Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
From TrustAfrica wiki - African Regional Organizations
Headquarters
WARDA/ADRAO
01 B.P. 2551 Bouaké 01, Côte d'Ivoire
Tel. (225) 31659300
Fax (225) 31659311
E-mail warda@cgiar.org
Website: http://www.warda.org
Temporary Headquarters
WARDA
01 B.P. 2031 Cotonou, Benin
Tel (229) 21350188
Fax (229) 21350556
E-mail warda@cgiar.org
Nigeria Station
c/o IITA
PMB 5320 Oyo Road
Ibadan, Nigeria
Tel. (234-2) 2412626
Fax (234-2) 2412221
E-mail iita@cgiar.org
Sahel Station
Ndiaye, B.P. 96
Saint Louis, Senegal
Tel (221) 9626493; 9626441
Fax (221) 9626491
E-mail warda-sahel@cgiar.org
Tanzania Station
ECARRN
c/o Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute
P.O. Box 6226
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: (255) 222775568; (255) 744788495
Fax: +255-22-2700092
Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Director General
S Bruce-Oliver, Executive Officer
Savitri Mohapatra, Communication Officer, s.mohapatra@cgiar.org
Description
Africa Rice Center (WARDA) - Benin, is the premier research Center for rice development in sub-Saharan Africa and also serves as a hub for rice-related R&D networks in the region. It operates in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It was initially called the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) until 2003 before it was designated by the WARDA Council of Ministers as the Africa Rice Center in recognition of its increasing and leading role in rice R&D in SSA. It was created by 11 West African countries with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Its mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment. WARDA envisions itself as a center of excellence, a leader in rice research and development as well as a hub in a region-wide network for collaborative research. Its goal is to significantly increase the quality, usefulness and availability of knowledge and technology within the rice sector to support and improve the well-being of the poor in Africa.
The New Rice for Africa (NERICA), which is bringing hope to millions of poor people in Africa, was developed by WARDA and its partners. The modus operandi of the Center is a partnership at all levels. Its research and development activities are conducted in collaboration with various stakeholders—primarily the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), academic institutions, advanced research institutions, farmers’ organizations, non-governmental organizations and donors—for the benefit of African farmers, mostly small-scale producers, as well as the millions of African families for whom rice means food.
The Center 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). It also supports the Coordination Unit of the Eastern and Central African Rice Research Network (ECARRN) based in Tanzania.
Since January 2005, the Center has been based in Cotonou, Benin. It has regional research stations near St Louis, Senegal and at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria.
To create an efficient financial environment for achieving the Center’s strategic goal, the Center concentrates on three main areas:
- Full cost recovery of expenditures
- Targeting innovative avenues for income generation
- Significant cash surplus and reserve to ensure financial stability and sustainability
The Center receives funding from a wide variety of sources and is part of the CGIAR, which is supported by more than 60 developed and developing countries and bilateral and multilateral aid agencies. Current and past donors to WARDA include the African Development Bank, Belgium, Canada, Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, Finance Committee), Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), France, Gatsby Foundation, Germany (BMZ/GTZ) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Japan, Taiwan/AVRDC, The Netherlands, Norway, Rockefeller Foundation, Sweden, United Kingdom (DFID), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNDP Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (UNDP/TCDC), United States of America (USAID), the World Bank and WARDA Member States.
Track Record
New Rice for Africa (NERICA) technology refers to the successful cross breeding by researchers from the Africa Rice Center of the two species of cultivated rice to produce plants (known as interspecifics) that combine the best traits of both parents: high yields from the Asian parent and the ability to thrive in harsh environments from the African parent—a feat not previously achieved in the history of rice breeding. Through the crossing of the two rice species, the NERICA technology gives researchers access to new genetic combinations. The NERICA name was trademarked in 2004. The researchers developed Upland NERICA varieties, Lowland NERICA varieties and high-yielding varieties for the Sahel.
The organization has released about 200 improved rice varieties over the past 25 years in West Africa thanks to the catalytic effect of the International Network for the Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER-Africa), based at the Center. Producer surplus gain from improved varieties exceeded about US$360 million in 1998 alone.
A suite of improved technologies and decision-making tools for irrigated rice farmers. Adoption of the integrated crop management (ICM) strategy enhances the productivity, profitability and sustainability of irrigated rice farming and results in substantial increase in yields (by 60 percent) and profits (by 85 percent).
Challenges
The institutional environment is changing. There is an increasing role for NGOs and farmers’ organizations in WARDA’s work. Thus, there is a need for continuous investment in human-capital development but financial resources are declining.
Since the mid-1970s, the consumption of rice in West and Central Africa (WCA), and to a lesser extent in SSA as a whole, has increased dramatically. Regional rice production has also increased but to a lesser extent. As a result, WCA—one of the most impoverished regions in the world—has become increasingly dependent on the world market for one of its staple foods.
The challenge for the Center is to overcome the major constraints to rice production in SSA:
- Low productivity and sustainability of rice
- Poor quality of the marketed product
- Unfavourable market and policy environment
The research challenge is aggravated by the high level of diversity that characterizes both the natural environment and agricultural production systems in the region. The need for emphasis on the post-harvest and policy aspects also adds a complex dimension.
