CGIAR ice Ce ca R n d Partnerships for impact u ri ’A z l pour Afr caR ce Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) – Annual Report 2014 Afri frique ter e Centr West and Central Africa East and Southern Africa • Africa Rice Center Headquarters, Côte d’Ivoire • Africa Rice Center Tanzania Abidjan administrative headquarters Mikocheni B/Kawe, Avocado Street, PO Box 33581, 01 B.P. 4029, Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Telephone: (225) 20 21 01 20 Telephone: (255) 222 780 768 Fax: (225) 20 22 01 33 Fax: (255) 222 780 768 E-mail: a.beye@cgiar.org E-mail: p.kiepe@cgiar.org M’bé research station • Africa Rice Center Madagascar 01 B.P. 2551, Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire c/o Immeuble de la Direction Générale du FOFIFA Telephone: (225) 31 63 25 78 P.O. Box 690, Ampandrianomby, Antananarivo, Madagascar Fax: (225) 31 63 28 00 Telephone: (261) 33 18 474 62, 32 69 649 57 E-mail: m.sie@cgiar.org • Africa Rice Center Benin 01 B.P. 2031, Cotonou, Benin Telephone: (229) 6418 1313, 6418 1414, 6418 1515, 6418 1616 Fax: (229) 6422 7809 E-mail: AfricaRice@cgiar.org © Copyright Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) 2016 • Africa Rice Center Nigeria Ibadan research station AfricaRice encourages fair use of this material. Proper citation c/o International Institute of Tropical is requested. The designations used in the presentation of Agriculture (IITA), materials in this publication do not imply the expression of any Oyo Road, PMB 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria opinion whatsoever by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) Telephone: (234) 805 505 5951, (234) 805 505 5954 concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or (234) 803 403 5281 area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of Fax: (44) 208 711 3786 its frontiers and boundaries. E-mail: f.nwilene@cgiar.org Abuja office (RTA project) Citation: c/o Federal Ministry of Agriculture Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). 2016. Africa Rice Center and Rural Development, (AfricaRice) Annual Report 2014: Partnerships for impact. Area 11, PMB 345, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria Cotonou, Benin: 104 pp. Telephone: (234) 09 67 27 283 Fax: (234) 09 67 11 073 ISBN: • Africa Rice Center Senegal Print 978-92-9113-376-5 B.P. 96, Saint-Louis, Senegal PDF 978-92-9113-377-2 Telephone: (221) 33 962 64 41, (221) 33 962 6493 Fax: (221) 33 962 6491 Writing and editing: E-mail: AfricaRice-sahel@cgiar.org Green Ink (www.greenink.co.uk) and Savitri Mohapatra • Africa Rice Center Liberia (WAAPP project) (AfricaRice) c/o Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Suakoko, Bong County, Printing: PMB 3929, Monrovia, Liberia Pragati Offset Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, India Telephone: (231) 77 37 25 21 Photo credits: • Africa Rice Center Sierra Leone (WAAPP project) Guy Manners (Green Ink): pages 18–25 (all), 34, 44. All other Rokupr Town, Kambia District, pictures are by staff members of Africa Rice Center, and c/o Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI), networks and consortia convened by the Center. PMB 1313, Tower Hill, Freetown, Sierra Leone Telephone: (232) 22 22 21 79 Fax: (232) 22 22 44 39 Cover: Women grading parboiled rice in Malanville IP. About Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) Contents AfricaRice is one of the 15 international agricultural Message from the Board Chair and research centers that are members of the CGIAR the Interim Director General 2 Consortium. It is also an intergovernmental associa­ Partnerships for impact 5 tion of African member countries. Conservation agriculture in the fight The Center was established in 1970 by 11 African against Striga in Madagascar 20 countries. Today its membership comprises 25 coun­ Research in brief 26 tries, covering West, Central, East and North African regions, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Climate-proofing East Africa’s rice sector 26 Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Beyond boiled rice — partners and products 29 Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, The Smart-valleys 32 Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea­Bissau, Liberia, Donor profile — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 35 Madagascar, Mali, Mauri tania, Niger, Nigeria, Profiles of selected PhD candidates 45 Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda. Major events 50 AfricaRice is implementing its Strategic Plan through Financial statements 63 the CGIAR Research Program on Rice, known as the Board of Trustees 68 Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), the Rice Senior staff and Associates 69 Task Force mechanism and a network of Rice Sector Development Hubs that are being set up across Postgraduate trainees 75 Africa to concentrate R&D efforts and connect AfricaRice training programs 89 partners along the rice value chain. Publications 92 AfricaRice is headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire. It has Abbreviations 102 outreach stations in Benin, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania. Research staff are also based in Liberia, Madagascar and Sierra Leone. For more information visit: www.AfricaRice.org ca Rice Cen du ri ’A z pour l Afr caR ce AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 1 Afri frique ter Centr e Message from the Board Chair and the Interim Director General The ‘partnerships for impact’ theme selected for the ‘Multinational CGIAR Support to Agricultural 2014 Annual Report reflects AfricaRice’s recognition Research for Development on Strategic Commodities of the importance of effective partnership arrangements in Africa’ (SARD-SC) projects. Increased benefits in successfully responding to agricultural research- and incomes have been demonstrated by IP actors for-development challenges both internationally and involved in rice parboiling in the village of Glazoué, on the continent. In keeping with its status as an Benin, and IP actors involved in mixed farming in association of member states, the Center has been the inland valleys in the villages of Doumanaba and steadfast in working in partnership. In 2014, with an Bamadougou in Mali. Interim Director General firmly in place and the Board providing its full support, AfricaRice continued to We report on AfricaRice’s partnership with the implement strategic upstream research and capacity- French agricultural research organization, Centre de development activities, while proactively linking with coopération internationale en recherche agronomique development partners to scale out rice technologies to pour le développement (CIRAD), and the Madagascan generate impact and outcomes following our theory of national agricultural research institute, Centre change developed in close interaction with our partners National de Recherche Appliquée au Développement in the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP). The Rural (FOFIFA), to highlight the interesting results progress and successes registered during the year in emerging from their joint development of integrated several areas are highlighted in this annual report. cropping systems in Madagascar. Through the practice of conservation agriculture (rice–maize rotation In 2014, for the first time, the novel idea of an innova- incorporating the legume species Stylosanthus tion fair was introduced and a 1-day event organized guianensis), the menace of the notorious parasitic on the AfricaRice Cotonou campus. Several rice weed Striga asiatica is being thwarted. The crop technologies produced by AfricaRice ready for residue from conservation agriculture provides ground scaling out (e.g. mechanical weeders and reapers, cover to suppress weeds, retains moisture and protects ‘ASI’ thresher–cleaner, RiceAdvice, parboiling against soil erosion. stoves, rice briquettes, ARICA varieties and the The German Federal Ministry for Economic Coopera- Smart-valleys approach) were showcased to NGOs, tion and Development (BMZ)-funded ‘Mitigating the farmers’ organizations and development partners. impact of climate change on rice disease resistance in These scalable technologies are captured online in East Africa’ (MICCORDEA) project brings to the fore the Center’s Rice eHub facility (www.ricehub.org), on the work that AfricaRice has been doing on climate video, as rural radio scripts, and written up as one- change in partnership with the Rwandan, Tanzanian sheet briefs for distribution. and Ugandan national agricultural research systems We feature in this annual report the Center’s successful (NARS) and German universities. The distribution partnership on innovation platforms (IPs: forums and severity of two rice diseases, bacterial blight where local stakeholders come together to realize a rice and blast, in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda were business opportunity to improve their livelihoods in mapped over a 3-year period to establish baseline a sustainable and equitable manner), established and data to measure changes in disease patterns under the facilitated in several countries through the European influence of climate change and to discover resistance Union-funded ‘Realizing the agricultural potential genes (tools for climate proofing) to better target the of inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan Africa Center’s rice breeding efforts. while maintaining their environmental services’ AfricaRice is partnering with US, Canadian and Italian (RAP) and the African Development Bank-funded universities, and with French agricultural research 2 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 institutions to add nutritional value to low grades As is customary in all AfricaRice annual reports, there of rice, fortify rice-based products and optimize the is a spotlight on a donor partner that has contributed rice parboiling process. This work deserves special generously to funding the activities of the Center. mention because of its focus on combating health- related problems. For 2014, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been selected for this honor. AfricaRice has a long The annual report also highlights the Smart-valleys tradition of partnering with the Gates Foundation, approach used for the development of inland valleys to which it owes a lot of gratitude for the support for rice production with national partners in Benin and provided, especially for our breeding work. In fact, Togo. This approach has proven its worth in increasing the same words of gratitude and appreciation go out farmers’ average yields and is now ready for scaling up to all our partners, ranging from the NARS, farmer to more inland valleys and promotion in many more organizations, civil society and NGOs to advanced sites in other countries. research institutes, sister CGIAR Centers, universities Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr Peter Matlon (right), with Interim Director General, Dr Adama Traoré AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 3 and private-sector operatives, which have contributed In addition to addressing the immediate priority of in one way or another to making the Africa Rice Ebola control, international organizations have called Center a veritable center of excellence in rice research for urgent action to re-establish the farming systems and development. in the three Ebola-affected countries. Rice is the most Unfortunately, our research-for-development activities important staple in these countries, and AfricaRice in the second half of the year took place against the has been actively involved in discussing and planning backdrop of the Ebola crisis, which concerns all strategies to make improved rice seeds available to of us, since most of our staff members and R&D farmers, with strong support from donors as well as partners are based in the sub-region that has become the Economic Community of West African States the epicenter of the outbreak. In early August, after a (ECOWAS). careful consideration of the ongoing uncertainties and However, despite these difficult circumstances, 2014 health concerns, the Center’s management decided to has been a challenging, but very productive and evacuate our internationally and regionally recruited successful year, with outstanding results realized staff members and their families from Liberia and Sierra within the organization and in partnership. This Leone — two severely affected countries — so that they annual report, with its theme of ‘partnerships for are not exposed to any risk. AfricaRice does not have impact’, is a worthy tribute to a key mechanism any staff based in Guinea. We are praying for the safety or modus operandi the Center has relied on since of our brave colleagues, who are continuing their work its inception to implement its rice research-for- under very difficult and even dangerous situations. development activities. Adama Traoré Peter Matlon 4 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Partnerships for impact P artnership is at the heart of AfricaRice with its modus operandi as an association of member states. With increasing challenges on the biophysical, social and resources fronts, the work that AfricaRice does with and through its partners is perhaps more important than ever. Theory of change AfricaRice’s research for development. AfricaRice wants to concentrate its efforts in the hubs because A ‘theory of change’ is all about how we intend to these regions have been chosen by national partners bring about positive change in the real world. as being strategically important for development of the “A theory of change is needed because it forces one rice sector. AfricaRice works with partners in the hubs to think about achieving real change, i.e. outcomes to analyze how to produce quality rice products for and impact from our work,” says AfricaRice deputy the domestic market in sufficient quantities equitably director general Marco Wopereis. “It means looking and sustainably. proactively (far) beyond our products. How do we ensure these products can indeed make a difference? How do we proactively link with the next users of Multi-stakeholder innovation our products? That requires putting our products out in the real world, and that is happening in our hubs. platforms in rice agri-food systems Products are introduced and tested based on needs identified with our partners, who have also often From multi-stakeholder platforms… participated in the various diagnostic and yield-gap The film Sinima Sinima opens with a scandal: a surveys that we have conducted in the hubs. It is part group of unemployed young men from the village of of an interactive innovation process. We not only look Doumanaba, Mali, are planting onions in the fertile at what we (research) have on offer, we combine that soil of the community inland valley. This does not with ‘local innovations’, i.e. with what works well go down well with the rest of their community. A locally already, and adapt.” meeting is called, but no resolution is found. The Partnerships are at the heart of the rice sector mayor is sent on a mission to find a solution. He ends development hubs, and the hubs are at the heart of up in Bamadougou village, where AfricaRice and Institut d’économie rurale have helped the community establish a multi-stakeholder platform (MSP) to work together to improve the use of inland-valley resources, while finding mutually agreeable solutions, resolving and minimizing conflicts, and maintaining the integrity of the environment. The film goes on to document the establishment two of the pilot MSPs and some of their achievements. A major problem for communities that live close to and use inland-valley agro-ecosystems is that there are many groups of people doing their own thing with the local natural resources. Without coordination or even discussion, the stage is set for conflict. In the scenario depicted above, the young men were not supposed to AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 5 grow onions in the valley — though it turned out this at the first meeting, and each group gets to explain had a lot more to do with tradition and superstition how they use the valley and their relationships with than agricultural knowledge. And that was not the the other groups. In a second workshop, each group only conflict. Cattle herders who wanted to graze sets out its vision for the future. This workshop can their cattle were accused of trampling crops; fisherfolk get quite heated, as each group vies for prominence perceived that they were treated as outcasts; small of its own ideas, and compromises have to be found. wells for irrigation water were a danger to children Major areas are defined — those activities that the who accompanied their mothers into the field… the list whole community agrees are the most important — goes on and is played out all over the continent. The the MSP is established and a president appointed. In a people of the village of Doumanaba were lucky: the third workshop, the MSP develops a plan of activities. local mayor had heard of another village with issues Agricultural researchers are also invited to the latter surrounding the use of its neighboring inland valley, workshops, so that they can see where the communities and a delegation from Doumanaba was able to visit could benefit from their help. Bamadougou and hear their story. The MSPs are owned and operated by the communities. With facilitation from the ‘Realizing the agricultural They may push the external facilitator or even the potential of inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan researchers to take the lead, but that is not their role. Africa while maintaining their environmental The representatives who sit on the MSP may need services’ (RAP) project, both communities were training in group facilitation and dynamics, but it able to establish