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November-December 07

• Canada assures strong support

The DG visited Canada, 5-10 November, to meet with donors and partners. During this visit, which was organized under the guidance of the Board Chair Mr Gaston Grenier, the DG was assured that Canada would continue to give strong support to WARDA.

Dr Seck met with the representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), including the PanAfrican Group and the Bilateral Program for West Africa. At CIDA, Dr Seck made a presentation titled “Agricultural research: can it fight against poverty and hunger in Africa”, which received a lot of attention, especially regarding the increasing importance of rice in Africa.

Dr Seck also visited McGill University, University of Laval, Ministry of Natural Resources (NRCAN) and UPA farmers’ association, among others, to explore areas of collaboration.

Several suggestions were made on possible research partnerships between Canadian research institutions and WARDA. WARDA scientists are following up on these suggestions.

• Revitalizing WARDA-France research collaboration

A high-level meeting between WARDA and the French research institutions (CIRAD and IRD) was held, 11-12 October, in Montpellier, France, to explore the possibility of bringing in French expertise to assist WARDA in addressing some of the issues recommended by EPMR.

Joint research proposals were initiated and an agreement between the two organizations to formalize the new partnership is being developed.

The WARDA delegation comprised Drs Seck, Wopereis, Kiepe, Bruce-Oliver, Sere, Sié, and Ndjiondjop.

• Liberian Minister visits WARDA-Cotonou
  
  His Excellency Dr Christopher Toe, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Liberia, visited WARDA on 2 October to hold comprehensive discussions on technical assistance that the Center can give to help restore the rice research and development program in Liberia, which is emerging from years of civil conflicts.

Dr Toe, accompanied by his Director of Research,  had a tour of the experimental fields and laboratories at WARDA. At the end of his visit, Dr Toe stated that he was impressed not only with the knowledge of the WARDA scientists, but also with their willingness to help Liberia’s reconstruction of agriculture. “I look forward to renewed cooperation between WARDA and Liberia,” he said.

• Charting the research agenda

The Research Days of the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) for 2008 were held, 12–15 November, at the Cotonou Headquarters. Scientists from Cotonou, Ibadan, St Louis and Bouake took active part in this annual research review and planning meeting.

Special invitees included the Chair of the WARDA Board Program Committee Dr Emmanuel Owusu-Bennoah and representatives from INRAB, JIRCAS, IITA and other partner organizations.

Themes and projects were discussed in the overall context of the EPMR and WARDA’s new vision. A special feature of the Research Days this year was the presence of both the Outgoing and the Incoming ADG-RD.

As this was the last Research Days organized under the research leadership of Dr Keya, the DG thanked him profusely for his wisdom and experience that have enriched WARDA over the last few years and helped it to pass successfully its fifth EPMR. 

• Dr Seck pays a special visit to Uganda

Uganda is the first country from Eastern Africa to join WARDA. Therefore, the DG visited Uganda, 25-26 October, to convey WARDA’s appreciation to the Government and to discuss themes for joint research with the national system.

Dr Seck was warmly received by the Minister of Agriculture who spoke glowingly about the contribution of NERICA to Uganda. In the absence of the Vice-President of Uganda who is a great promoter of NERICA in the country, Dr Seck met with his Director of Cabinet. He also had fruitful discussions with the Director General of NARO.

During this visit, Dr Seck took the opportunity to meet with the Executive Secretary of ASARECA, who is based in Uganda. The Executive Secretary assured him that he would strongly encourage other East African countries to join WARDA and advocate for the development of the rice sector in the region.

• WARDA/IITA corporate service alignment on track

The implementation process of the WARDA/IITA corporate service alignment, scheduled for September-December 2007, is on track. All corporate service functions in Cotonou – Human Resources, Finance, Planning and Budgeting, Information Technology, Operations and Administration – are now under WARDA management.

October 07

• September 2007: A “happening” month

It was a month of high-level meetings – meetings in Japan (9-13 September); the Board Executive and Finance Committee meeting (23-26 September); National Experts Committee meeting (27 September); the Council of Ministers session (28 September) and the Africa Policy Research and Advisory Group meeting (29 September).

But it was also a month of several “firsts”:

For the first time, Dr Seck visited Japan, one of WARDA’s most cherished partners, and met with top officials to discuss about the future of rice research and development in Africa in the context of Japan-WARDA partnership.

