IRRI and AfricaRice jointly launched the Japan-funded project on
‘Developing the next generation of new rice varieties for sub-Saharan Africa
and Southeast Asia’. The eastern and southern African launch of this project
took place on 24 April, in Kirundo Province of Burundi.
The launch was attended by scientists from IRRI, AfricaRice and 38
national research and extension partners from nine eastern and southern Africa countries
(Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and
Uganda).
The overall aim of the project is to accelerate the development and
deployment of the next generation of elite rice varieties for major production
systems in SSA and Southeast Asia. To ensure the development and delivery of
products (rice varieties) well-accepted by farmers and consumers, this project
aims to establish a network of NARS breeders.
The project will allow IRRI and AfricaRice to rebuild rice breeding
capacity at the national level in SSA and Southeast Asia, and pursue a
systematic collaborative approach to rice breeding that will greatly shorten
the time needed to develop new varieties. Delivery of varieties will also be
accelerated through streamlining and harmonizing varietal release procedures
across the regions.
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