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The Rice Regional Programme, led by director Co-ordinator Tareke Berhe,
formally started in April 2005. Countries included in the programme are
Ethiopia, Mali and Uganda. Since then, Guinea and Nigeria have received
some support as satellite countries.
Partnerships
«In our new regional role we will promote productivity enhancing
technologies » says Tareke Berhe. «This will enables an
increase of productivity per unit. SG 2000 Country Programmes, SAA
Regional Programmes, developmental institutions and agencies such as
the Africa Rice Centre, the Africa Rice Initiative (ARI), the Forum
for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), regional WARDA affiliates,
national research extension and other relevant institutions are to
collaborate in the future. SAA also signed Memoranda of Understanding
with WARDA and IRRI.
They all plan to focus on the following activities : identifying and
evaluating new improved and broadly adapted rice varieties ; supporting
the maintenance, the production and the availability of good seeds
from improved varieties ; promoting productivity-enhancing technologies
; promoting postharvest and agroprocessing technologies and training
young rice scientists and field technicians.
The NERICA
NERICA (New Rice for Africa) combines
the best features of both African and Asian inter-specific rice crosses,
maturing 40 to 50 days earlier compared to upland (rainfed) Asian
varieties previously grown in West Africa. This allows farmers to
add an additional crop, such as a fast-growing pulse, to their annual
cropping cycle. Guinea, where the first varieties of NERICA were
introduced in 1997, has had the greatest production impact.
Good Results
Ethiopia’s emphasis has been on variety introduction, evaluation
and seed increase with 139 elite lines
and improved varieties introduced from the West African Rice Development
Association (WARDA, now the Africa Rice Center) and the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Federal and regional research centers
were supported to evaluate the new introductions.
In Mali, rice activities are concentrated into large ecological zones
with rain-fed upland rice in the south and the central zone of the
river Niger for rain-fed lowland/irrigated rice.
Good results were recorded in Mali in
2005. Foundation and certified seeds were produced at 1.5t and 36t
respectively while 200t were produced for commercialisation. NERICA
4 yields here 3-6t/ha.
Rice activities in Uganda concentrated mainly on organizing and training
farmers on the NERICA production. Over 2,600 were trained and nearly
1,000 production plots were supported with a placement of 55 postharvest
and agroprocessing machines. This was done in partnership with SAA’s
Regional Postharvest and Agroprocessing Programme and a USAID financed
project.
Guinea’s model
Following the conclusion of the SG 2000
Guinea project in 2004, the Ministry of Agriculture has continued
to promote the crop production technologies previously supported
under the joint programme. Whereas SAA provided Guinea with US$8,000
to keep its office open, the Minister of Agriculture, Jean-Paul Saar,
allocated 100 million gnf (US$33,000) for the continuation of the
NERICA diffusion in Guinea in 2005. In recognition of his strong
affiliation, collaboration and support for the SG 2000 programme
over the past eight years, he received a Merit Award Certificate
signed by former US President Carter and Dr Norman Borlaug.
«Our programme in Guinea set the model for other areas of the
continent in rice production » said Dr Berhe. «The New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has identified NERICA
as one of the continent’s best practices. It is the result of
good science, development cooperation and strong and effective partnerships. »
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