MSPs, where the various users of is their group, and they have to lead it. If the MSP the inland valley can meet, not only to discuss their determines that the community has needs — for differences but also to plan together so that each group example, new varieties of the crops they grow — then gets a fair share of the resources. they can ask the researchers for help. The researchers The process starts with a workshop. The village themselves may also offer up ideas from their ‘baskets leaders come together with representatives of the of good agricultural practices’. various groups of resource-users (farmers of the Four pilot MSPs were established with the aid of RAP various crops, herders, fishers, processors, traders) in Benin and Mali, two sites in each country. And they and an external facilitator. These groups are identified were a broad success. The MSPs involve working together… …and lots of planning 6 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 12  Internalization of the process 11  Up-scaling /  institutionalization 1  Exploration phase 10 2  Identification of potential    Partnership  stakeholders improvement The 12-stage process of 3  MSP construction 9  Partnership  impact evaluation MSP building 4  Activity planning 8  Monitoring and evaluation 5  Setting up of the  management  committee 7  Implementation of  6  Mobilization of the  activities necessary resources Value-chain stakeholders’ economic benefit from processing techniques, water management, integrated involvement in the MSPs was evident in increased pest management) and market access. About three- incomes. Innovations and technologies implemented quarters of rice producers involved in the MSPs in by the MSPs in Benin increased average rice yield Benin and Mali increased their lowland rice area as a by about 0.88 tonnes per hectare, with impact on direct result of participation in the platform. income of about US$ 100 per year. Group selling of rice increased the price received by producers from Farmers learned to take collective action in such FCFA 140/kg to FCFA 160/kg, with average income areas as bird-scaring, negotiating access to threshing increasing by over FCFA 50,000 per farm per year, and and milling equipment, negotiating paddy price, net profit by about FCFA 94,000/ha. Meanwhile, some negotiating land-tenure issues, and even applying for rice producers who engaged in (verbal) contractual funding from an international donor for a grain store. arrangements increased their net revenues by more The forum provided by the MSP was also instrumental than FCFA 70,000 per year. Of those farmers asked, in conflict resolution between pastoralists and potato the vast majority (91% in Benin, 80% in Mali) said farmers, and between rice and vegetable farmers. they had experienced benefits from their involvement MSP producers of non-parboiled rice in Benin were in the MSP, including increased productivity via better better off than their non-member counterparts: the access to improved seed (both rice and vegetables), domestic resource cost ratio1 being 0.19 and 0.24 for technical knowledge (e.g. rice parboiling and other MSP members and non-members, respectively, in 1. The domestic resource cost ratio measures the ratio of domestic factors used to produce one unit of a product (e.g. labour and capital invested in the production) to the added value generated by this unit of the product (i.e. the value of the production minus all the investment costs, e.g. seed, fertilizer, energy). The lower the ratio, the fewer the domestic resources used to achieve the value added. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 7 Dogbo, and 0.18 and 0.35, respectively, in Houéyogbé. contributory factor was that national agricultural Cost–benefit analysis showed that MSP activities research systems (NARS) were confused by the use of added value along the value chain. For tomato, this was two names for the same thing. “In the end, it was the worth $0.1/kg for producers and $0.3/kg for traders, NARS perception that counted,” continues Sanyang, while for Jew’s mallow it was $0.41/kg for producers “and for SARD-SC the AfDB prefers ‘innovation and $0.58/kg for traders. platforms’ (IPs).” With the perceived success of the four pilot MSPs, the “The IPs are essentially the same as the MSPs in the concept was adopted in rice sector development hubs RAP project, except for the research approach,” says in Benin (two MSPs), Mali (two MSPs), Liberia and Sanyang. The essentially experimental approach of Sierra Leone. Beyond the RAP project, the concept the MSPs in the RAP project was inappropriate for was applied in several countries under the SARD-SC SARD-SC, which was adopting IPs on the basis that project (see below). Moreover, it has been designated the RAP project had proved the efficacy and value of the default mode of operation for target communities the concept. within all of the rice hubs. To aid widespread adoption of the MSP model, two manuals were produced to “Like the RAP project, SARD-SC is tackling research guide resource-users through value-chain analysis questions that need a multi-stakeholder approach,” processes, along with a manual for platform facilitators says Wopereis. and the protocol used to establish the pilot MSPs. SARD-SC is taking a business approach to IP estab- “It was clear from the outset of the RAP project that lishment: in its target hubs, the IPs have been created something like an MSP was required — we needed an to improve the commercial aspect of farming, bringing integrated approach along the whole value chain,” says the whole value chain together to improve ‘farming as Wopereis. “That is why we got the International Centre a business’ from choice of crop and land preparation for development oriented Research in Agriculture in to sale to consumers and food preparers, significantly to help us — they have the expertise.” including both large and small supermarkets. So, the rice component of SARD-SC initiated IPs in … to innovation platforms the rice hubs of 11 countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, With the success of the MSPs in the RAP target Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda). Business plans countries (particularly Benin and Mali), the approach are already in place for seven IPs in six countries was adopted by the ‘Multinational CGIAR support (two in Benin and one each in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, to agricultural research for development on strategic Madagascar, Sierra Leone and Uganda). commodities in Africa’ (SARD-SC) project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). AfricaRice–SARD-SC firmly believes that the IPs should become self-sustaining. The philosophy is that “Our first issue was the name,” explains Sidi Sanyang, once the rice stakeholders see the value of the IP they coordinator of the rice component of SARD-SC, which will want to maintain it, even if for another (albeit was launched in early 2013. “In many development similar) purpose. “Sustainability of an IP does not contexts, what we were calling ‘multi-stakeholder necessarily mean keeping the same form and purpose, platforms’ in RAP are known as ‘innovation but rather that the IP actors have the innovative platforms’.” In fact, a simple Google™ search of capacity to take advantage of emerging opportunities ‘innovation platform’ gives about seven times as as well as constraints in improving their livelihoods,” many hits as ‘multi(-)stakeholder platform’. Another says Sanyang. “So a successful and sustainable IP is 8 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 dynamic and not static.” According to Sanyang, IP The creation of IPs in the Glazoué rice hub encouraged sustainability is dependent on getting its three drivers farmers and entrepreneurs to take on rice as an ‘right’ — the technologies, the organizational aspects additional source of income. The establishment of (how the IP is established and facilitated) and the the Bante and Glazoué IPs led to a significant local institutional side (working with the culture, norms policy shift to support the rice value chain: (i) the and value systems of local and national institutions mairie in Glazoué linked (old and new) projects with and policies for the benefit of the IP actors). the IPs and allocated a market stall to the IP’s rice- These IPs are already apparently improving the processing (parboiling) group for them to sell their productivity and turnover of stakeholders throughout produce locally; (ii) the mairie promoted the sale the rice value chain, less than 2 years into the rice and consumption of locally parboiled rice through component of the project. The example of the two contractual arrangements with women parboilers; IPs of the Glazoué hub in Benin is given in Table 1. (iii) the mairie in Bante allocated land to the Entre- prises de services et organisations de producteurs There, because the quality of rice processed by (ESOP) rice-processors’ group in the IP to construct IP members has improved, the consumer price of long-grain rice has increased from FCFA 600/kg a processing unit; and (iv) the advocacy group within to FCFA 700/kg. Moreover, this price increase has the mairie in Bante has been canvassing additional not negatively affected consumer behavior; rather, support for ESOP and other rice value-chain actors consumers have encouraged traders to continue in the IP. to improve the quality of locally produced rice for However, it is far too early to call this ‘impact’. household food security. Sanyang explains: “What we have is isolated signs Table 1. Changes brought about by innovation platforms (IPs) in the rice value chain Stakeholders Before IP With IP Farmers/producers 3.5 t/ha 5.0 t/ha Women parboilers (Bante IP) 1.0 t paddy/month (during harvest) 10 t paddy/month (during harvest) ESOP processor (Bante IP) 1.5 t paddy/day (during harvest) 5 t paddy/day (during harvest) Processors (SONAPRA millers) 500 t paddy (during harvest) 1000 t paddy (during harvest) Traders Sold 15 t/month Sold 20–25 t/month Mini rizerie (Glazoué IP) 25% increased income 50% increased income Extension (CARDER) Reached 100 rice farmers Reached 250 rice farmers NGO (MRJC) Reached 4 villages Reached 9 villages Microfinance (CLCAM) FCFA 10 million FCFA 21 million Policy (local government) Cotton + maize as cash crop Cotton + maize + rice as cash crop AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 9 X XXX XX XXXX X NGOs XX Extension CARDER Seed producers XXX X XXX XXXX XXXX XX Research XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX (TFs) XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX Mairie –  Policy XXXXXX XXXXXX XXX XXX XX X URFER-C UNIRIZ-C XX XX Micro-finance X XXX XXX Transporters Actors of the innovation platform in the Glazoué XXX XXX rice sector development hub XX XXXX XXXX X XXX XXXX XX This is a visualization of a functional IP X Traders Entrepreneurs Youth Equipment  in value chains, food systems and natural XXX X manufacturers resource management. It shows the various XXXX X stakeholder groups. The number of Xs shows XXXX SONAPRA X XX the relative size of the groups of actors involved Consumers XX XX in the IP. As usual, producers (UNIRIZ­C) and Mechanics XXX XX processors (URFER­C) are the largest groups. Radio, TV,  (SONAPRA: state agricultural development SAFETY Press company; SAFETY: skills on safety in rice parboiling plant.) of change. We haven’t conducted a formal impact that stories from the hubs get out and inspire others. assessment yet. Indeed, 2 years into the project is We must also link proactively with ‘scaling partners’ far too early to do that. Impact assessors don’t like that are interested in our work and perhaps pick a us to talk about ‘impact’ when what we have is little particular element and run with it. These are the ways more than anecdotal evidence. We can see triggers of creating more outcomes and eventually impact.” of change, and small positive changes in the right ‘Scaling partners’ are development partners from the direction. In impact-assessment speak, we are on track public and private sectors that AfricaRice connects with the ‘impact pathways’.” with outside its project portfolio — they use their own resources, approaches and monitoring and evaluation The bigger picture (M&E) to scale out technologies that stem from “The IPs are the engines of the hubs,” says Wopereis. AfricaRice collaborative research-for-development “Without the IPs there is no innovation. They are work, conducted with value-chain actors, research essential. Here is where we conduct ‘real-time’ partners and (these and other) development partners. research for development. This is where we create Through the IPs, ‘issues’ and opportunities are ‘outcomes’ — where our products are put to the test, identified. The multi-stakeholder approach enables combined with other local ideas and interventions, IPs to work at every level in the rice value chain — and where we create positive change. We cannot organizational and institutional issues (e.g. contractual work everywhere that intensively, so it is important arrangements, quality control rules and regulations), 10 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 technological and biophysical issues (e.g. what variety Framework’, which in turn feed into the CGIAR is best suited to the local environment? how can we System-level Outcomes and the global Sustainable make parboiling more efficient?) and issues related Development Goals. to collective action, learning and knowledge-sharing. Meanwhile, through the Global Rice Science Partner- ship (GRiSP), AfricaRice is also working at other levels Nigeria Rice Transformation to try to maximize the potential of the technologies Agenda (including development approaches) coming out of the Nigeria is one of the biggest countries in Africa; it is hubs. GRiSP conducts policy research and advocacy also the most populous and produces more rice than to provide a suitable political environment for the any other country on the continent (and roughly on a rice sector to f lourish. It also provides capacity- par with Madagascar). It is therefore hardly surprising strengthening for partners to facilitate scaling up and that AfricaRice and Nigeria have a special relationship. achieving impact. In the past few years, AfricaRice has provided input The IPs set an example of how diverse stakeholders into the rice component of Nigeria’s Agricultural can work together to achieve positive change, and the Transformation Agenda (see also ‘Case study: fact that individual communities benefit from being Nigerian Rice Transformation Agenda’, AfricaRice part of a hub and having an IP is indisputable. But the Annual Report 2013, pages 14–15). IPs and hubs are really only the testing and proving Taken as a whole, the Rice Transformation Agenda beds for technologies. AfricaRice simply does not (RTA) was a complex set of partnerships, primarily have the resources to make all the good outputs from initiated by the federal government to boost the the hubs available to rice value-chain actors across the Nigerian rice sector through to self-sufficiency. continent. That is where the ‘scaling partners’ come in. AfricaRice therefore documents all of the ‘scalable AfricaRice’s involvement was diverse: secondment technologies’ (products and services) and makes them of three senior staff to the Rice Value Chain (unit) available via the Rice eHub (www.ricehub.org) in of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural various formats, including video. It also brings scaling Development (FMARD); seed supply and seed partners together at innovation fairs to showcase the systems development; and rice-sector mechanization. latest technologies. These scalable technologies are Its roles include provision of professional personnel thus available for scaling partners to pick up, test, (their time, knowledge and skills), seed, thresher– adapt and disseminate as they see fit, and with their cleaner, training and other capacity-development own resources. inputs. The AfricaRice partnerships span from the “Scaling partners from the private and public sectors federal ministry to farmers (especially if one includes may run with ‘our’ scalable technologies,” says the Nigerian rice sector development hubs where Wopereis. “What we want to achieve is that they report AfricaRice-led task forces are active on the ground). back on performance of technologies and on (gender- The novel partnerships, however, are those with the disaggregated) uptake.” In that way, AfricaRice private sector. will be able to draw on its own M&E in the IPs and Giving our best technologies for adoption in Nigeria hubs, and profit from information coming out of the scaling partners’ M&E to see more clearly how all Contrary to what any commercial organization these joint efforts are contributing to the intermediate might do, AfricaRice is not averse to handing over development outcomes of the GRiSP ‘Results its technologies to the private sector for scaling up to AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 11 a far greater client base than AfricaRice could ever engineering drawings and specifications of the hope to reach on its own. How else are we going to prototypes for subsequent evaluation and distribution. help countries such as Nigeria achieve their goal of At the training workshop itself, five ATATCs were rice self-sufficiency? In the context of the RTA, the built, and subsequently 10 ATATCs were distributed two technologies in question are the thresher–cleaner to the main dry-season rice-growing states of the and seed of improved rice varieties. country to raise awareness of their existence and the value of using them. Mechanization After the training workshop, the attendees were In 2013, AfricaRice took one of the ‘ASI’ thresher– given (yes, given!) copies of the technical drawings cleaners from Senegal to Nigeria, along