Executive Summary

This MTP based on the Center’s strategic plan 2003-2010 takes full account of the greatly increased involvement of WARDA in all regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at the request of both its Council of Ministers and national agricultural research systems (NARS) in the 21 member countries of WARDA and in many non-member countries. It also takes account of the evolution of the CGIAR in SSA to embrace more intensive cooperation between centers and their national and international partners.

The MTP recognizes and serves as an associated tool in the implementation of the Regional Plan for Collective Action, formerly the West and Central Africa MTP in conjunction with our partners. As a key mover in the development of the MTP for West Africa, WARDA is particularly cognizant of the latest CGIAR System Priorities and has readily adopted these as underpinning for the Center’s continuing engagement with poverty in SSA and the creation and dissemination of the many pertinent international and regional public goods being produced by the Center. At all times the Center also recognizes the important roles it can play in meeting Millennium Development Goals and the five ‘pillars’ of NEPAD’s CAADP.

In partnership with ASARECA, WARDA activated the ECARRN rice network with a coordinator based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is now entering new collaboration with IRRI and the Japanese Government in eastern Africa and with IRRI and CIAT in West Africa. The CCER on Partnerships praised WARDA model for producing highly diversified partnerships with all levels of the rice sector, including farmers. Recommendations from the CCER, especially to strengthen the ROCARIZ and ARI networks, are being taken on board. WARDA was winner of the South-South Triangular Partnership Award by the United Nations in December 2006, thereby reaffirming the Center’s strength in this field.

Underpinning the MTP period and beyond are four key elements:

• Pursuit of coherence and excellence in a number of core research areas aimed at producing desirable international public goods.

• Adaptation of the network-based model for research collaboration.

• Enhancing the institutional capacity of national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) through training and human resource development.

• Direct engagement with the rice development sector.

Together these build towards WARDA’s strategic goal to “significantly increase the quality, usefulness and availability of knowledge and technology within the rice sector to support the poor in Africa.”as stated in the strategic plan.

WARDA will continue to strive to make locally produced rice (especially NERICAs) competitive in price and quality through reduction in local rice production costs, increased quality and cleanliness and consequent higher market desirability. Confirmation of the progress achieved by past efforts of the Center in disseminating NERICAs and promoting policy change was received in March 2007 when the FAO Rice Market Monitor highlighted NERICA adoption as one of the key reasons for the marked increase in production of rice in Africa in both 2005 and 2006. Improved policies in seven key rice-producing countries as well as favorable weather also contributed to the increases in home-produced rice, according to FAO.

The preparatory processes have resulted in a Medium Term Plan that WARDA feels is fully engaged in delivering solutions to the problems and the needs of resource-poor communities throughout the major rice-growing ecologies of sub-Saharan Africa. This MTP also emphasizes partnership with effective NARS, with ARIs and with farmers, and is designed for implementation within a background of enabling government policies and profitable markets for locally produced rice.

The Center is also internalizing in this MTP how it is encapsulating in each of its projects the vital requirement to ensure the production of international public goods (IPG) and demonstrate how these will impact effectively in the alleviation of poverty and hunger across nations. In further taking into account various review recommendations and vital M & E, the Center is also seeking to progressively align with the System Priorities of the CGIAR and the regional MTPs for science research in sub-Saharan Africa.

In response to the earlier comments of the Science Council, greater focus is now incorporated in the simplified programmatic structure of the Center’s research activities originally introduced in 2005. The two program format remains the backbone of this MTP, but the number of center projects is reduced to six, plus the Inland Valley Consortium (IVC) and the Systemwide Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Agriculture (SWIHA) which each have individual MTPs. Program 1 now hosts projects 1, 2 and 3 while program 2 hosts projects 4, 5 and 6. The numbering of projects 4, 5 and 6 has changed from the previous MTP. In accordance with the SC commentary and WARDA Board’s recommendation, the previous Project 4 – Integrated Management of Drought in Rainfed Rice Ecosystems in Africa – has been dissolved and elements of it incorporated in projects 1 and 2, with drought mapping moved to project 5 which is rewritten to take account of the graduation of SWIHA to a full SWEP. Overlaps with projects 1 and 2 have been eliminated.

Projects 1, 2 and 3 have been re-focused to take clear account of and align with CGIAR system priorities (SP) and with the West and Central Africa Regional Plan for Collective Action. In recognition of Science Council concern and of the growing emphasis on wider aspects of climate change, research in the area of drought has now been placed more appropriately with other projects.  The focus of Project 4 (formerly 5) has been addressed. The post-conflict impact of this project is now additional to that of the products related to research on climate change and sustainable intensification. Networks remain at the heart of the new Project 6 – Partnerships, innovations and learning systems – which has been rewritten to refocus the research aspects of networks, expressly bringing out the innovative aspects of technology uptake and transfer, and showing clearer alignment to SP 5c and 5d. Most elements of impact and adoption research are now better aligned and concentrated in Project 4 in accordance with the SC comments and in keeping with PM guidelines.

The USAID-funded biotechnology project – now in its third year – on the use of marker-assisted selection has greatly enhanced the biotechnology capacity of four West African countries. Two popular varieties of rice from each country have been identified for improvement by the addition of a gene conferring resistance to rice yellow mottle virus. This improved capacity in molecular biology has paved the way for a new three-year project under the Generation CP to be funded by the EU in late 2007. The second phase of the IFAD-funded PADS project to identify, evaluate, adapt and scale-out sustainable productivity-enhancing innovations for rice production systems in the rainfed lowland ecology is in full swing. The Gambia, Guinea, Ghana and Mali benefit from the Phase II agenda focussing only on the inland valley systems because of their great potential to become the food basket of West Africa.

The program structure – Integrated Rice Production Systems and Rice Policy and Development – continues to focus on the two major challenges previously identified in the 2003–2012 Strategic Plan. The ecoregional program IVC and the systemwide program SWIHA now produce their own MTPs (Annexes B and C) which are likewise revised to take full account of CGIAR SPs and the Regional Plans for Collective Action in Africa. The Center’s logframe analysis (Annex D) fully takes account of the relevant updates and the System Priorities of the CGIAR. The outputs and especially output targets have been consolidated and logframes adjusted accordingly.

Financing plan 

The resource requirements over the MTP period are based on the 2007 funding level of the Center and projections for 2008.  The plan assumes combined growth and inflation rates of 2.0% and 2.6% for 2009 and 2010, respectively. The projected unrestricted funding for 2008 amounts to US$ 5.98 million and restricted funding is put at US$ 6.26 million, giving a total 2008 grant income of US$ 12.24 million. The Center’s earned income is projected at US$ 0.20 million. The combined annual weighted inflation in those African countries where the Center operates is projected to be 2.5-3.5%. Spending on Center operations in 2008 is planned to be at the level of US$ 12.29 million leaving a positive net increase in Center reserves of US$ 0.15 million.