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News Release
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
July 2004
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF RICE
IN AFRICA
The Africa Rice Center Announces New Programmatic and Corporate Structure
To effectively translate its
new Strategic
Plan, The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) has announced a new programmatic and
corporate structure that will enhance the relevance and impact of its research
products and services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
“The new structure, which was recently approved by the Board and endorsed by
our NARS partners, will better position the Center to address the emerging
challenges in SSA and ensure that the quality of our science continues to meet
the highest international standards,” remarked Dr Kanayo F. Nwanze, Director
General of The Africa Rice Center.
New Programmatic Structure of Core Research Areas
The Center’s core research areas will focus on the two major challenges
highlighted in its 2003-2012 Strategic Plan: 1. Integrated Rice Production
Systems; and 2. Rice Policy and Development. The two programs will be headed
each by an Assistant Director under the supervision of the Assistant Director
General, Research and Development.
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Integrated Rice
Production Systems
Activities under this
program will seek to:
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Improve resource use
efficiency for more productive, profitable, and socio-economically viable
rice production systems in SSA
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Develop stress-tolerant
rice varieties and agronomic practices that best fit or better optimize
existing production systems in SSA and are acceptable to both producers
and consumers
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Rice Policy and
Development
The thrust of this program
is to:
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Build strategies for
competitive rice sector development in SSA through a better understanding
of rice policy and market dynamics and a systematic assessment of impacts
of technical and institutional changes within the rice sector
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Enhance the institutional
capacity of national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES)
by extending its highly successful network model to other rice-producing
areas of Africa
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Mitigate the effects of
environmental disasters and pandemic diseases on rice-based livelihoods by
providing information, technology, and support
These two programs will
function through a set of a limited number of well-focused projects with
specific outputs and milestones within the Medium-Term Plan (MTP).
As part of its new research agenda, the Center will reach out beyond its
traditional partners to ensure that its knowledge and technologies are relevant
and accessible to a broader range of actors interested in rice development in
Africa: ranging from international development banks and bilateral agencies,
through government and research institutions to local NGOs and the private
sector.
New Executive Management Team and Corporate Structure
To effectively support its new research agenda, the Center has transformed its
Executive Management Team organization and streamlined its corporate structure.
As part of the new structure, the Director General will be assisted by:
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About The Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) is an autonomous intergovernmental research association of African member states. It is also one of the
15 international agricultural research Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR).
WARDA’s mission is to contribute to food security and poverty alleviation in Africa, through research and development activities and partnerships aimed to increase the productivity, efficiency and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment.
WARDA hosts the African Rice Initiative (ARI), the Regional Rice Research and Development Network for West and Central Africa
(ROCARIZ), and the Inland Valley Consortium (IVC).
WARDA has its headquarters in Côte d’Ivoire and regional research stations near St Louis, Senegal, at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in
Ibadan, Nigeria, and at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT) research station at Samanko, near Bamako, Mali.
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