with and specifications to take back to their companies for its ‘father’, Malick Ndiaye. A 2-week intensive fabrication of a fleet of ATATCs to meet the growing training workshop ensued at the National Centre for demand (see also Box: ‘Not just the private sector: Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) for 24 young Major adoption of the ATATC by the public sector in engineers from 13 Nigerian manufacturing companies. Nigeria’). Subsequently, six companies in six states These engineers built the first thresher–cleaners in started producing their own versions of the ATATC. Nigeria, which were branded ATATC for ‘Agricultural Typical adaptations to the NCAM prototype have Transformation Agenda Thresher–Cleaner’. One of been to make the thresher–cleaner smaller and to add the NCAM engineers was tasked with producing various components. The ATATC manufacturers have won contracts from government, individuals and commercial farms. Not just the private sector: Major adoption of the ATATC by the public sector in Nigeria Seed The Rice Value Chain organized demonstrations Another major element of the RTA was seed systems and market exposure of the ATATC in rice-farming development. AfricaRice’s ‘normal’ responsibility communities across the 10 key rice-producing states in to its member states is to provide Breeder Seed of September–October 2014. As a result of the machine’s the required rice varieties, which the public sector success, the Federal Department of Agriculture (of (commercial seed producers) and private seed FMARD) is no longer buying other sorts of threshers, companies then multiply to Foundation Seed and and is to procure 200 ATATCs from local (private- from Foundation to Certified Seed, which is ‘sold’ to sector) fabricators. farmers. However, the public sector in Nigeria does The ATATC has also been approved as cleaning not have the capacity to produce enough Foundation equipment by the country’s paddy-aggregation Seed, so AfricaRice has stepped into the gap by centers. The ATATC technology was adopted by the providing Foundation Seed both to the public sector International Fund for Agricultural Development and direct to the commercial seed producers. It is (IFAD) for a television documentary to create actually quite unusual for rice farmers to use Certified awareness. Seed, as they more often rely on the self-fertilizing nature of rice and save some of their grain to use as The Minister of Agriculture showed a video on the seed the following season. However, Certified Seed is ATATC to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who consequently promised to support promotion of generally of better quality than self-saved seed, so the the machines. government opted to subsidize it through a national Growth Enhancement Support (GES) program. Under 12 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Capacity­building in good agricultural practices (GAP) for extension workers and lead farmers, Niger state, Nigeria AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 13 GES, the government was to subsidize (by 50%) two Encouraging millers to process local rice bags of fertilizer and one bag of seed per hectare. But farmers refused to pay for seed, and the government Like many other parts of (particularly West) Africa, ended up subsidizing it by 100% for the first 2 years, local rice in Nigeria suffers from an image problem. only dropping to 75% in the third year. It is viewed as smelly (having an unpleasant odor), non-uniform and full of impurities (e.g. stones, With the massive increase in demand for seed under weed seeds). Moreover, the commonly used ‘cottage GES, seed merchants and companies with outgrower mill’ does not produce quality grain from local rice. schemes have proliferated. Unfortunately, many of these Consequently, the bigger milling companies in Nigeria are inexperienced in modern techniques for quality prefer to import brown Asian rice and mill that for seed production, and so the seed produced has been of onward sale to the market. This is clearly a problem inferior quality and not fully reliable. Consequently, as when the government is targeting self-sufficiency. part of the drive to increase the production of quality seed, AfricaRice conducted a training course on seed An example of the way forward has been set by production for two commu nities in Ekiti State in May the establishment of the country’s biggest mill in 2014. The two 1-day events were attended by 44 Nasarawa State. In 2014, the largest ‘integrated rice outgrowers (12 of them women), 2 extension agents mill’ facility in Nigeria was established by Olam and 1 certification officer from the state Agricultural International Ltd/Olam Nigeria. The Olam mill is Development Project. The 34 outgrowers (9 women) set in a vast 6000-ha estate, of which half is so far in Ikoro were already cultivating lowland cultivars under mechanized irrigated rice production. Olam’s NERICA-L 19, SIPI and WITA 4, while only 5 of the Managing Director for Africa and Middle East, participants in Aisegba were currently producing seed Venkataramani Srivathsan, indicated that the company (of upland cultivars). aims to expand to over 10,000 ha in Nasarawa State. The company has its own outgrower and contract The training covered all aspects of seed production, farming scheme, and will ultimately source rice from the basics of the importance of seed, knowing the from 20,000 smallholders to fill 30–40% of the new rice plant, different growth stages of rice, morpho logical mill’s capacity. This will be a major contribution to characteristics of different cultivars, to site selection, increasing domestic rice production, and all on the isolation requirement, land preparation, seed rate back of AfricaRice-provided seed! calculation, crop establishment, nutrient management, weed and water control, rouging (removal of ‘off-types’ At the commissioning ceremony, then Nigerian that do not conform to the cultivar’s characteristics), President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan noted the rapid harvesting, threshing, drying, seed selection and growth in the number of private-sector rice mills from storage; it also covered sound business practice to 1 to 18 in just 3 years. enable participants to develop seed enterprises and The Nigerian Minister of State for Agriculture, seed business plans. Similar training is expected to be Akinwumi Adesina, indicated that integrated mills delivered in the future, including seed production for were the way forward for rice in Nigeria. AfricaRice — 30 technical staff from 10 commercial seed companies ever a champion of rice smallholders — indicates that and recognition of cultivars and seed quality control for the way forward will be to support the cottage mill. 50 National Agricultural Seed Council seed inspectors, If smaller-scale processors can acquire destoners both in the first half of 2016 and funded by the Feed and polishers, cottage mills themselves will become the Future initiative of the United States Agency for integrated and produce white rice that is competitive International Development (USAID). with that from the large integrated mills. 14 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 The Nigeria government’s new strategic grain reserve facilities in Kwali, a suburb of Abuja, built in 2014 — an important part of the RTA Knowledge management and put in place a system that would allow face-to-face linkages with rice sector interaction (innovation fairs), virtual access (Rice eHub) and user-adopted tools (rice radio programs development hubs and farmer-to-farmer video) to disseminate and With increasing demand for AfricaRice to scale out communicate the potential and use of its scalable its technologies, especially within and beyond its rice technologies. sector development hubs, it needs comprehensive knowledge management support to respond to the Rice eHub various categories and resources of users. “We needed a comprehensive system in place that can facilitate The Rice eHub was designed for NARS partners in the interaction and feedback between the farming hubs to document successful ‘scalable’ technologies communities and science communities. We wanted to and information on other technologies from other create the space and tools to facilitate learning at every NARS and scientists. stage of technology dissemination and adoption,” “The concept behind the Rice eHub is to bridge science says AfricaRice head of knowledge management and practitioners,” says Wopereis-Pura. “We wanted and capacity-strengthening Myra Wopereis-Pura. to provide our national partners with an online space Therefore, in 2013, AfricaRice began to test and to document technologies that were proven useful and AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 15 are in use. Such technologies are tested and adapted in we uploaded information on rice and the activities of at least one hub before we allow them to be uploaded researchers.” on the eHub.” Dicko uses the Rice eHub to keep informed about This required collaboration, not just with NARS what is happening in the hubs of other countries to research, extension and farming communities but also guide his own research. As IKEF, the eHub enables among AfricaRice scientists, especially the various task him “to be in touch with researchers and contribute to forces. Scalable technologies were documented using their activities” by providing information they require. a technology description narrative, which contained Irène Razafindraibe, communication unit manager at information about each technology’s use and target Centre National de Recherche Appliquée au Dévelop- users, as well as its advantages and disadvantages. But, pement Rural (FOFIFA) and IKEF, comments on the most importantly, it also provided information on the experience with the Rice eHub in Madagascar: “This support services required for the successful adaption virtual portal is a broadcast channel for informa tion on and adoption of the technologies. rice in Madagascar. It is set up with the aim to create To gain time and resources, AfricaRice decided exchanges between development actors to boost rice to adapt the most relevant information system in production on the ‘Big Island’.” Africa, which is the online learning platform of the Though the general reception is positive, Dicko does Regional Agricultural Information and Learning highlight two difficulties with the system. First, “the System (eRAILS) developed by the Forum for availability of information from researchers” — the Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) as “the eHub is primarily used by communications staff in African portal on agriculture.” The Rice eHub started the NARS — so researchers need to be informed of with the same architecture as eRAILS, but with more the benefits of using the eHub to make their work practical features for rice research and development more visible. Second, “the quality of connections communities. that slows down the use of the internet, specifically Knowing that content management will be critical the Rice eHub.” for the Rice eHub, AfricaRice trained designated ‘information and knowledge exchange facilitators’ (IKEFs) — NARS staff identified to support communi- cation and knowledge management in the rice hubs — in how to use the website and collaborate with colleagues in rice research and development in each of their countries. Small amounts of funding were provided to cover their time and effort in uploading their own material. In Mali, the IKEF is Mohamed Dicko, a researcher at Institut d’économie rurale (IER), rice sector development hub coordinator for the country and the only IKEF who is not a communications specialist. He says, “The training we received allowed us to create country pages on the Rice eHub platform, and sites for each hub, Kouroumari and Sikasso. On these pages IKEF training, Cotonou, Benin, June 2014 16 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 In October 2013, the Third Africa Rice Congress a beep-to-vote system and 215 calls to the studio, made a recommendation that AfricaRice and its while Radio Kafokan recorded 2161 votes to survey partners “facilitate knowledge exchange to achieve questions and 259 calls to the studio. These two radio greater and more rapid impact across the rice value stations in the Sikasso region now have the capacity to chain.” Launched at the 2013 Congress, the Rice eHub develop their own programs, having adopted the Farm continues to deliver on this demand from high-level Radio International’s VOICE (value, opportunity, African rice stakeholders. information, consistent/convenient, entertaining) Seeing the usefulness and potential of the Rice standards for their own programming. eHub, AfricaRice was able, in 2014, to launch a new project with support from Deutsche Gesellschaft Radio programs developed by local radio für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to enable broadcasters and NARS partners in the RAP technologies to be scaled out and for their spread to project be documented — ‘Catalyser l’adoption et l’utilisation des technologies évolutives en Afrique’ (CAUSA). The Radio ORTM, Sikasso, Mali: Specifically, the project aims “to strengthen the • Rice postharvest handling practice and technologies innovation process and in particular to increase the • Promotion of the MSPs adoption-rate of improved technologies by systematic • Potato and sweet potato production, harvesting and information exchange and interaction between postharvest techniques value-chain actors and the research and development • Lowland rice parboiling and marketing. community.” Radio Kafokan, Bougouni, Mali: Meanwhile, the ‘tried and tested’ scalable technologies have also been written up as one-sheet briefs for a • The learning experience in the framework of the folder on Rice Scalable Technologies for distribution learning trip to Bamadougou at appropriate events, such as training courses and • Constraints related to off-season commodity visits to AfricaRice stations. production, including the benefits of producing potato • Needs and opportunities for setting up MSPs to Rural farm radio improve resource management in inland-valley lowlands Within the context of the RAP project in Mali, • The benefit of using quality seed of improved rice AfricaRice teamed up with Farm Radio International varieties. to train local radio broadcasters in the project target regions in participatory program development. At its Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of most basic level, the broadcasters were taught how to Abomey­Calavi and Institut national de recherches listen to and understand the farming programs that agricoles du Bénin, Benin: they broadcast, and to facilitate listener participation. • Hydrological and economic modeling of the Couffo River catchment for participatory assessment of In collaboration with the actors in the MSPs, Radio agricultural intensification ORTM of Sikasso developed four radio programs. As did Radio Kafokan of Bougouni (see Box ‘Radio • Resistant tomato varieties for the fight against bacterial wilt in inland valleys programs developed by local radio broadcasters and NARS partners in the RAP project’). Radio ORTM • Improving inland-valley biodiversity by introducing recorded 463 votes to survey questions through multi-purpose vegetables. