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| FAO Director General Dr José Graziano da Silva visits AfricaRice, Cotonou, Benin |
Congratulating
the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) for its commitment to improving food
security in Africa, Dr José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), stated during his visit
to the Center, “We wish to join our efforts with AfricaRice to support rice
strategies for the future.”
“Rice
is a staple food in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America where two thirds of
the world’s hungry people live,” the FAO Director General remarked.
Highlighting the major challenges facing rice production, such as water
scarcity and salinity, which are predicted to increase because of climate
change, he proposed that FAO could be a partner, particularly in knowledge on
policy advice.
After
extending a warm welcome to Dr Graziano da Silva, AfricaRice Interim Director
General Dr Adama Traoré, said that FAO and AfricaRice have been closely collaborating
in several areas, such as the collection and conservation of rice genetic
resources, the development of rice seed systems, NERICA dissemination efforts and
the Emergency Rice Initiative in Africa after the 2008 food crisis.
“The
most recent example of partnership was the successful co-organization of the
3rd Africa Rice Congress that was held in Cameroon from 21-24 October 2013,” Dr
Traoré said.
The
Congress recommendations specifically address the need for FAO to play a more prominent
role in stimulating national, regional and global partnerships to develop
Africa’s rice sector, as part of the efforts of the Coalition of African RiceDevelopment (CARD) and under the overall umbrella of the Comprehensive AfricaAgriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
The
FAO delegation had a guided tour of the experimental fields and the rice
genebank at AfricaRice. The visit reaffirmed the strong links between FAO and
AfricaRice. “The visit despite the short time was very useful to demonstrate
the commitment of the researchers and all staff to support rice productivity
increase, especially in the Sahel. I hope that our partnerships will improve in
the future for achieving food security for all,” Dr Graziano da Silva observed.
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