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Unity in Diversity
 Thinking
out of the box is a pre-requisite when we wish to build
something new, revolutionize our style of working and
doing business. However, as we all know, it’s very
difficult to change people’s and—by
extension—institutes’ individualistic mind-sets,
instinctive territorial boundaries, and competitive
nature. Yet, in today’s fast-changing world, where
challenges are immense and resources few, we all need to
break away from these limitations and old habits of
“doing business as usual.”
The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) has been charged by the
CGIAR to lead the process of developing an Integrated
Mid-Term Plan (MTP) for West and Central Africa (WCA) as part
of the new way of doing business. The process is
steadily moving forward and is proving to be a genuine
attempt by a wide range of stakeholders to think out of
the box, reach out beyond their individual horizons and
create a new culture of strategizing together for the
common good of WCA agriculture.
An MTP for WCA seems like a revolutionary idea to many,
but looking in hindsight at a series of meetings, known
as the “Meeting of the Minds” that took place between
the CGIAR Centers, sub-regional organizations such as CORAF/WECARD
and ASARECA, and NARS for coordinating
activities in the region at the turn of the
millennium, the present move towards a regional MTP
seems like the natural consequence of those initiatives.
The development of the integrated MTP has taken note of
this historical context together with the ongoing CGIAR
reform process, the recommendations of the CGIAR SSA
Task Forces for programmatic alignment of CGIAR Centers
in Africa and the call for Collective Action made by the
CGIAR Center Directors Committee in 2004 to produce
quick wins, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
As an autonomous intergovernmental research association
of African member states, WARDA is unique among the
CGIAR-supported Centers, to have the Council as its
highest oversight body. This distinct organizational
model gives a strong feeling of ownership of WARDA by
the Council, making the Center’s activities highly
relevant to the region. The Council reaffirmed its
special bond with the Center and put its force solidly
behind it at its 25th Session, held in September 2005 in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The CGIAR strategy for sub-Saharan Africa and the need
for increased integration have been the dominant issues
of this year. These issues and their implications for
WARDA were extensively discussed at the 25th Session of
the Council of Ministers and at the CGIAR Annual General
Meeting, Marrakech, Morocco. It is significant that both
these meetings have strongly endorsed the regional MTPs
in SSA as the way forward.
On behalf of the Africa Rice Center (WARDA), I take this
opportunity to wish you, our friends, colleagues,
partners and supporters, a festive holiday season and a
peaceful and productive 2006.
Kanayo F. Nwanze
Director General
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