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 17 Meanwhile, agricultural research topics for radio Innovation fairs program production were identified by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of To promote face-to-face knowledge exchange, Abomey-Calavi (FSA-UAC) and the Institut national AfricaRice organized the First Innovation Fair on de recherches agricoles du Bénin (INRAB) (see Scalable Rice Technologies for Benin and Togo at Box, previous page). These topics were covered in its temporary headquarters in Cotonou in September a 60-minute program broadcast by Radio Voix de 2014. NGOs and farmer organizations were invited Lokossa (which covers Couffo and Mono departments, to this showcasing of scalable technologies, which Benin). The program was broadcast four times with enabled them to learn about the technologies through facilitation and translation in three local languages posters (and the technologies themselves in the case (Adja, Fon and Mina) by Voix de Lokossa and La Voix of machinery) and then discuss them in detail with du Couffo (another major radio station in Adja-Homnè, the researchers involved in their development and Couffo department). dissemination. (See also ‘Scalable rice technologies’, page 58.) “In Madagascar, radio remains the appropriate tool for commu nication in rural areas, since it allows everyone, Farmer-to-farmer video including the illiterate, to express themselves,” says Razafindraibe. “Also, because of its convenience, Video is increasingly being used by various research- it is the tool most accessible to farmers and is for-development organizations around the world to certainly within their reach.” The ‘IKEF program’ in enable farming communities to share their experiences Madagascar produces programs on topics identified with other communities — farmers are more likely by the task forces in consultation with rice value-chain to try a new technology if they see another farmer actors in the hubs. Razafindraibe states that these enthusing about it than if it is simply being promoted by programs are broadcast on local and national radio a researcher or extension agent. AfricaRice developed “to sensitize the rural population to new technologies its own series of farmer-to-farmer videos in the form of made by research.” its Rice Advice collection on DVD (see ‘‘Rice Advice’ farmer-to-farmer videos’, page 37). AfricaRice then worked closely with video-maker Digital Green to supply film-making equipment to NARS and train NARS staff in the hubs on film production. Jacob Dunyo, agriculture officer at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and IKEF for the Kumasi rice hub in Ghana, was trained “on farmer-to-farmer and extension video production … by [a] trainer from Digital Green.” The trainees included farmers and agricultural extension agents. “We were trained in how to write a storyboard before the filming, and [that] this should be approved by a technical team,” says Dunyo. According to Dunyo, his post-training remit is to develop videos for “all the activities in rice production 18 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 from land preparation to marketing. We have the countries and at the global level will facilitate learning on cropping calendar which we follow.” how to design the most appropriate tools for the farming The Ghana videos are being produced in the local communities, as well as how to strengthen researchers’ languages of Ewe and Twi. understanding of the value of communication in the development, use and dissemination of technologies. Unfortunately, Dunyo and his team experienced technical problems — the camera’s microphone picked “AfricaRice is all about producing international public up too much of the surrounding sound, so their first goods,” says AfricaRice deputy director general Marco two films had poor sound quality. Wopereis. Historically, CGIAR and its component centers have seen the philosophy of international Understanding these challenges, the IKEF of Ghana public goods as being incompatible with involving the from the Crops Research Institute (CRI) is providing private sector, but that has had to change. “AfricaRice support to get the video improved and multiplied is a research and development organization, but there for use in the Volta Region. The extension agency are limits to how much development we can do,” says in the region appreciates the initiative as a support Wopereis. to its limited extension capacity (one extension agent has to cover 500–1000 farmers). A locally Since AfricaRice is still an association of African produced video could be given to farmer leaders to states, it is bigger than just its core staff. “We have to discuss technologies useful for the farmers in their devolve responsibility for wide-scale adaptation and communities. distribution of technologies to the national level,” says Wopereis. “And the only way to do that at any Strategic knowledge management support services are scale is to involve the private sector.” Since the private critical for the success of scaling up technologies. It sector is interested in profit, it is therefore prudent for requires intensive interaction among research, extension AfricaRice to hand over its products and ‘lose control’ and farming communities. Partnership within the over them if it wants to make wide-scale impact. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 19 Conservation agriculture in the fight against Striga in Madagascar As we travel the 87 kilometers west­north­west from Antsirabe to Ivory we pass through valley after valley, each jam­packed with rice fields, most of them full of water in January in the wet season. However, once we reach Ivory, we are in the midst of rainfed upland rice and maize fields. This is the heart of a rice sector development hub, but what exactly is AfricaRice doing working on upland rice in a country where every tiny space in the inland valleys seems to be terraced and used for rice production? Extensive terraced paddies fill the inland valleys of Madagascar — yet still the country is not self­sufficient in rice Despite the abundance of rice paddy fields throughout rice consumption of 3.4 Mt (milled rice), the overall the country, Madagascar is not self-sufficient in rice. self-sufficiency ratio in 2010 was 96% (data from The country has one of the highest rice consumption Africa Rice Trends 2001–2010). Moreover, because rates in the world: at 138 kg per person per year the inland-valley paddy production is not with full in 2010, it is exceeded only by The Gambia in the water control, there is massive year-on-year variation African context. While Madagascar produced in production — for example, in 2013 national paddy 4.7 million tonnes (Mt) of paddy in 2010, it still production was just 3.6 Mt, some 23% less than in imported 132,000 tonnes of milled rice. With total 2010. 20 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 With the inland valleys already fully exploited, sow rice, just as the farmers do. However, in the Stylo farmers are moving uphill and growing rice in rotation system, Stylo is sown along with the rice in the first with maize in areas with free-draining upland soils. year. Rice production faces many constraints in Madagascar. At the end of the first season, the rice is harvested, but Among the most important in the rainfed upland areas unlike the farmers’ practice the straw is left on the field are white grubs (beetle larvae), crickets, low soil so that the second-season crops (maize, cowpea and fertility, soil erosion and the parasitic weed Striga mucuna; maize and rice bean; or just maize in the Stylo asiatica (sometimes called ‘witchweed’). system) are sown among the rice residues. At the end Along with its partners — Centre national pour le of the second season, the crops are harvested (maize développement rural (FOFIFA, the Madagascan grains and beans/peas), and again the residues are left national program) and Centre de coopération on the field. Thus, in the third season, rice is sown inter nationale en recherche agronomique pour le among the maize and legume residues. The ‘odd one développement (CIRAD) — AfricaRice is working out’ of the legume crops is the Stylo, because it is not at Ivory (pronounced ‘ee-vur’), and other locations a food crop. Moreover, it forms a dense matting across along highway RN34 between Antsirabe and Ivory, on the whole field. While it is managed in the first rice rice–maize cropping systems, with a particular focus season, it is allowed to grow around the maize in the on reducing the impact of Striga. second season. For the third-season rice crop, however, “We are truly privileged here at Ivory, because we have a large experimental farm in which we have established plots that are much larger than those normally used in agronomy trials,” explains AfricaRice Agronomist Jonne Rodenburg. The area available enables the researchers to harvest plots of 40 square meters even after allowing for border areas. “Given that some farmers are abandoning fields because of high Striga pressure, plus soil erosion, moisture-retention and fertility issues, we decided to look at zero-tillage ‘conservation agriculture’ rice–maize rotation systems incorporating legume species that should fix nitrogen in the soil,” explains Rodenburg. These systems have been established in comparison with the farmers’ traditional practice of simple rice–maize rotation in which they remove all of the crop residues each season after harvest and plow the fields before each crop. The primary experiments cover three new systems based on conservation agriculture principles: one with cowpea and mucuna; one with rice bean; and one with Stylosanthus guianensis (a perennial legume referred to simply as ‘Stylo’). In the first year, the researchers Rice growing in Stylo and maize residue (year 3 of the rotation) AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 21 Maize and legume intercrop growing in rice residue mulch (years Maize with growing perennial Stylo in rice residue (years 2 and 2 and 4 of the rotation) 4 of the rotation) Stylo would easily outcompete the rice seedlings, so the fewest emerging Striga plants. “There are several it is cut prior to rice sowing and left as a dense mat mechanisms by which Striga may be controlled in of dry vegetation across the field, with re-sprouting these conservation agriculture systems,” explains shoots and new seedlings derived from the seeds shed Rodenburg. “First, the lack of tillage [plowing] means in the second season. no mixing of the Striga seeds within the upper layers “The crop residues form a mulch in the field,” explains of soil so that few of the new seeds enter the soil seed Rodenburg. “This has several positive effects. First, bank. Second, the legumes fix nitrogen, and high soil the ground cover suppresses weeds. Second, it acts nitrogen is known to inhibit Striga. And third, we have as a moisture-retention layer, which is valuable in an biochemical control systems exerted by the legumes.” area noted for its variable rainfall pattern. Third, the Alain Paul Andrianaivo, FOFIFA researcher on the mulch layer serves to protect against a certain amount project, explains: “We know that some legume species of soil erosion.” Few, if any, fields in the Madagascan like soybean, cowpea and peanut cause suicidal highlands are really flat, so torrential tropical rains germination of Striga seeds in the soil. This principal tend simply to wash the topsoil downhill. Crop could guide us to design useful rotation or intercrop residues help retain topsoil on the slopes. “And, of systems for farmers dealing with Striga.” course, there are the hoped-for effects on Striga, such as suppression by mulch and effects of changes in soil ‘Suicidal germination’ means that soil-borne chemicals moisture and temperature, and perhaps allelopathic from the legume plants cause the Striga seeds to effects from the crop residues,” concludes Rodenburg. germinate in the absence of a suitable host so that they survive as seedlings for only a few days. A On average, across years and rice varieties (see second potential biochemical control mechanism is page 23), the system including Stylo has had by far suppression of Striga germination by the legume. 22 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 To test the germination stimulation or inhibition is extremely risky, as anything that should negate hypotheses in the field, the team looked not only at the the effect of the feature relied upon could lead to numbers of Striga plants emerging and crop yield, but catastrophic crop loss. “Thus, it is important that we also at the Striga seed bank in the soil. This should help use the best available variety within our cropping them determine whether the Striga seed bank is being systems of choice,” says Rodenburg. depleted through suicidal germination, or whether the seed bank is maintained through germination With the variety trials there was one completely suppression. They will also test these hypotheses in unexpected result: a carry-over of Striga reduction the laboratory. to the following maize and legume crop in the fields that were previously planted with the resistant rice While the Stylo system works best overall in terms varieties. “This is not something we have come across of crop yields and Striga control, Rodenburg has before or expected,” explains CIRAD Agronomist some concerns. “Of the four systems — including the Patrice Autfray, who is based in Antsirabe and works control or farmers’ current practice — the Stylo is by on the project. “We need to determine the mechanism far the most complicated and difficult to manage,” he for this carry-over of Striga suppression.” says. “We learned that it is essential to cut the Stylo before sowing rice in the third year of the rotation, and that in itself is a big job.” The soil fertility problem Madagascar’s soils are known to be poor in nutrients. Rice varieties and their effects This was, after all, one of the reasons for introducing legume crops into the rotation system — legumes fix Having such large plots, the research team was in a atmospheric nitrogen, making it available to adjacent position to further divide the experiments to look at and following crops. additional factors. One of these factors is rice variety. Traditionally, farmers have grown a Striga-susceptible local variety known as B22, but AfricaRice’s NERICA 4 has become popular in recent years and is highly Striga resistant. Consequently, the main experimental plots were divided into three to compare the effects of three varieties: B22, NERICA 4 and moderately Striga-resistant and newly introduced NERICA 9. Across cropping systems, NERICA 4 is consistently producing the best results. “It is important that we develop integrated systems,” says Rodenburg, “so that different components can cause a synergetic effect, and that varietal resistance breakdown is slowed down because of the fact that even fewer Striga plants produce seed when a resistant rice variety is accompanied by other Striga-control Randomized plot and split­plot trials; note in particular the plot top left in which the left half has received phosphate fertilizer technologies.” Reliance on a single feature (e.g. crop and is consequently darker green (healthier) than the right half resistance) to deal with a problem such as Striga without fertlizer AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 23 The soils around Ivory are notoriously poor in phosphorus, which manifests itself in terms of reduced maize growth. Consequently, the team has established a number of sub-plots, in which they are testing the effects of applying phosphate fertilizer to the maize crop. So far those plots to which phosphate has been added seem to be producing stronger and faster- growing maize plants. Keeping an open mind: Testing other potential systems Autfray is keen to keep an open mind about what might work best for the highland rice and maize farmers of Ivory. “We have set up ‘gardens’ for participatory AfricaRice’s Jonne Rodenburg (left) and CIRAD’s Patrice Autfrey varietal selection of rice varieties and legume species,” discussing the project trials in the field he says. Spreading the word through farmer videos There was a time when the written word was the principal means of communicating scientific research findings. In terms of scientist-to-scientist communication, this is almost certainly still true today. But research for development cannot stop at the point of publication in a peer-reviewed journal. AfricaRice research is intended to benefit rice farmers and other rice value-chain actors through to consumers. For some years now, AfricaRice has been using video to raise awareness about new technologies across broad target audiences. Research has shown that using the medium of video about new technologies or techniques is effective in engendering enthusiasm among the peers of those who ‘star’ in the videos (see, for example, ‘Profiles of selected PhD candidates — Espérance Zossou’, AfricaRice Annual Report 2012, page 54). Indeed, AfricaRice specifically chose video as one of the mechanisms for reaching value-chain actors not directly involved in the research conducted in the rice sector development hubs, alongside capacity-building and exchange visits, in the implementation of its The video­makers in action filming interviews with local strategy for 2011–2020. farmers M. Andrianasolo Jean Henri (top) and Mme Mariette 24 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 His vision does not stop there, however. “We are also looking at other crops and combinations that might benefit the primary crops,” he says. “For example, we established some plots in which we intercropped rice with peanut. Peanut is an alternative host for a butterfly caterpillar in the genus Junonia, which also attacks Striga. Perhaps by attracting the butterfly into the field with the peanut, the caterpillars will eat the Striga.” This kind of ‘blue sky’ thinking is key to making innovative strides in helping the farmers. It helps assess the best knowledge and stimulate the best thinking on conservation agriculture to increase food production, reduce food insecurity, and enhance sustainability. However, in January it looked like the peanut experiment was unlikely to succeed, as most of the rice intercropped with peanut was showing signs of nitrogen deficiency. Beauty in the field: experimental rice and peanut intercrop Jonne Rodenburg is a keen proponent of video, making extensive use of the medium in his weed-management work across the continent. For the 2014/15 season, the Ivory project team has employed video-makers Mada- Movie under the direction of Stéphane Corduant to develop a new video on the practice of conservation agriculture and its positive effects on Striga control. Consequently, the full team of Rodenburg, Patrice Autfray and Alain Paul Andrianaivo has been visiting the Ivory field trials at critical points during the rice season along with the video team for a couple of days at a time. The goal has been to capture the critical growth stages of the rice, maize and legume crops, as well as interviews with interested, innovative and early adopting farmers dealing with Striga problems. A new innovation for this particular video is the use of a radio-controlled helicopter (known as a ‘drone’), with a high-definition camera attached, to take aerial video and photographs. The cropping season will end in May or June 2015, and it is hoped that the finished video will be available for use in promoting conservation agriculture before the Film director Stéphane Corduant (left) and cameraman Antso next season starts in November. Andrianary controlling the drone AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 25 Research in brief Climate-proofing East Africa’s rice that we have had detailed maps of the distribution of sector these diseases in East Africa, which will help target breeding efforts,” says Silué. This work has also For rice as for other crops, the distribution and behavior established baseline data for measuring changes in of diseases is expected to change under the influence disease patterns as climate change takes hold over the of climate change. In fact, it is already doing so. In coming decades. rice-disease hot spots in Tanzania, 92% of rice farmers The causal organisms of both diseases are highly with 15–30 years experience have observed increased variable. The variability of blast pathogens