Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 2 September 2020 – At a time when the need for a research-based transformation of food systems to achieve a healthy and sustainable food future is more urgent than ever, we are pleased to announce the launch of the ‘Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) Annual Report 2019: Toward rice-based food systems transformation in Africa.’
In 2019, AfricaRice was co-awardee of the prestigious Al-Sumait Prize for African Development in recognition of its important role in enhancing food security in Africa. This year’s report highlights the award as well as other achievements and efforts to support AfricaRice member countries in their pursuit to achieve rice self-sufficiency.
Through a selection of stories, the report showcases the diversity of AfricaRice’s work with partners across its research-for-development portfolio, including the following:
- New climate-smart varieties for Africa with support from Korea
- Genetic fingerprinting to detect desirable genes
- Modeling to determine best inland valleys for rice expansion
- A new approach to rapidly assess soil fertility
- Intensification and diversification in rice-based systems
- Upgrading rice value chains for competitive markets
The report also features our work with private sector seed companies in Africa under the ‘Technologies for African agricultural transformation’ (TAAT) on ‘Popularizing AfricaRice’s hybrid rice varieties and other modern varieties’.
It focuses on how the Center and its partners are addressing some of today’s big development challenges, such as ‘Promoting youth agricultural entrepreneurship in rice value chains in Africa’ and ‘Improving the livelihoods of women rice farmers’.
An impact case study and an assessment of the contribution of the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) phase I are also highlighted.
The report provides brief information on 2019 publications, training, finance, donors and the Board of Trustees. At the end of year 2019, the Center recorded a surplus budget of US$ 0.133 million for the second consecutive year of its 3-year financial recovery plan (2018–2020), and all its financial indicators had reached CGIAR recommended targets.
“We would like to sincerely thank all our partners and donors as none of this work would have been possible without their active and continued support,” stated AfricaRice Director General Dr Harold Roy-Macauley.
“We hope our stakeholders will enjoy reading the report and share their comments as we respond to and look beyond the COVID-19 pandemic to build resilient, healthy and sustainable food systems for Africa as an integral part of One CGIAR,” added Dr Roy-Macauley.
AfricaRice is one of the 15 international agricultural research centers of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. AfricaRice is also an intergovernmental association of currently 28 African member countries.
To read the AfricaRice Annual Report 2019 online or download the Report in PDF format, click here.