For the first time since 1986, the WARDA map changed with the admission of four countries from Central and Eastern Africa: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Uganda. The admission of these countries was approved at the 26th Ordinary Session of the WARDA Council of Ministers. With the addition of these countries, the number of WARDA member States has gone up to 21.

For the first time, representatives of several stakeholders groups were invited as observers to the meetings held as part of the Council of Ministers session: farmers’ organizations, CTA, CGIAR Alliance, UEMOA, CMA/AOC.

• Japan extends a special invitation to WARDA DG

Japan extended a special invitation to Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck to meet with top Government Officials and Research Directors, 9-13 September. During his visit to Japan, Dr Seck was accompanied by Drs Akintayo and Sié.

The visit was organized with full support from Professor Takeshi Horie, President of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and former WARDA Board Member and Dr Kiyoaki Maruyama, Director General of National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) and current WARDA Board Member.

The delegation met the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID).

Dr Seck also took part in the International Symposium on “Contribution of Japanese agricultural scientists toward the Millennium Development Goals”. The Symposium was jointly organized by the Japan Forum on International Agricultural Research for Sustainable Development (J-FARD) and JIRCAS.

Dr Seck made three important presentations during his visit, describing his new vision as well as his perspective on the current world rice situation and its impacts on Africa.

1. “How to increase the agricultural research for development in Africa: the case of NERICA” at the J-FARD & JIRCAS International Symposium

2. “How can Japan-Africa partnership increase support for rice development in Africa” at MOFA

3. “Rice in Africa and WARDA’s new strategies” at FASID (Drs Akintayo and Sie were also invited to make presentations at FASID)

Dr Seck’s presentations and views were keenly noted and appreciated as part of a new partnership between Japan and WARDA.  A major part of the discussions in Japan related to the organization of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) IV, which will be held in May 2008.

The NERICA partnership will be particularly highlighted during TICAD IV as was the case in TICAD III held in 2003. TICAD is one of the most important global frameworks dedicated to African development.

During this visit, the WARDA delegation also met with the Ambassadors of Burkina Faso and Senegal to Japan who were introduced to WARDA’s research and development activities.

September 07

• Seeds of knowledge

About 20 participants from nine French-speaking countries and two JICA volunteers attended a training workshop on Seed Multiplication Techniques, 27-31 August, in Porto Novo, Benin.

The workshop was part of a series of programs on capacity strengthening in seed production that is being organized by ARI and JICA for scientists, technical staff and extension agents of the English- and French-speaking countries in the sub-region. About 20 participants from nine French-speaking countries and two JICA volunteers attended a training workshop on Seed Multiplication Techniques, 27-31 August, in Porto Novo, Benin.

The workshop was part of a series of programs on capacity strengthening in seed production that is being organized by ARI and JICA for scientists, technical staff and extension agents of the English- and French-speaking countries in the sub-region. The training workshop was coordinated by Dr R Ikeda, and WARDA scientists were invited to share their expertise with the participants.

The workshop topics ranged from the principles of seed multiplication to morphology and physiology of rice, characteristics of rice and methods of seed multiplication. This training will enable the participants to produce high-quality registered and certified seeds of rice.

• PADS award-winning local innovations selected by Farm Radio

Four of the award-winning local innovations documented during the PADS project have been turned into radio scripts and are now hosted by the Developing Countries Farm Radio Network—a Canadian-based organization working in partnership with about 300 radio broadcasters in 39 African countries.

These radio scripts were developed to share information about local agricultural innovations during a PADS training workshop on 20 April at WARDA in Benin. An international jury selected the top three innovations from each country in terms of sustainability and scaling-up potential. Participants from each of the countries then learnt how to turn these winning stories into radio scripts during a 1-day scriptwriting workshop with the help of F. Houinsou from IITA.

 

August 07

• EPMR optimistic about WARDA’s future

After doing an extensive review of WARDA’s performance, the Fifth External Program and Management Review (EPMR) Panel predicted a bright future for WARDA.

“The Panel is optimistic about WARDA's future and visualizes a stronger and larger rice research Center serving all of SSA, in collaboration with IRRI and CIAT, and WARDA's many NARS and international partners,” the Panel Chair Prof. Eric Tollens stated during his presentation on the EPMR report to WARDA staff members. 

WARDA's performance was reviewed from all angles: its research program, relevance and quality of science, partnerships and linkages, capacity building, adoption and impact, and governance and management. Eighteen major recommendations have been made to help the Center improve its performance.

