A regional workshop of
the project “Emergency initiative to boost rice production in Ghana, Mali,
Nigeria and Senegal,” was held in Cotonou, Benin, 9 -13 November 2009 with
representatives from AfricaRice and partner institutions.
This project is led by
AfricaRice in partnership with the International Soil Fertility and
Agricultural Development Center (IFDC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the
national research and extension systems in target countries. The Project is
funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The project is a
short-term intervention in major rice-producing countries of sub-Saharan Africa
in response to the global rice crisis in 2008. It seeks to:
- Increase the use of high yielding rice varieties;
- Increase the use of improved farming methods;
- Increase the use of fertilizers through use of
vouchers/coupons;
- Assist at least 10,000 farm families in each
target country;
- Increase rice production in the four target
countries by at least 30,000 tonnes by the end of the project.
The workshop discussions
focused on: i) the conclusions from the monitoring tour; ii) implementation,
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at country and regional levels; and iii)
the work plans for 2010. The workshop also included a side-event to train
project participants in the reporting of success stories and lessons learnt
relating to the project.