is temperatures and changing rainfall patterns in terms demonstrated by the gene-for-gene theory of genetic of timing and amounts — effects they associate with resistance — specific resistance genes in rice prevent climate change and with changes in both the incidence infection by specific virulence genes of the pathogen. and the severity of diseases. Some 91% of farmers are Over 70 major resistance genes have been documented familiar with the symptoms of rice diseases, but few, for blast in rice worldwide. Meanwhile, over 30 if any, regularly practise any form of disease control. resistance genes for bacterial blight are known, some It has long been known that the most effective way of them in native African rice species such as Oryza to help farmers overcome diseases is to provide barthii, O. glaberima and O. longistaminata. them with rice cultivars that are resistant to those In the MICCORDEA project, rice germplasm known diseases. In East Africa, the commonest rice diseases to be carrying resistance genes was screened at disease are bacterial blight, blast (a fungal disease) and Rice hot spots in each of the three countries. This is a quick yellow mottle virus. and cheap way of identifying material resistant to local In response to this challenge, Germany’s Federal strains of the pathogens and, in the case of blast, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development pathotypes prevalent in each hot spot. (BMZ) funded a 3-year project, ‘Mitigating the impact of climate change on rice disease resistance in East Bacterial blight Africa’ (MICCORDEA). The project focused on bacterial blight and blast in Rwanda, Tanzania and From the work conducted by Rwanda Agricultural Uganda. Research Institute (ISAR), Rwanda seems to have the most complex distribution of variation in the two “Perhaps the most important outcome of the project is diseases, with both registering considerable diversity that we have a number of national scientists qualified across sites. For bacterial blight, two of the sites at master’s and doctoral levels in the three countries,” registered three pathotypes/resistance groups each, but says Drissa Silué, AfricaRice plant pathologist who the third site registered uniform moderate resistance drafted the final report. (The project was conceived across rice lines. No candidate resistant varieties for and implemented by former AfricaRice plant patholo- use in a bacterial blight-resistance breeding program gist Yacouba Séré.) “This means that there are now emerged from this work. However, in a separate scientists in place in the national programs who can experiment conducted by the Rwanda Agriculture carry out research on rice diseases in general and on Board (RAB), five cultivars proved resistant to all these two diseases in particular.” bacterial blight isolates. An immediate upshot of this has been the mapping In Tanzania, researchers at the Agricultural Research of the distribution and severity of bacterial blight and Institute in Uyole found two lines resistant to bacterial blast across the three countries. “This is the first time blight that show promise for inclusion in the country’s 26 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 bacterial blight-resistance breeding program. Research The upland site of Kyela in southern Tanzania has a testing rice genotypes against five strains from particularly diverse and aggressive blast population, bacterial blight hot spots across the country revealed which destroyed up to 75% of the rice lines tested, the large variations across seasons and sites, suggesting disease being at its worst early in the rainy season. the worrying prospect of genetic shifts in pathogen However, even here, the screening revealed 10 resistant populations. However, six genotypes were resistant to lines (9 with monogenic resistance, 1 with a four-gene four of the site-specific strains of the disease. combination). These 10 lines have been recommended In Uganda, the National Agricultural Research for use in a breeding program to ‘pyramid’ (i.e. Organisation (NARO) and National Crops Resources combine) the resistance genes in popular local varieties Research Institute (NaCRRI) found no lines completely that are susceptible to the disease. resistant to bacterial blight, and just two lines showing Five rice lines showed stable resistance to blast across moderate resistance. However, in a test of five cultivars four hotspot sites in Uganda (4 monogenic, 1 with a against the three most aggressive isolates, AfricaRice’s combination of two genes). Moreover, five accessions WITA 9 and NERICA 4 performed best. (i.e. varieties or landraces originally collected in In parallel with the fieldwork in East Africa, Georg- the field rather than from breeders) also performed August University of Göttingen, Germany, conducted well in these hot spots. These accessions include the diversity, virulence and toxin production studies on well-known varieties IR24 and AfricaRice’s own bacterial blight. A major result from the diversity NERICA 1. All these materials were recommended studies was the diagnosis of bacterial blight isolate for inclusion in the effort to pyramid resistance genes. Ug12 from Uganda. Meanwhile, the virulence studies In Germany, institutions at three universities — the identified two genes that conferred broad resistance Institute of Plant Pathology and Plant Protection, to bacterial blight — one providing strong resistance the Karlovsky lab and the Section for Tropical and and the other moderate resistance. The research also Subtropical Agriculture and Forestry (SeTSAF) confirmed that African strains of the blight bacterium at the Georg-August University of Göttingen; the are distinct from those found in Asia. The toxin Institute of Plant Diseases and Plant Protection at production study led the research team to speculate Leibniz University, Hannover; and the University that a low-molecular-weight toxin may be present but of Applied Sciences of Erfurt — investigated the not playing a major role in bacterial blight virulence. population structure, pathogenicity and mating type of blast pathogens in preparation for further studies Blast on the impact of climate change on disease incidence The results of ISAR’s blast screening were more and severity. Some 88 blast isolates were used to promising than those of its bacterial blight screening, determine variation in virulence among isolates. The with at least two and up to seven genotypes (each research into mating type revealed the possibility of with between one and four resistance genes) showing recombination via sexual reproduction of the blast promise for disease control at each of the three hotspot fungus in East Africa, though this has never been sites. An inoculation test using the five most virulent proved to occur in the field. isolates of blast against recently released cultivars Resistance analysis in Germany identified two genes showed that Rumbuka has broad resistance to all five with potential for use in East Africa, while a study isolates, while Mpembuke is resistant to two of them. of cultivar reaction to blast strains demonstrated that This information should help the extension service NERICA 4 has broad-spectrum resistance to East target areas for promotion of these new cultivars. African strains, though the genetic basis for this is AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 27 as yet unknown. This makes NERICA 4 potentially the good news is that two of the resistance genes doubly interesting, given the resistance to bacterial were not affected by either temperature or genetic blight demonstrated in Rwanda. background, providing strong resistance in all cases. Parallel research showed that rice reactions to blast How will climate change affect disease patterns? and temperature are both genetic. A central aim of the project was to work toward A major stress under predicted future climate mitigation of the impact of rice diseases as East scenarios will be drought. If rainfall becomes more Africa’s climate changes. The degree studies and erratic, rainfed rice in particular is likely to suffer yield short-course training provided for national scientists losses as it undergoes increasingly long and severe dry are a major component of this, as they will give rise to spells during the growing season. Drought resistance2 continuing activities over the coming years, enabling in rice is complex: there is no major drought-resistance scientists to respond to farmers’ changing needs. gene, but rather a number of small-effect genes whose However, the project also included a component of impact is cumulative, so that the more of these genes research to find out how the two diseases are likely a plant has the more resistant it is. These genes are to affect the East African rice crop as temperature collectively known as ‘quantitative trait loci’ (QTLs). increases and rainfall becomes more erratic. Project research demonstrated that rice plants with The crop model RICEPEST, which determines rice a selection of drought-resistant QTLs were more losses to diseases under current climatic conditions, susceptible to bacterial blight than those without them. was an obvious place to start. To develop future Moreover, rice lines with both the drought QTLs and a scenarios, the climate model EPIRICE was used bacterial blight resistance gene suffered more severely to generate data on projected climate to feed into from the disease under drought conditions than under RICEPEST. This was the first time these two models ‘normal’ conditions. This apparent breakdown in had been combined. For blast, the news for farmers is resistance would seem to be a major problem, until one good: although it can be locally virulent, the disease looks at parallel research which showed that the effects currently has a relatively minor impact on rice yields depend very much on the gene-for-gene alignment in the region as a whole, and this is predicted not to of rice resistance with pathogen virulence. With change in the foreseeable future. The combined model the right bacterial blight-resistance gene combined predicted a less than 2.5% probability of blast epidemic with drought-resistance QTLs, rice plants displayed outbreak in Tanzania, with low yield losses (no more increased resistance to the disease under drought. than 0.017 t/ha) due to blast up to 2050 (i.e. 35 years The other major component of climate change is hence). However, the news is not so good regarding temperature. Over the coming decades, East African rice bacterial blight: this disease is predicted to reduce systems are likely to experience gradually increasing yields by between 0.47 and 0.67 t/ha by 2050. The temperatures, especially night-time temperatures implication is that, for East Africa, breeding efforts during the growing season. Two bacterial blight- should focus far more on resistance to bacterial blight resistance genes were studied: higher temperatures than to blast. enhanced the resistance effects of one while reducing Georg-August University tested six blast-resistance the effects of the other! genes in two genetic backgrounds at two temperatures against a Tanzanian strain of blast. The research 2. Although at the whole-plant level, drought would seem to be found that, in general, both temperature and genetic tolerated rather than resisted, in physiological terms rice plants background tend to affect resistance. However, resist the effects of drought. 28 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Clearly, climate-proofing rice against bacterial blight means we have the basic tools for climate-proofing is going to be a complicated business. existing and new varieties for East Africa. Another avenue is to tap the resistance genes of “The other element of climate-proofing is having the O. glaberrima, ensuring these enter the widely skills on the ground to continue to study the diseases grown sativa cultivars. To this end, 18 O. glaberrima as they evolve over the coming years. This is what the accessions were screened, including 9 that had master’s and doctoral training was all about.” demonstrated resistance to many Philippine strains of bacterial blight. These accessions were screened All in all, then, a successful project, though there is against 14 strains of the blight bacterium at two no room for complacency. Much hard work both in temperatures. Four of the accessions showed broad- the lab and in farmers’ fields remains to be done in spectrum resistance at high temperature. One of these future years to enable East Africa’s rice sector to cope carries a known resistance gene, but the others are effectively with the disease challenges associated with still being tested to see whether they carry known climate change. resistance genes or novel ones. Beyond boiled rice — partners and Project achievements products “I believe that the project has done what we wanted it to. It has made a significant contribution to preparing the Traditionally, rice is eaten around the world as a basic rice production sector for future climate change,” says starchy (carbohydrate) staple, perhaps with the major Silué. “We have a gene for bacterial blight resistance exception of rice noodles in eastern Asia. However, that currently stands up to most of the bacterial blight there are good reasons for doing more with rice than in East Africa. We also have a pair of genes for blast simply boiling it. that not only show durable resistance today, but also The first of these is to add value to lower grades of seem to be effective at higher temperatures. This rice. Local rice has historically been unpopular in National scientist trainees getting to grips with rice disease isolation and purification techniques (inset) at a training course in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 19–27 August 2011 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 29 many parts of Africa because of its quality — it is A raw white rice grain is primarily carbohydrate (about often perceived as heterogeneous, impure and unclean 80%), water (c.12%) and protein (c.7%); it is not rich compared with clean, white, uniform imported rice, in any macro- or micronutrients or vitamins. As such and consequently sold at lower prices on local markets. it does not have a particularly balanced nutritional One particular issue has been the quality of milling, value. “One approach is to incorporate more nutritious which often leaves local rice as a mixture of sizes of food sources into rice flour,” says Manful, “such as broken grains. There are a few cultures that actually grain legumes for protein and fruits for minerals and prefer broken grains — notably Senegal (and even vitamins. In particular, we have made flour rich in here, it is broken rice of uniform granulation that is minerals and vitamins from dried safou [a forest fruit of preferred) — but, for the most part, broken rice is West and Central Africa popular in Cameroon], which considered inferior to unbroken rice and therefore of we have then mixed with rice flour.” The composite lower value. flour has been used to make biscuits (cookies) and With many countries having increased their rice pastries in Cameroon and Nigeria, where the field-tested production over a number of years, some markets products are ready for commercialization. have experienced a glut of local ‘inferior’ rice, which “Another approach is to fortify rice directly with has not met with universal acceptance. Rather than a range of minerals and vitamins,” says Manful. let this rice go to waste, AfricaRice has in the past AfricaRice’s partners in this venture are Louisiana developed (or sought out) recipes to make use of it, State University (USA) and the Wright Group thereby adding value to it. The simplest route was that (Crowley, LA, USA). The Wright Group has a history followed historically by those promoting other starchy of rice fortification dating back to 1894. The technique staples such as potato: grind it up to make flour. Rice that is being trialed for Africa is a ‘rinse-resistant flour (cheaper in many parts of the tropics than imported technology’: in excess of 80% of the fortification wheat flour) can then be used as a substitute for wheat coating remains on the rice grains during washing and flour in typical flour-based foods, such as bread and cooking — this resistance has been and continues to cakes. Rice flour is a particularly good substitute for be verified by Louisiana State University. wheat flour for those who are gluten-intolerant. It is also With the technology available, the big question was used as a thickening agent in recipes that are refrigerated whether the fortified rice would be acceptable to or frozen, since it inhibits liquid separation. consumers. “We blended fortified rice with ‘regular’ “Over the past year or two, we have decided that this rice, and then made biscuits, boiled rice and porridge is not enough!” declares AfricaRice grain-quality [a rice version of oatmeal], which we presented to taste specialist John Manful. “We are now looking at adding panels in Benin and Ghana,” Manful explains. Could nutritional value to rice.” This is being done via several they detect the fortification? Would there be a negative routes with a range of partners. reaction to it? “At very high levels of fortification, AfricaRice has been working with Centre de coopéra- some of the taste-testers could tell that the fortified tion internationale en recherche agronomique pour rice was different from ‘regular’ rice,” says Manful. le développement (CIRAD) to ‘re-engineer’ a rice- “Remarkably, however, they actually preferred the based steamed product, ablo, using lower-grade rice taste of the fortified rice!” Thus, a potentially major grains. The re-engineering comprises standardizing hurdle was overcome: there was no adverse reaction processing operations, recommending best practices from the consumers to this fortification