice production in Africa and in farmers’ livelihoods.”
Saito is the driving force behind the Africa-wide Rice Agronomy Task Force, convened by AfricaRice, which is conducting activities in 21 countries across Africa. Yield-gap survey protocols for the Agronomy Task Force, developed under Saito’s leadership, are currently being used in these countries by national research institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. The results from the surveys are enabling AfricaRice and its partners to identify the opportunities available to introduce technologies to close yield gaps.
Saito is involved in climate risk assessment and R&D priority setting for rice in Africa. He has developed a decision support application (app) for providing African farmers with field-specific management guidelines called ‘RiceAdvice.’ He is also leading a team that has developed the first version of a yield gap map for rice in nine African countries in the ‘Global Yield Gap Atlas’ website.
AfricaRice Deputy Director General Dr Marco Wopereis said “Saito has always shown determination, stamina and leadership in conducting field research in close collaboration with researchers and farmers, leading to tangible results often under difficult circumstances.”
Saito has been actively involved in training researchers, extension workers and students in themes relating to agronomy, including making use of smart phones to facilitate data entry and recognition of symptoms of pests, diseases and nutrient disorders in the field.
“Saito is a worthy recipient of the prestigious Louis Malassis Young Promising Scientist Prize and the AfricaRice family is very proud of his achievements,” AfricaRice Director General Dr Harold Roy-Macauley said.
Related links :
- Listen to audio podcast of Kazuki Saito – Winner of Louis Malassis Young Promising Scientist Prize
- The Story Behind the Science of Dr. Kazuki Saito
- Should technological innovation be the last piece of the “yield gap” puzzle in Africa?
- L’innovation technologique devrait-elle être le dernier morceau du casse-tête de « l’écart de rendement » en Afrique ?
- A game changer in Africa’s rice agronomy
Sunday Mar 08, 2015
Sunday Mar 08, 2015
Gaudiose Mujawamariya received the Young Rice Scientist Award at the International Rice Congress held in Thailand, Bangkok in November 2014, for her research on “Demystification of consumer preferences for rice in urban areas of Dar es Salaam”.
Monday Dec 02, 2013
Monday Dec 02, 2013
Thursday Nov 29, 2012
Thursday Nov 29, 2012
Reflecting the growing importance of the rice sector in Ghana, the First National Rice Festival was organized in Accra, 7-9 November 2012, by the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) under the theme “Growing a vibrant rice industry through public-private partnership for food security.” The aim of the Rice Festival was to bolster support for the local rice industry through public-private partnership and highlight the importance of the rice sector for increasing food security, reducing poverty and creating employment in the country. Underlining the efforts made by GRIB and its partners to increase rice production and quality, GRIB President Mr Imoro Amoro said, “The quality of local rice is as good as imported rice – in fact even better, as the local rice is fresh and without pesticides.” GRIB is stepping up efforts to institute quality-control mechanisms for local rice in order to meet international standards. The Rice Festival brought together representatives of rice stakeholders, including farmers, millers, processors, and traders as well as development agencies, national and international research organizations and donors. It was inaugurated by the 2012 National Best Farmer Mr Lemuel Kwashie Martey of Mannah Farms Limited. Speakers in the podcast (in order of appearance) : Alexander Darku, Chairman, Greater Accra Chefs Association, Ghana Imoro Amoro, President, GRIB, Ghana Theodora Catha Edu, Navrongo Rice Processor, Ghana Seidu Ali Sampare, Chief Technical Officer–Engineering, CSIR-FRI, Ghana Lemuel Kwashie Martey, Mannah Farms Limited, Ghana John Manful, Grain Quality Scientist, AfricaRice, Benin Podcast credit : Savitri Mohapatra, R.Raman, AfricaRice