Twenty participants from
AGRA, JICA, JIRCAS, World Bank, WFP, AfDB, IFAD, FARA, FAO, IRRI and Africa
Rice Center met for a 2-day technical workshop of the Coalition for African
Rice Development (CARD), 25-26 September, in Cotonou, Benin.
CARD was launched in May
this year as a consultative grouping of participating bilateral and
multilateral development partners and African and international institutions to
double rice production in Africa by around 2017. CARD has strong links to the
existing structures, programs and networks such as Africa Rice Center, FARA and
the African Rice Initiative (ARI).
The objective of the
First CARD Technical Meeting was to prepare the groundwork for the First CARD
General Meeting, which will be held, 29-30 October, in Nairobi, Kenya.
During the Technical
Meeting, preliminary cross cutting issues identified for CARD were seed
production, breeding for (a)biotic stresses, mechanization, varietal release
procedures, water resource management, cross-border trade and value chain development
(economic development). A major thrust of CARD is capacity building.
CARD will start with a
3-year phase. Actions to be taken by the CARD Secretariat are (1) to develop
National Rice Development Strategies in 12 SSA countries (21 candidate countries
have been identified), (2) identify country specific and cross-cutting actions,
(3) focus on advocacy, and (4) information exchange. The final decisions will
be taken at the first CARD General Meeting.