of rice. and identifying local varieties best suited for ablo “The beauty of this technique is that, if we have a production. rice-eating population that has a diet deficient in some 30 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 mineral or vitamin, or combination of those, then we to eat its preferred varieties, rather than having to adopt can make a specific fortification formula with the new varieties to meet its nutritional requirements. deficient nutritional elements and coat their rice with it,” says Manful. This will ensure that populations get AfricaRice is now working with the Wright Group and exactly what they need — no more, no less. Louisiana State University to see how the technology can be adopted by private-sector small and medium- “There is an additional benefit to this kind of nutritional sized enterprises in Africa to make it commercial. fortification,” says Manful. “It is an additive; we are not manipulating the genetics of the rice itself.” For The fortification of rice-based products is particularly whatever reason, there is still strong opposition in targeted at children and pregnant women, who are many parts of the world to genetically modified (GM) perhaps the most nutritionally sensitive elements of food, which limits the potential scope of advancements any society. Louisiana State University is leading the such as ‘Golden Rice’ (rice genetically fortified with validation of the positive effects of consumption of vitamin A). “The anti-GM lobby has no argument fortified rice on malnourished children. AfricaRice about the kind of fortification we are testing,” says is also targeting digestive problems, particularly Manful. type 2 diabetes and gluten-related disorders. Many readers may not be aware that these two disorders Moreover, the fortification through coating can be are increasing within the populations of developing applied to any rice. So a target community can continue countries, just as they are in developed countries. A selection of nutritionally enhanced rice­based products from various members of the Africa­wide Rice Processing and Value Addition Task Force AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 31 AfricaRice is working with the University of Milan to The method itself has already been described in detail develop rice pastas. Who better to work with on pasta (see ‘Working with farmers to improve water control than an Italian university? “We are testing 100% rice in inland valleys’, AfricaRice annual report 2012, pasta,” explains Manful, “which has advantages over pages 14–16). In summary, the Smart-valleys approach both wheat pasta and boiled rice.” Rice is gluten-free, involves five steps: which means that it is a good starchy staple for those 1. Raising farmers’ awareness of the system with gluten-related disorders. It has also been shown that rice pasta is more slowly digested than boiled 2. Clearing the land rice, which aids in the management of type 2 diabetes. 3. Designing the system “We have developed many rice-pasta products,” says 4. Implementing the system (putting the infrastructure Manful, “for which we are currently conducting in place) consumer tests.” 5. Cultivating rice. Parboiling (boiling or steaming paddy prior to milling) Since 2014, the project has focused on scaling up the is becoming increasingly popular as a means of method to more inland valleys. Originally promoted improving the quality and milling recovery of local and implemented in Benin (5 sites) and Togo (7 sites), rice in several parts of Africa. A secondary effect of the Smart-valleys method had been extended to 139 parboiling is that it slows the digestion rate of rice. sites by the end of 2014. Having introduced improved parboiling techniques to several countries in the region (most recently through Scaling up the rice sector development hubs), AfricaRice is now working with McGill University (Canada), the Scaling-up has been accomplished in partnership University of Milan and NARS partners in Cameroon, with national partners Cellule Bas-Fond (CBF, Benin) Ghana and Nigeria to improve the parboiling process and Institut togolais de recherche agronomique to optimize the digestive rate of rice for those with (ITRA, Togo), plus three NGOs in Togo: Entreprises, type 2 diabetes. territoires et développement (ETD), Groupe de recherche-action pour l’éducation au développement “All of this work is being carried out under the broader (GRED) and Women in Law and Development in framework of the Africa-wide Rice Processing and Africa (WiLDAF). There are two main elements of the Value Addition Task Force,” says Manful, “and scale-up: capacity-building and demonstration sites. validated technologies from the research are shared with all partners within the task force.” The project also set about raising the visibility of the Smart-valleys method within the countries. A ‘harvest celebration’ was held in Benin, to which officials from Smart-valleys the extension service, the Agricultural University of Kétou and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock The ‘Sawah, market access and rice technologies for and Fisheries were invited. Smart-valleys was also inland valleys’ (SMART-IV) project, which ran from showcased at the ‘Rice Innovations Fair’ held at 2009 to 2014, developed a method for the participatory AfricaRice Cotonou for the agricultural development development of inland valleys for rice-based systems. sector, including representation from the Embassy In 2014, the method was renamed from ‘Sawah system of Japan in Benin, farmer organizations and NGOs development’ to ‘Smart-valleys’, which is also the (see also ‘Scalable rice technologies’, page 58). The name of the follow-up project to SMART-IV. project also contributed to the national strategy for 32 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Scenes from Smart­valley developments in Kara region, northern Togo inland-valley development in Benin that is being Togolese National Agricultural Development Project developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock (PADAT). and Fisheries. A 40-minute video was produced as an additional A set of three training sessions was developed awareness-raising and training tool, and a guide for for field technicians from the extension services, field technicians is being prepared. With these, plus ministries of agriculture and NGOs. These comprised: the field technician and lead farmer curricular, scaling (1) Smart-valley site selection and validation; up should be further accelerated. (2) participatory development of the inland-valley site; and (3) maintenance of the site (infrastructure) Adaptation and benefits and soil-fertility management. Separate sessions were In 2014, Smart-valleys were established at 39 sites in also provided for lead farmers to enable them to act Benin, covering 101 ha and involving 446 farmers as peer trainers in their inland valleys. (231 of them women). Meanwhile, in Togo the figures Smart-valley promotion has targeted the three were 100 sites, 132 ha and 1040 farmers (587 women). agroecological zones in each country, establishing Adoption of the Smart-valleys approach has increased demonstration sites in each zone. The demonstration farmers’ average rice yields and gross margins. In sites were used not simply for demonstrating the Benin, for example, gross margins from Smart- technique, but also for the training sessions and valleys averaged FCFA344,249 (US$ 700) per hectare, additional ‘on-the-job’ training of farmers. compared with FCFA129,456 ($260) for traditional Nine training sessions — site selection and validation (4), rainfed cultivation. The large increase ‘attributable’ participatory development (2), site maintenance (2) and to the Smart-valleys approach in Benin was aided by lead farmers (1) — held between November 2011 and the farmers’ use of certified rice seed, as demonstrated August 2014 reached over 148 field technicians and by the figures from Togo (where certified seed was not about 47 lead farmers. Meanwhile, the ‘on-the-job’ used): FCFA253,990 ($500) for the Smart-valleys and training reached an additional 502 local farmers. FCFA165,746 ($360) for traditionally managed rice. Further sessions on participatory development and site Some 52 farming ‘systems’ that included the Smart- maintenance were planned for 2015; the latter under the valleys approach were identified. The most profitable AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 33 was Smart-valleys applied in lowland plus fertilizer focus on the evaluation and introduction of tools in the (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium [NPK], and Smart-valleys sites to improve rice production while urea), NERICA varieties and no herbicide, with a gross reducing labor. These include Rice Advice, mechanical margin of FCFA503,197 ($1000). weeders and reapers. The second phase of the project will also see expansion into Liberia and Sierra Leone. The future In Benin, the approach is being used in a new project The approach will be further integrated with the funded by the Islamic Development Bank. It is also activities of the AfricaRice rice sector development being included in proposals for further scaling out the hub. The second phase of the Smart-valleys project will approach in Benin and Togo. Mural at AfricaRice Sahel regional station, Ndiaye, Saint­Louis, Senegal 34 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Donor profile — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation T  he Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was created in 2000 by the merger of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation. Today it is the largest private philanthropic foundation in the world. The Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and fighting hunger and poverty. The Foundation’s interest in and support for rice predates its own existence. It has been a long­term supporter of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and of AfricaRice, mostly through IRRI. Focus on breeding are not inflicted by biological organisms, but rather are a part of the growing environment or climate All of the projects at AfricaRice funded by the Bill where the rice is being cultivated. In Africa, rainfed & Melinda Gates Foundation are breeding projects rice yields average about 2 t/ha across the continent. targeting specific traits. “Some of AfricaRice’s earlier Better tolerance or resistance to abiotic stresses should breeding programs and projects were not necessarily increase those yields significantly. product oriented,” says Takeshi Kumashiro, leader of the AfricaRice Genetic Diversity and Improvement In March 2008, IRRI and AfricaRice launched the Program. “‘Product-oriented’ breeding is nothing first phase of the project ‘Stress tolerant rice for poor new — it is common sense. All breeding programs farmers in Africa and South Asia’ (STRASA), which have to have a clear product image, reflecting needs the Foundation funded through IRRI. The Gates of farmers, consumers and other stakeholders, since Foundation wants to reignite a green revolution in breeding takes a long time and demands lots of rice in Africa and South Asia, by getting new rice resources.” technologies into the hands of resource-poor farmers. The aim was to increase yields by 1 t/ha when the rice When Kumashiro arrived at AfricaRice in 2010, he is grown under the abiotic stresses in question. The emphasized a number of points to the other breeders: project is currently in its third phase. • product-oriented breeding — determining the traits The project targets drought, salinity, submergence, required in new varieties; iron toxicity and cold (low temperature). It involves • phenotyping — a key factor in breeding success; 18 countries in Africa, with AfricaRice leading the • breeding efficiency — using molecular markers, and project in 14 countries in West Africa, and IRRI in 4 shortening the variety-development time; countries in East and Southern Africa (see Table 2, • database — all data to be stored for sharing; next page). • product liability — Breeder Seed needs to have The project takes a multi-pronged approach. At the 100% genetic purity, and the variety catalog needs onset of the project, cultivars for which there was strong descriptions based on real data. farmer demand but poor seed supply were identified by the national agricultural research system (NARS) partners. These cultivars plus a selection of stress- Increasing rice yield under abiotic tolerant cultivars deemed suitable for various African stress contexts were then multiplied and disseminated, developing a model to be followed later once the project The yield of rice under rainfed conditions is held had developed new stress-tolerant cultivars. The NARS back by abiotic stresses. These are the stresses that received direct funding for the seed production work. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 35 Meanwhile, AfricaRice and NARS scientists made with training in the areas of breeding, seed production, targeted crosses between varieties with known women in leadership and enterprise management, abiotic-stress tolerances and African ‘mega varieties’ impact assessment, experimental data collection, (i.e. cultivars that are popular with farmers across a analysis and management, and participatory varietal number of countries) and other high-yielding varieties. selection (PVS). Capacity-building also included Conventional approaches using pedigree breeding the establishment or rehabilitation of seed stores as well as molecular breeding approaches using and drying floors in 12 project countries. Another marker-assisted selection are then used to select new component of the project aimed at diffusing rice rice varieties combining abiotic-stress tolerance with technologies which would promote good agricultural high yield and good grain-quality traits. Concurrently and postharvest practices was the use of videos with such breeding experiments, basic research was (AfricaRice’s 11 ‘Rice Advice’ farmer-to-farmer conducted to identify genes and quantitative trait videos — see Box ‘“Rice Advice” farmer-to-farmer loci (QTLs) in cultivars known to be resistant to videos’). A new video was also made by the project specific abiotic stresses under African conditions, to train NARS partners in PVS. but for which the genetic basis of the resistance was unknown. Once the genes or suitable markers were During the first 6 years of project implementation identified, these were also included in the molecular in Africa (2008–2013), some 19,260 t of seeds of breeding program. popular and stress-tolerant rice cultivars was produced, reaching an estimated 700,000 farmers. Meanwhile, 42 Another component of the project is capacity-building, stress-tolerant cultivars were released in 12 countries as targeting NARS partners, seed producers and farmers a direct result of STRASA activities (Table 3, page 38), Table 2. STRASA target stresses: Activities by country Country Drought Submergence Salinity Iron toxicity Cold Benin × Burkina Faso × × Burundi × × Côte d’Ivoire × Ethiopia × The Gambia × Ghana × Guinea × Kenya × × Madagascar × × Mali × × × × Mozambique × × × × Nigeria × × Rwanda × Senegal × × Sierra Leone × × Tanzania × Uganda × 36 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 ‘Rice Advice’ farmer-to-farmer videos • Seed sorting: Spotted seed means diseased seed. Rural Development Academy, Bogra and TMSS, Bangladesh. • Seed flotation: Seed sorting by flotation. Rural Development Academy, Bogra and TMSS, Bangladesh. • Seed drying: Well dried seed is good seed. Rural Development Academy, Bogra and TMSS, Bangladesh. • Seed preservation: Rice seed preservation. Rural Development Academy, Bogra and TMSS, Bangladesh. • Land preparation. Africa Rice Center, Benin and Institut de l’envrionnement et de recherches agricoles (INERA), Burkina Faso. • Seedbed: The seedbed. Africa Rice Center, Benin; Institut d’économie rurale (IER), Mali; Intercooperation – Sahel; Institut de l’environnement et de recherches agricoles (INERA), Burkina Faso; and farmers in Niona, Zamblara, Zéguesso and Zianso, Mali. • Transplanting: Rice transplanting. Africa Rice Center, Benin; IER, INERA, Intercooperation – Sahel, Burkina Faso; and farmers in Niona, Zamblara, Zéguesso and Zianso, Mali. • Weed management: Effective weed management. Africa Rice Center, Benin; IER, INERA, Intercooperation – Sahel, Burkina Faso; Institut sénégalais de recherches agricoles (ISRA), Senegal; Société d’Aménagement et d’Exploitation des terres du Delta et des vallées du fleuve Sénégal et de la Falémé (SAED), Senegal; and farmers in Niona, Zamblara, Zéguesso and Zianso, Mali. • Soil fertility: Managing soil fertility for healthy rice. Africa Rice Center, Benin; IER, Mali; Intercooperation – Sahel; farmers in Niona, Zamblara, Zéguesso and Zianso, Mali; and farmers in Ouèdèmè, Benin. • Improving rice quality. West Africa Rice Development Association. • Parboiled rice: Cashing in with parboiled rice (2005). WARDA; Sasakawa Global 2000; Songhai; and INERA, Burkina Faso. Participants at a training workshop on data analysis and management conducted at Saint­Louis, Senegal, in August 2014 with support from STRASA and GSR projects AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 37 including 6 that were given the ARICA designation non-STRASA countries for not being included in by the Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force (see the project. This demonstrates the clear need for rice ‘Naming of second batch of ARICAs’, page 51). varieties that are tolerant to abiotic stresses across the AfricaRice has worked with the NARS to develop continent.” ‘seed roadmaps’ to predict where in the countries there will be demand for seed of specific cultivars to enable The key to STRASA’s popularity seems to lie in the targeted multiplication of the new cultivars. strong collaboration that it fosters