In this issue

• Foreword

• Editor’s note

• Why Nigerians are hooked to imported rice

• Kindling the minds and hearts of farmers

• News and notes

Dr Francisco Reifschneider, Director, CGIAR (left) with Dr Kanayo F. Nwanze, Director General, WARDA, during his recent visit to Bamako, Mali

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Africa Rice Center

Foreword

It is my privilege to introduce to you our newsletter Essence of WARDA—The Africa Rice Center. I am happy that the launching of this newsletter coincides with the adoption this year, of our new brand name ‘WARDA—The Africa Rice Center’, in recognition of the Center’s leadership role in rice R&D in sub-Saharan Africa.

The launching of this newsletter is yet another testimony to the indomitable spirit of WARDA, which continues to face challenges with remarkable courage and optimism.

I am deeply impressed by and grateful for the “heroic efforts” of our staff—international, regional and local—in maintaining a vibrant and dynamic Center in the face of the Ivoirian crisis, efforts that have been recognized by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which supports WARDA. The Center’s Board of Trustees and the Council of Ministers of our member States have also been extremely supportive.

As you will see in this issue, by turning adversity into opportunity, our scientists have been able to infuse a new dynamism into their research activities, thanks to the network-based model of regional collaboration that is the hallmark of WARDA’s modus operandi.

I take this opportunity to thank you once again—our friends and partners who have stood by us from the beginning—and hope that this newsletter will be your window to the heart of WARDA. I am certain that together, we will deliver the promise of the NERICA (New Rice for Africa), created by WARDA, to the poor across sub-Saharan Africa.

Kanayo F. Nwanze
Director General