Congratulating the Panel for accomplishing its enormous task, Director General Dr Papa Seck said, “For WARDA, the 5th EPMR is a good tool to move forward and the implementation of the EPMR recommendations will help the Center to be a better provider of international public goods.”

July 07

• CGIAR Director  Designate visits WARDA

Dr Ren Wang, IRRI Director of Research and CGIAR Director Designate led the IRRI delegation to WARDA to attend the CIAT-IRRI-WARDA Programmatic Alignment Planning Meeting, 27-29 June 2007, Cotonou, Benin.

The other members of the IRRI delegation were Drs Joseph Rickman, Noel P. Magor, Glenn Gregorio and Rachid Serraj. CIAT was represented by Drs Fernando Correa, Cesar Martinez and Mathias Lorieux.

WARDA, IRRI and CIAT representatives conveyed a message of goodwill and success from their respective Directors General to the programmatic alignment.  “Through this partnership, the best of science and experience from Asia, Latin America and Africa will come together to address the big challenge of rice in Africa,” stated Dr Seck in his message.

Invitees from IITA, IWMI, FAO, CGIAR Central Advisory Service on Intellectual Property, NGOs, NARS, universities and the private sector also attended in addition to WARDA’s participants.

Priority activities were planned under the joint research themes identified by the three Centers. The meeting proposed the setting up of a Sub-Saharan Africa Rice Consortium (SARC) as a platform for collective action by the CGIAR Centers and their partners to promote rice and rice research in the region.

At the end of the meeting, Dr Keya thanked Dr Wang for his enthusiastic support to the programmatic alignment. On behalf of WARDA he presented to Dr Wang a souvenir wishing him all the best in his new assignment. “May you continue to be a wonderful ambassador for rice research and development for the benefit of the poor,” he said.

Receiving the souvenir, Dr Wang said that he was deeply touched by this gesture and that he would always cherish the warm wishes from WARDA.

• WARDA at FARA General Assembly

At the Fourth FARA General Assembly, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, 10-16 June 2007, Dr Papa Seck was invited by the FARA Executive Secretary Dr Monty Jones to give a brief presentation on his views about the FARA programs for turning Africa’s agriculture around. Dr Seck has been recently appointed as the CGIAR Representative on the FARA Board.

In addition to the Director General, ROCARIZ Coordinator Drs Lawrence Narteh and Sylvester Oikeh attended the General Assembly in their capacity as WARDA Focal Points for the Regional Plan for Collective Action and Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program respectively.

WARDA’s posters and publications were jointly exhibited with those of the other CGIAR Centers in the booth coordinated by the CGIAR Marketing Group.

June 07

• Father of NERICA among the world's most influential people

Father of NERICA Dr Monty Jones has been voted among the world's most influential people by the US Time magazine. Dr Jones is one of just five Africans on this year's list of 100 names.

Known as TIME 100, the selection is based on individuals whose ideas and achievements have changed the world and made history. The selected persons are grouped under five categories: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Builders & Titans, Artists & Entertainers, Scientists & Thinkers and Heroes & Pioneers.

Explaining the selection, the Time editorial stated “Yes, there are Presidents and dictators who can change the world through fiat, but we're more interested in innovators like Monty Jones, the Sierra Leone scientist who has developed a strain of rice that can save African agriculture.”

On receiving congratulations from WARDA, Dr Monty Jones replied, “This is an honor to all of us.”

The Time article on Dr Jones and his NERICA breakthrough is written by none other than the world renowned economist Prof. Jeffrey Sachs. 

• CORAF/WECARD honors DG

WARDA Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck recently received a Certificate of Honor “in recognition of his significant contribution to partnership in agricultural research for development in West and Central Africa.”

The award was presented by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD/CORAF) during its 20th anniversary celebration, 28-31 May 2007, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Dr Seck was until recently a member of Executive Committee of WECARD/CORAF. 

Because of its historic ties with the countries of West and Central Africa and CORAF/ WECARD, WARDA was specially invited to exhibit its activities and achievements through posters and publications. Dr Sitapha Diatta, WARDA Representative in Côte d’Ivoire and other team members, helped set up the WARDA booth for the celebration.

May 07

• 3 best local innovations identified and awarded

Steering Committee Meeting of The Third Steering Committee meeting of the project on Participatory Technology Development and Dissemination of Technologies in Rice-based Cropping Systems (PADS), supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), took place, 18-19 April, at WARDA, Cotonou. Dr P Van Mele is PADS Regional Coordinator. 

