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At the center of the rice research and extension web in
WCA: highlights from the ROCARIZ Network
An old African saying “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion” can be an apt description for the Réseau ouest et centre africain du riz (ROCARIZ), the West and Central Africa (WCA) Rice Network. ROCARIZ helps to join the separate threads of rice research and extension activities in WCA, transforming the linkages into a powerful technology delivery system.
“It takes many years to build institutional linkages, especially in Africa. However, ROCARIZ, which was created only in 2000, has made tremendous progress, building on the earlier successful Task Force mode of operation,” said Dr Sidi Sanyang, ROCARIZ Coordinator. “Today it is recognized as a unique rice research and extension model in WCA and active participation from NARS has increased by 30% since its creation.”
The ROCARIZ vantage point
The vantage point of a network is quite different from that of a research center or an extension agency, and this difference gives the network a unique perspective on what technology or dissemination system will work and what won’t:
• In all ROCARIZ projects, it has been confirmed that strong research and extension linkages and close involvement of farmers in technology generation and dissemination are key factors in the successful adoption of improved technologies.
• Since shortage of seeds of improved rice varieties remains the biggest bottleneck to rice development in the region, ROCARIZ recommends that credit systems should support farmers, so that they can become seed-production entrepreneurs. In Togo, for example, a farmers’ group recently produced 37.4 tonnes of seed of 11 improved rice varieties thanks to a revolving credit system.
• ROCARIZ has revealed that opportunities for inter-country trade of seeds of improved rice varieties exist between Senegal and Mauritania and among The Gambia, Togo, Benin, and possibly, Ghana.
Invaluable tool for rice research and extension
The value of the network was especially felt during the Ivoirian crisis, when the partnership-based activities of WARDA were kept alive outside Ivory Coast, thanks largely to ROCARIZ.
The monitoring tour conducted by ROCARIZ and its partners in Guinea in September 2002, which was accomplished despite the eruption of the Ivoirian crisis, revealed some interesting findings on the New Rice for Africa (NERICA):
• Among the seven NERICA varieties grown in Guinea, NERICA 3 is the most widely cultivated variety growing in several ecologies. With yields averaging 2–3 tonnes per ha, NERICA 3 has gained popularity because of its short bold grain.
• Initiatives by individual farmers in NERICA seed production and distribution are significant factors in its dissemination and adoption in the country.
ROCARIZ has become an invaluable tool for rice research, serving both as a promoter of appropriate technologies as well as an early warning system for scientists by providing them instant feedback from farmers’ fields.
For instance, finding segregating populations of Oryza glaberrima in Guinea in some farmers’ fields of NERICA 3 after 3–4 years of cultivation, the monitoring tour urged breeders to eliminate this problem by applying cutting-edge science. It also exhorted the national program to become fully involved in the
community-based seed production system and inject pure seeds every 2–3 years into the system.
Enhancing research and extension capacity of NARS
As part of its activities, ROCARIZ strives to enhance the capacity of NARS, especially in advanced areas. In 2002, it conducted training programs for NARS participants in biotechnology and in 2003 in impact assessment. It has also reactivated the Visiting Fellow scheme for NARS.
ROCARIZ financed 95 small research-grant projects in 17 WCA countries for 2002–2003:
• Its support to a project in Burkina Faso has resulted in the development of three interspecific rice varieties suitable to the rainfed lowlands and irrigated ecologies. Similar work in the irrigated ecology of Mali also led to the selection of three promising lines that are tolerant/resistant to rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV).
• Its studies show that rock phosphate and legume cover crops tested in rotation or in association with rice significantly increased rice yield compared with the control.
• It supports the Rokupr Research Station in Sierra Leone, which is the lead NARS institution for research on mangrove rice in the
sub-region.
ROCARIZ is currently supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU) through the Conseil ouest et centre africain pour la recherche et le développement agricole (CORAF) / West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD) and is hosted by WARDA.
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