In recognition of
the growing importance of rice as a strategic crop for food security and
poverty reduction in Africa, the African Union Commission (AUC) and AfricaRice
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote the rice sector
in the continent through research, development, supportive policies and
capacity building.
The MoU focuses on
three main areas:
- Policy research and analysis
- Promoting production technologies and agricultural innovation systems
- Provision of policy communications and facilitating dialogue to inform and improve the design and implementation of food and agricultural policies in and among the Member States of the African Union (AU).
Hailing this
collaboration as a “historic achievement”, Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, AfricaRice
Director General remarked, “This will help create the political will to move
Africa’s rice sector forward.” The MoU was signed at the AU headquarters in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by HE Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, AU Commissioner for Rural
Economy and Agriculture, and by Dr Seck, on behalf of AfricaRice’s 24 member
states.
The signing
ceremony was followed by a technical meeting to explore areas of collaboration,
including the development of a regional value-chain approach and a common
market initiative for rice as part of the existing partnership between the AU
Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (AU-DREA), FAO and the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to develop regional value chains
for strategic agricultural commodities.
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