Participants reflected on the broad-based partnership approach promoted by the project, with the national project management committees comprising researchers, NGOs, university and extension staff members from Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea and Mali. Research related to the social dimensions of the Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR) training was presented, and a sustainable livelihoods approach introduced to assess PLAR impact across all 25 PLAR sites. The results will be used to orient a more quantitative impact assessment strategy.

Also the results, challenges and opportunities of video-supported group training were discussed. In 2006, the rice seed health videos had been shown to over 9000 farmers and initial lessons related to the use of videos as a tool to strengthen partnerships emerged.

Awards for best local innovations: Throughout the project, 38 local innovations on sustainable crop, pest and seed management were documented. An external jury identified the three best innovations from each country; contributors were awarded a certificate and financial prize by the DG and ADG-R&D. Various local innovations are currently scientifically being tested by the NARS. In this third and final year, we decided to emphasize the documentation of local innovations dealing with bird, rat and grass-cutter control.

• ARI Steering Committee meeting

The African Rice Initiative (ARI) Steering Committee met, 23-27 April, at WARDA, Cotonou. The meeting was organized by the ARI Regional Coordinator Dr I Akintayo.

National coordinators from seven pilot countries of the NERICA Dissemination project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) presented their annual reports. Special invitees, representing ARI donors and partners -- Dr Kae Yanagisawa from UNDP, Dr N. Nguyen from FAO and Dr Robert Anyang, Uganda Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Program (APEP) – also made presentations.

Recommendations made at the end of the meeting include:

• More emphasis to be put on the participation of women in the project activities, training, and complementary technologies development.

• Focus on the recycling of the seed stock every 3 years to avoid seed mixture.

• WARDA and NARS to address NERICA 1 and NERICA 2 susceptibility to Sitophilus.

• Adapt the Uganda success story in the use of private sector to boost NERICA seed enterprise, post-harvest equipments and other inputs in the participating countries.

• Continue to put emphasis on Breeder and Foundation seed production, distribution and variety maintenance to satisfy seed demands.

• Continue facilitating the development of complementary technologies.

• Enhance capacity building in member countries to produce all categories of seeds to ensure the sustainability of the mechanism.
  
   

April 07

• WARDA Board endorses harmonization of activities
  
  27th Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Africa Rice Center (WARDA), 18-23 March 2007, in Cotonou, Benin

At its just-concluded meeting, the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) Board of Trustees strongly endorsed the process of harmonization of specific activities of the Center with those of the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

The Board warmly welcomed the two new Board members who are common to IITA and WARDA: Dr Barbara Becker from Germany and Dr Adama Traoré from Mali.

The other new WARDA Board members—Dr Tsekede Abate from Ethiopia, Dr Getachew Engida from UK and Dr Kiyoaki Maruyama from Japan—also received a special welcome from WARDA.

The Board meeting was made even more significant by the presence of two representatives of the WARDA External Program and Management Review (EPMR) Panel: Prof. Eric Tollens, Panel Chair and Dr Pammi Sachdeva, Panel member for Governance. WARDA is going through its fifth EPMR this year.

At the end of the meeting, the Board thanked the outgoing Board members, Mrs Mary U. B. Mokwunye from Nigeria and Prof. Takeshi Horie from Japan for their valuable contribution to the Center.

The Board took the opportunity to congratulate WARDA for winning recently the prestigious United Nations Award for South-South Triangular Partnership. Individual WARDA staff members and post-doctoral fellows who had been singled out for their achievements were also felicitated.

• L'Oréal-UNESCO Fellow among recent laureates congratulated by WARDA Board!

The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) Board of Trustees formally recognized the WARDA scientists, post-docs, PhD scholars and other staff members who have recently won prominent national and international awards. The event took place at the end of the 27th Meeting of the Board on 23 March 2007, Cotonou, Benin.

The Board first congratulated the Center for winning recently the United Nations Award for South-South Triangular Partnership in recognition of its NERICA initiative. The Award was presented to the WARDA Director General Dr Papa Seck, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

“This is one of the highest recognitions for research partnerships and we are justifiably proud of it,” said the Board Chair Mr Gaston Grenier. “We wish to thank each member of the WARDA family for the UN Award as well as for the series of world-class prizes and honors that WARDA has won over the years.”

The Board then applauded the success of individual members of the WARDA family for their recent achievements.