among partners. The project adopts the breeding task force network “STRASA has generated a level of enthusiasm among and PVS mechanism for germplasm evaluation, so our NARS partners that I’ve never seen before,” says that NARS scientists (particularly breeders) and their Baboucarr Manneh, AfricaRice Irrigated Rice Breeder partners are fully involved in the selection process to and coordinator for the Africa component of STRASA. obtain the best cultivars for their own farmers and “In fact, AfricaRice has had complaints from several consumers. Table 3. STRASA-developed cultivars released by country Country Cultivar Growing Characteristics Released (no. cvs) environment Benin (6) Cnax 3031-78-2-1 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 ART3-9L6P2-B-B-1 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 WAB368-B-2-H2-HB Upland Drought tolerant 2013 IR 68702-072-1-4-B Upland Drought tolerant 2013 WAB99-17 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 Art3-7-L16p5-B-B-3 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 Burkina Faso (7) WAB-C-165 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 WAB99-84 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 WAS122-IDSA-1-WAS-6-1 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 WAS 20-B-B-1-2-2-2 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 WAT1046-B-4-3-2-2-2 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 IR75866-2-7-1-WAB-1 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 IR75884-12-12-14 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 The Gambia (2) IR 71829-3R-28-1 Mangrove Salinity tolerant 2013 IR 72402-B-P-25-3-1-B Mangrove Salinity tolerant 2013 Ghana (1) IR841 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 38 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Country Cultivar Growing Characteristics Released (no. cvs) environment Guinea (3) IR 75887-1-3-WAB1 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 WAT 1046-B-43-2-2-2 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 WAT 1297-B-57-1-2 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2013 Ethiopia (4) Hibbire (IRGA370-38-1-1F-B1-1) High elevation Cold tolerant 2013 Chewaka (YINLU20) High elevation Cold tolerant 2013 Kallafo (FOFIFA 3737) High elevation Cold tolerant 2013 Hiddassie (WAB 515-B-16A1-2) High elevation Cold tolerant 2013 Kenya (1) IR05N221 Rainfed/ Irrigated Drought tolerant 2013 Mali (7) DKA-P2 Upland Drought tolerant 2011 DKA-P3 Upland Drought tolerant 2011 DKA-P16 Upland Drought tolerant 2011 DKA-P17 Upland Drought tolerant 2011 DKA-P27 Upland Drought tolerant 2011 WAS 62-B-B-14-1-4-2 (Sutura) Irrigated Cold tolerant 2011 WAS 49-1-9-4-3 (Saku) Irrigated Cold tolerant 2011 Mozambique (1) M’ziva (IR 7708) Lowland Drought tolerant 2012 Sierra Leone (3) NERICA-L 19 Lowland Iron-toxicity tolerant 2012 WAR 73-1-M2-1 Mangrove Salinity tolerant 2012 WAR 77-3-2-2 Mangrove Salinity tolerant 2012 Tanzania (1) Tai (IR 03a262) Lowland Drought tolerant 2012 Uganda (5) WAB 95-B-B-40-HB (ARICA5) Upland Drought tolerant 2013 Namche-2 (Nm7-29-4-B-P-80-8) Upland Drought tolerant 2013 Nm7-27-1-B-P-77-6 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 Nm7-5-2- B-P-79-7 Upland Drought tolerant 2013 Namche-1 (ART3-11L1P1-B-B-2) Upland Drought tolerant 2013 (ARICA4) Total 42 released cultivars AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 39 Bringing Chinese rice plus resistances to biotic stresses. The latter was not technologies to Africa achieved in CAAS’s initial germplasm in Africa, which succumbed to AfRGM and RYMV. This is China is the ancestral home of rice, with a long history natural because both are indigenous to Africa.” of rice cultivation, and remains the largest producer Consequently, the second phase of the project (2012– of rice in the world (not surprising when its 1.4 billion 2015) is using African rice germplasm as donors for population consumes an average of 76.8 kg milled local adaptation (including resistance to AfRGM, rice per person per year). Thus, the Chinese have had blast and RYMV). In the second phase, AfricaRice plenty of time to develop advanced cultivars and other is taking the lead in West Africa (Mali, Nigeria and technologies to fine-tune its rice production sector. Senegal), while IRRI is coordinating activities in East China has built the world’s largest capacity in rice and Southern Africa (Burundi, Ethiopia, Mozambique, breeding. The ‘Green super rice’ (GSR) project was Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda). Bulk segregating launched in 2009 to make Chinese rice varieties populations from CAAS (comprising F2, F3 and BC1F2 accessible to rice researchers and rice farmers in populations) have been evaluated at sites in Mali, Africa and Asia. This project will take advantage Nigeria and Senegal that are key sites for phenotyping of China’s breeding capacity and major scientific for high yield potential, drought, alkalinity, iron advances in plant genomics and molecular breeding toxicity, bacterial blight, blast, RYMV, AfRGM and for poverty alleviation by developing and adopting salinity. For promising lines, controlled screening for GSR hybrid and inbred cultivars in eight countries in blast resistance is conducted in Benin. Africa, four in Southeast Asia and three in South Asia. Further down the road of selection, promising pure- GSR cultivars are expected to have good resistance or breeding lines are nominated to the Africa-wide tolerance to major abiotic and biotic stresses of rice Rice Breeding Task Force trials, starting with the and thus have more stable yield. The project partners Multi-Environment Trial for irrigated and rainfed are AfricaRice, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural lowland rice-growing environments. Thus, through Sciences (CAAS), IRRI and the NARS of the target the breeding task force, GSR lines are made available countries on the two continents. The Gates Foundation to all AfricaRice member states and other task-force funding flows through CAAS to AfricaRice and participant countries beyond the GSR target countries. its partner NARS. The main focus is on cultivar development and dissemination. By the end of 2014, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania The Africa component started in earnest in 2008, with and Uganda had released GSR cultivars, and Mali AfricaRice implementing the project in eight countries and Senegal had cultivars in the pipeline for release. (Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, The national partners have developed seed roadmaps Tanzania and Uganda). In the first phase (2008–2011), and formed partnerships with seed producers in most of the Chinese cultivars succumbed to African all project countries. Thus, once GSR cultivars are rice gall midge (AfRGM), Rice yellow mottle virus available, seed will be given to the commercial sector (RYMV) and African races of the blast fungus. to produce Certified Seed for farmers. “The ‘green’ in the GSR means environment- The project also has a capacity-building component, with friendly,” says Kumashiro: “less chemical fertilizers NARS scientists and technicians and seed producers and less chemical pesticides. Thus, it assumes that being trained in molecular breeding techniques, and germplasm provided (developed) by the CAAS carries seed production and commercialization. Seed training high yielding capacity under less inputs of fertilizer, is conducted for technicians at AfricaRice followed by 40 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 in-country training by these trainers of seed producers, include ‘escapes’, products of participatory varietal which has reached more than 100 partners in the eight selection from improved materials, and breeding countries. outputs in countries that do not have a functioning “Like STRASA, GSR is also producing good results,” formal release and registry system. Released varieties says Manneh, who is also coordinator of the that are local landraces are not counted as [modern African component of GSR, “with adapted varieties varieties] in their country of origin.” Adoption outyielding the checks and starting to be released.” estimates were primarily generated through expert opinion, but DIIVA also drew on its own adoption studies, other adoption studies, inferences from the literature, and seed production and trade figures. DIIVA calculated that, in 2010, modern varieties covered 35% of the area for 20 primary and secondary food crops across sub-Saharan Africa. About 3500 improved cultivars had been released for these crops since 1970, and more than 1150 improved varieties and hybrids had been adopted by farmers. The data generated by AfricaRice in 19 of the project’s 20 focal countries showed that modern rice STRASA and GSR coordination meeting at the Third Africa Rice varieties covered 2,582,317 ha out of a total rice area Congress, Yaoundé, Cameroon, October 2013 of 6,787,043 ha, i.e. a 38% adoption rate. The study drew a number of conclusions on adoption Diffusion and impact of improved of modern crop varieties: varieties in Africa • Low investment causes low adoption. • Countries differ greatly in adoption behavior. The ‘Diffusion and impact of improved varieties in Africa’ (DIIVA) project was funded by the Gates • The CGIAR contribution to adopted modern Foundation through Bioversity International. The varieties was in excess of 80%. project was designed to update, widen and deepen an • Market forces play a major role in adoption initiative in the late 1990s that estimated the adoption (highlighted by high scores for commercial maize, of ‘modern varieties’ across sub-Saharan Africa soybean and wheat). (yielding an overall estimate of “about 22% of the growing area of primary food crops”). AfricaRice • There is an absence of widely adapted varieties in was one of eight CGIAR centers involved in DIIVA, Africa (notable exceptions included NERICA 1). as the key center for rice. “The results of the DIIVA project show that it is The DIIVA partners first defined ‘modern varieties’ possible to establish a comprehensive benchmark on “as improved varieties released after 1970 that are the diffusion of [modern varieties] in [sub-Saharan available for adoption because of crop improvement Africa] for a relatively small quantity of resources,” efforts in the public or private sectors,” says the according to the SPIA brief. “Extrapolating past CGIAR Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) performance to the future suggests a target of around brief that summarizes the project results. They “also 50% … adoption by 2020.” AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 41 The Foundation’s views on plant “If the AfricaRice breeding strategy of the last 5 years breeding across CGIAR is compared with that of the private sector, both are pretty much in accordance, although efficiency of In 2013, the Gates Foundation sponsored and breeding, scale of phenotyping, and management of convened a meeting on ‘Delivering increased rates of breeding processes have to be further enhanced,” says genetic gain to smallholders: Bringing the breeding Kumashiro. technology revolution to Africa and South Asia’, to which scientists from the main CGIAR breeding programs, private companies, national programs in Harnessing abiotic stress Africa, US Department of Agriculture and universities tolerance from African rice were invited. By pointing out difference in the genetic gain between many public breeding programs (0.5%) In April 2014, a new 5-year project was launched to and private companies’ breeding programs (2.0%), the fast-track gene identification in O. glaberrima and Foundation indicated that raising the rate of genetic rapid transfer into O. sativa-based varieties. This is gain from less than 1% to more than 2% annually is a the ‘Rapid mobilization of alleles for rice cultivar key component of the agricultural transformation of improve ment in sub-Saharan Africa’ or RAM (for public institutions. ‘rapid allele mobilization’) project, which the Gates Foundation is funding to the tune of US$ 7.5 million. The successes of the private sector are due to the breeding style adopted, including: marker-assisted The project was developed after systematic screening selection (MAS), whole-genome prediction, precision of all O. glaberrima accessions (more than 2000 of phenotyping, doubled haploids (shortening breeding them) in the AfricaRice genebank showed that some time), integrated data management, and clear breeding have high tolerance to drought and iron toxicity, and targets. are able to germinate under anaerobic conditions. The new rain­out shelter at Ikenne, Nigeria: This large (2000 m2) structure will enable the project to test at least 3500 breeding lines at a time for their susceptibility to drought 42 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 The collaborators in the project are AfricaRice, have several types of flooding-related issues. With Cornell University (USA), IRRI, the National Institute the O. glaberrima work in the RAM project, we’re of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS, Japan) and, mainly targeting anaerobic germination.” When flooding in later phases, the NARS in the target countries occurs around seeding time, the soil is left without a (especially Liberia and Nigeria). supply of oxygen — that is, in an anaerobic state. Seeds Like STRASA, RAM is focusing on abiotic constraints, normally germinate in the presence of oxygen (the namely drought, iron toxicity and submergence. Also aerobic state), but some O. glaberrimas will germinate like STRASA, RAM is strongly focused on applying under anaerobic conditions. This is the trait that RAM genomics techniques. “Take, for example, breeding for is planning to introgress into new varieties. iron-toxicity tolerance,” says AfricaRice lowland rice The method being used for all three abiotic stresses breeder and project coordinator Ramaiah Venuprasad. is essentially the same. An O. glaberrima parent will “Field testing cannot be done everywhere, but with be the donor of the target gene, and crossed with genomics the phenotyping can be done later in the otherwise adapted O. sativa cultivars. The initial process, when we have already conducted several generations of selection will be done using molecular generations of marker-based selection.” markers in the laboratory. This has several advantages, For the drought-tolerance work, the project is using a such as not needing to grow all of the plants under site at Ikenne, Nigeria, about 100 km south of Ibadan stress conditions, and not having to grow plants that and 60 km northeast of Lagos. This is a key research do not have the desired gene(s) to maturity (DNA can site for drought, which has already received major be taken from seedlings, and only those plants with investment. The project has recently installed a large the gene need be grown through to seed-set). rain-out shelter for the phenotyping work there. AfricaRice will thus develop the material ready for “The drought screening protocol developed in Ikenne field testing; it will also carry out initial phenotyping is one of our highlights, giving highly repeatable and of this material, and make initial QTL identifications. reliable data on drought tolerance of breeding lines,” Meanwhile, Cornell, IRRI and NIAS will be carrying says Kumashiro. The protocol was developed under out the genomics and much of the molecular biology, STRASA, but is also being used in the RAM project identifying the genes and suitable markers. and other drought-tolerance breeding programs. “In just a few years, we should have so-called ‘elite’ For the iron-toxicity work, the intention is to use germplasm ready for release,” says Venuprasad. the Suakoko key site in Liberia. However, the Ebola “What we are aiming for is a whole batch of ARICA crisis of 2014–2015 has delayed that work. Initially, varieties tolerant to drought and iron toxicity, and able a consultant will be based in Liberia to initiate the to germinate under anaerobic conditions before the end of the decade. The first fruits of the STRASA project4 work, to be replaced in due course by a postdoctoral fellow. The senior breeder will visit the site at key give us hope that this can be achieved.” stages during the season. Meanwhile, initial crosses for iron-toxicity tolerance were made at the AfricaRice Nigeria station, Ibadan, in 2014. With the success with the Sub1 gene,3 you might have thought that submergence was dealt with, but no. 3. By the end of 2014, two varieties introgressed with the Sub1 Venuprasad explains: “Sub1 provides tolerance for gene were available and ready for release in at least two countries. one kind of submergence, namely flooding, but we 4. See above and ‘Naming of second batch of ARICAs’ (page 51). AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 43 New breeding strategy Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), the first CGIAR Research Program to be launched in early “In 2015, AfricaRice will adopt a new breeding 2011, coordinated globally by IRRI, and in Africa by strategy,” says Kumashiro. “In most respects, it is the AfricaRice.5 I am personally extremely proud of the same as what we have been introducing over the past RAM project, the first rice breeding project funded 5 years. Differences are to force us to use a method of by the Gates Foundation that is led by AfricaRice. generation advancement and centralized phenotyping That project will allow us to have a close look at the (including MAS) in the early generations.” This 2000 O. glaberrima accessions in our genebank. I am strategy will include the genetic gain requirements of certain that they harbor many unknown treasures of the Gates Foundation as one of its elements. agronomic importance not only to Africa but to the “The support by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation entire rice-growing world.” for our breeding work has been phenomenal and essential,” says Wopereis. “With the equally generous support from the Government of Japan it has funded 5. Other architects of GRiSP are a third CGIAR center, the backbone of our rice breeding program since 2007. