The phase 1 of the IFAD-funded project ‘Enhancing Smallholder
Access to NERICA for Alleviating Rural Poverty in West and Central Africa’ came
to an end in December after 4 years of activities. A final workshop was held, 6–8
December, in Cotonou, to enable the regional project coordinator and national
project coordinators from Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Sierra Leone
to discuss the project’s achievements and challenges. The participants explored
the way forward in order to ensure the sustainability of the results achieved
in phase 1, highlighting the need for facilitating market access for seed and
grain producers, promotion of value addition for income generation, and
strengthening stakeholders’ capacities in seed production, marketing and
enterprise development. The main recommendation was to move from a seed-production
focus that was dominant in phase 1 to a rice value-chain focus in phase 2.
