Capacity-building workshops in East Africa help strengthen partnerships and create new ones

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (18 August 2023) – The local rice supply in Burundi and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains far below the demand, even if it is planted across different agro-ecological zones and the governments have increased in arable land areas.

This gap is due to the low adoption of performant rice varieties, the lack of good quality seeds, and insufficient use of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

To fill this gap, the International Rice Research Institute in Burundi (IRRI-Burundi), through the Great Lakes Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative, Rapid Delivery Hub (AID-I GLR) project, and in collaboration with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) implemented in Burundi and DRC two sessions of training of trainers on rice production techniques. The training was intended for technicians working in the rice-growing sector, respectively from 22 May to 2 June 2023 for the benefit of twenty-six (26) Burundi extension agents, and from 26 June to 7 July 2023 for the benefit of thirty-two (32) DRC extension agents.

Through the training, IRRI-Burundi strengthened existing partnerships and created new ones. “Through AID-I GLR projects, IRRI has strengthened the partnership that existed with Confédération des Associations de Producteurs Agricoles pour le Développement (Confederation of Agricultural Producers’ Associations for Development or CAPAD); and has established new partnerships with the WORLD VISION-ACORD-PAM consortium (Burundi) and Rikolto (DRC),” said Jean-Berchmans Bizimana, AID-I GLR project manager at the IRRI level.

In the two training workshops, participants were able to enhance their knowledge through lectures, group work, exercises, and practical work in laboratories, greenhouses, and experimental fields. The training covered the critical issues and challenges regarding different rice production techniques. “The training of trainers (ToTs) reached 58 people, and included good varieties and seeds, production technologies, rice disease management and post-production technologies,” said…