In recognition of the growing importance of rice as a strategic crop for Africa’s food security and poverty reduction, the African Union Commission and the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote the rice sector in the continent through research, development, supportive policies and capacity building.
The MoU focuses particularly on the following three areas:
- Policy research and analysis;
- Promoting production technologies and agricultural innovation systems;
- Provision of policy communications and facilitating dialogue to inform and improve the design and implementation of food and agricultural policies in and among the Member States of the African Union.
Despite significant increases in domestic rice production in many African countries during 2008 and 2009, the region still imports nearly 40 percent of the rice it consumes, which makes it highly exposed to international market shocks.
“However, Africa can turn around the situation as it possesses a large reservoir of underutilized agricultural land and water resources, and many technological options, developed by AfricaRice and its partners, are already available,” said Dr. Seck, explaining that the collaboration with the African Union would facilitate the required link with policy-makers to transform the rice sector.
The MoU was signed at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by H.E. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, and by Dr. Seck, on behalf of the Center’s 24 Member States.
The signing ceremony was followed by a technical meeting to explore areas of collaboration, including the development of a regional value chain approach and a common market initiative for rice as part of the existing partnership between the African Union Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (AU-DREA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to develop regional value chains for strategic agricultural commodities.
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is a leading pan-African research organization with a mission to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa through research, development and partnership activities. AfricaRice is a member of the Consortium of Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It is also an autonomous intergovernmental research association of African member countries.
The Center was created in 1971 by 11 African countries. Today its membership comprises 24 countries, covering West, Central, East and North African regions, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda. AfricaRice temporary headquarters is based in Cotonou, Benin; research staff are also based in Senegal, Nigeria, Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire.