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Japan The STRASA and GSR projects conducted jointly International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), Centre de coopération internationale en recherche by IRRI and AfricaRice and many other partners agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) and Institut de formed a rock-solid basis for the establishment of the recherche pour le développement (IRD) in France. 44 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Profiles of selected PhD candidates Blaise Waly Basse Blaise Waly Basse successfully defended his thesis, ‘Impact of the adoption of the Sahel improved rice varieties on poverty in Senegal: Marginal treatment effect approach’, and will be awarded his PhD by Gaston Berger University, Saint-Louis, Senegal, in January 2015. Basse was selected by Institut sénégalais de recherches agricoles (ISRA) in Saint-Louis to help alleviate a human-resources constraint at ISRA at a time when there were many joint AfricaRice–ISRA projects and the ISRA rice economist and long-term collaborator with AfricaRice, Amadou Abdoulaye Fall, had been made head of the ISRA Saint-Louis station. A primary driver of Basse’s work, both prior to and including his PhD research, was that despite its drive toward self-sufficiency in rice, Senegal continues to rely on imports (over 700,000 tonnes in 2011) to meet domestic demand for rice. River valley. Though adoption levels were initially below 10%, these varieties (plus later additions to the His pre-PhD research included a baseline survey ‘family’, Sahel 134, Sahel 159, Sahel 208, Sahel 209 of Senegal rice production, especially harvest and and Sahel 210, all released in 2007) have now been postharvest practices, including marketing. He adopted by 51% of all rice farmers in Senegal and 93% also conducted a rice value-chain study in Guinea, of irrigated-rice farmers. Though the adoption level evaluated risks in the Senegalese rice sector, and was seems very high for varieties designed for the irrigated part of a project to improve farmers’ climate resilience environment, they are in fact significantly lower than in Nidayéne Pendao (Senegal River valley), as well as the potential 88% of all rice farmers and 95% of a project to assess the impact of the adoption of good irrigated-rice farmers. Moreover, the Sahel varieties agricultural practices by farmers in Dagana (also in have demonstrated wide adaptability in the field, the Senegal River valley). having been adopted in rainfed lowland cultivation Basse’s PhD studies were jointly supported by in areas such as Casamance and Fatick (southwestern AfricaRice and ISRA, supervised by Aliou Diagne, Senegal, north of The Gambia). former leader of the AfricaRice Policy, Impact Basse used data for 1451 Senegalese rice farmers Assessment and Innovation Systems Program, and taken from a 2009 survey conducted by ISRA, DAPS, Amadou Abdoulaye Fall of ISRA; Basse was based at AfricaRice and Japan International Cooperation ISRA for the duration of his PhD research. His research Agency (JICA). Consequently, the data were from all looked at the value of the adoption of the ‘Sahel’ rice-growing regions of Senegal (except the Kaolack improved rice varieties promoted by AfricaRice and region). In particular, data from a women farmer group ISRA. The Sahel varieties — notably Sahel 108, Sahel in Niona (rainfed lowland) were specifically included. 201 and Sahel 202 — were identified by AfricaRice and From the complete survey, Basse selected farmers for released in Senegal in 1994, particularly in the Senegal his study by using two-stage random sampling. He then AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 45 used the marginal treatment effect (MTE) approach to services’ (RAP) project, funded by the European determine the impact of the adoption of Sahel varieties Union (see ‘Donor profile: European Union — on poverty. “The results indicate that the adoption of Good things for inland valleys’, AfricaRice Annual Sahel varieties has a positive and significant impact Report 2012, pages 32–34, for more information on on rice yield, the overall income of rice farmers and RAP). His thesis title is: ‘Towards food and water poverty status,” says Basse. “It is therefore possible security: Modelling the spatiotemporal dynamics and to reduce poverty in Senegal through the adoption of accounting for hydrological ecosystem services’. Sahel varieties. Financial rate of return (80.9%) and the economic rate of return (72.1%) also indicate that The PhD research program is with the Environmental rice breeding research in Senegal is financially and Systems Analysis research group of Wageningen economically viable.” University. The work is supervised by Professor Lars Hein at the university and AfricaRice scientist Sander Basse observed that the farmers in the Senegal Zwart. River valley were likely to take any seed available and that this was having a negative effect on yield, because of the uncontrolled quality of the seed. He therefore concludes that ISRA and the extension services in Senegal (notably Société d’Aménagement et d’Exploitation des terres du Delta et des vallées du fleuve Sénégal et de la Falémé [SAED]) should continue to promote use of Certified Seed of the Sahel varieties to obtain yields closer to the varieties’ potential levels and thereby have a greater impact on poverty. This could be achieved by encouraging the formation of farmer groups, as they in turn tend to encourage adoption. “In summary, it can be said that [in the Sahel varieties] Senegal has an instrument to reduce its dependence on imports,” says Basse. “Increasing the income of rice farmers is an important component in the fight against poverty.” Confidence Duku Ghanaian Confidence Duku was a research assistant at AfricaRice from 2011 to 2012, specializing in geographic information systems (GIS) and environ- mental modeling. Here, he was well placed to apply for and obtain a PhD scholarship in 2012 through the second phase of the ‘Realizing the agricultural potential of inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan Confidence Duku (right) in the field during his tour of the upper Africa while maintaining their environmental Ouémé watershed 46 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Ecosystem services are often marginalized in decision- Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis – Coupling the making — undervalued and underappreciated mainly Tropical Atmosphere and the Hydrological Cycle because these contributions to human welfare have [AMMA-CATCH]) — out for peer review. not been explicitly evaluated. Moreover, the lack of “We successfully developed a spatially explicit ecosystem service assessment in sub-Saharan Africa modeling approach, which distinguishes between at national and sub-national scales has resulted in the service capacity and service flow, to map and quantify adoption of inappropriate measures that fail to include hydrological ecosystem services and used them to set the role of the environment in poverty reduction. up ecosystem accounts,” says Duku. “The services Duku’s research is one such assessment. we model and account for are crop water supply, Duku is looking at the rather large upper catchment household (ground and surface) water supply, water area of the Ouémé River in north-central Benin, an area purification, and soil erosion control.” of over 14,000 km2! Obviously, to cover such a vast area The second part of the study was to model the potential one is not looking at expansive fieldwork; however, effects of deforestation on water availability. “Fifty- Duku gladly admits, “I did go on a tour to all the major five percent of the study area is forest, and that forest towns and agricultural areas in the study area.” regulates water flow, augmenting groundwater supply, Because of the low population density of the region especially in the dry season,” says Duku. Over 90% of (28 inhabi tants /km2) and agriculturally favorable the region’s population is dependent on groundwater climate conditions, the population of the upper Ouémé for drinking and other uses. “Irrigation of crops with catchment is growing rapidly (4% per year), mainly as groundwater in the dry season will be dependent on a consequence of agricultural colonization by migrants the forest cover. But forest is being cleared to open up from other parts of Benin and neighboring countries. more agricultural land. Therefore, we need to know This rapid population growth has led to the expansion what level of deforestation will have a direct impact of agricultural areas and consequently deforestation on farming, especially dry-season irrigated crops. and shortages of land immediately available for Using the maximum water requirements for the major agricultural production. crops in the study area (including cassava, maize, millet, rice, yam), the model determined that it takes The first aspect of Duku’s research was to quantify the 6 ha of forest to ensure enough groundwater recharge study area’s hydrological services both spatially and to irrigate 1 ha of crops in the dry season. This is in over time, and to generate digital maps. This brought addition to the water required for domestic use.” up a major methodological issue: could hydrological ecosystem services be integrated into ecosystem In addition to the effect of local changes on service accounting (a comprehensive tool for environmental provision, Duku will look at the risks that climate monitoring and management that aims to integrate the change poses on the capacity of the watershed to concept of ecosystems services, i.e. the contribution of supply these services and the consequent likely effects ecosystems to human welfare, in a national accounting on local livelihoods. “The supply of hydrological context)? ecosystem services underpins food and water security,” says Duku. “We will assess the reliability The good news is that apparently it can, and Duku and resilience of the watershed to supply these services and co-authors have a paper on the methodology — in a changing climate.” With climate change, some verified with data from the upper Ouémé catchment areas that were not previously vulnerable to, say, (from the former German-funded IMPETUS project drought will become vulnerable to it. Duku will map and the international observation service African these vulnerable areas. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 47 “Confidence Duku is one of my most promising PhD of Crop Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and students; he has a real talent for integrating different AfricaRice lowland breeder Ramaiah Venuprasad, disciplines in an integrated, sophisticated modeling based at Ibadan. approach,” says Prof. Hein. “His work is addressing one of the key challenges in the field of developing “The upland NERICA varieties are known for their ecosystem accounting approaches, in particular how good drought tolerance, and that — in part — came hydrological services and their linkages to other from the O. glaberrima parents,” says Venuprasad. ecosystem services can be included in this ecosystem “But the drought status of O. glaberrima accessions accounting framework.” under lowland conditions was not known. Shaibu was the first to study the level of drought tolerance in these “Duku’s work is immensely valuable to AfricaRice,” accessions using a modern protocol in comparison with says Zwart, “providing a tool that allows us to analyze current drought-tolerant breeding material and checks.” the potential for development of rice systems and the Shaibu screened about 2000 lines of O. glaberrima sustainability of interventions, while making as little from the AfricaRice genebank and about 1755 impact as possible on other users of water resources. interspecific breeding lines (O. glaberrima × O. sativa) There are challenges to applying these models in data- from AfricaRice and the International Rice Research scarce regions and linking them to the socioeconomic Institute (IRRI) for drought tolerance. Screening aspects that determine potentials for development, followed well-defined protocols at the Nigeria station but the RAP project in general and Duku’s work in particular have made a good start in doing that.” Abraham Attah Shaibu In 2009 to 2010, Abraham Shaibu was a research assistant at the AfricaRice Nigeria station for the ‘Famine fund emergency rice’ project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which helped to boost rice production in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. In 2011, he then became a rice breeder at the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) in Badeggi, Niger State, Nigeria, where he assisted in the coordination of breeding task force trials, ‘Stress tolerant rice for Africa and South Asia’ (STRASA) and ‘Green super rice’ (GSR) projects in Nigeria (see ‘Donor profile: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’, pages 35–44, for further details on STRASA and GSR). In November 2012, Shaibu began his PhD studies on ‘Assessment of the utility of Oryza glaberrima in breeding for drought tolerance in rice’, funded by the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) of CGIAR. The research work is being co- Abraham Shaibu identifying best donor parents in the initial supervised by Prof. M.I. Uguru of the Department stages of his research 48 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 in Ibadan, at a drought hot spot in Badeggi and in a “Thanks to Shaibu we now know how good the various rain-out shelter on the AfricaRice station in Cotonou, O. glaberrima accessions really are in terms of drought Benin. Shaibu identified 10 accessions of O. glaberrima tolerance, and which have potential value in breeding,” with good tolerance to moderate drought over sites and says Venuprasad. “I appreciate Shaibu’s work attitude. seasons, and about 30 ‘good’ interspecific lines. As what some would call a ‘mature student’, he is The next stage of the work was to initiate crosses committed, hard working and sincere. I believe he is between the drought-tolerant germplasm identified a man of integrity.” (O. glaberrima accessions) and released rice varieties Although Shaibu aims to defend his thesis in 2015 (O. sativa). Shaibu made 28 such crosses, from which with the results obtained, there is clear evidence that three new interspecific breeding populations were the breeding work is enormous and will be continued developed, which were duly assessed for drought under new students. However, some material at F5 tolerance in the fourth generation (F4). Meanwhile, generation is ready for wide-scale testing in the 2015 the 30 drought-tolerant accessions are being further wet season. characterized for use in breeding. “Almost 70% of the total rice area in Africa is rainfed, In June 2015, Shaibu received a Fellowship Award from and drought is an important production constraint the Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, as caused by the unpredictable and erratic rainfall pattern best young scientist for his research poster ‘Screening in the African region,” says Shaibu. “New breeding African rice species (Oryza glaberrima) for breeding lines have been developed, and the results obtained drought tolerance in rice with improved grain yield from my study are promising for rice farmers in in lowland ecosystems in Africa’, presented at the Africa and for further breeding work. In particular, Nestlé Conference on Planting Seeds for the Future the interspecific lines have opened a new gene pool of Food, Lausanne. for rice improvement.” AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 49 Major events February renews our collective commitment to make things happen.” MICCORDEA final workshop STRASA III Africa planning workshop An end-of-project workshop was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 17–18 February for the ‘Mitigating the A planning workshop was held for the Africa impact of climate change on rice disease resistance in component of the third phase of the project ‘Stress East Africa’ (MICCORDEA) project. MICCORDEA tolerant rice for poor farmers in Africa and South was supported for 4 years by Deutsche Gesellschaft Asia’ (STRASA) in Cotonou on 28 February to 1 für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and ran March. STRASA is supported by the Bill & Melinda from 2010 to 2013 in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Gates Foundation and executed by AfricaRice and There were 17 participants in the workshop, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in one PhD and six MSc students supported by the collaboration with national agricultural research project. For more detail on the project, see ‘Climate- systems (NARS) partners. (See ‘Donor profile: Bill proofing East Africa’s rice sector’ (pages 26–29). & Melinda Gates Foundation — Increasing rice yield under abiotic stress’, pages 35–39, for more details about the STRASA project.) AfricaRice Science Week and GRiSP-Africa Science Forum The annual Science Week and GRiSP-Africa March Science Forum were held at AfricaRice temporary headquarters in Cotonou, Benin, 24–28 February. ECOWAS regional rice offensive task force Nearly 250 international and national rice research The ECOWAS regional rice offensive for sustainable and development partners from the public and private recovery aims to support the rice production sectors, including representatives of national research dynamics started in 2008 with a view to achieving and extension programs of 28 African countries, met self-sufficiency in the region by 2025. A feasibility to discuss roadmaps and joint action plans for large- study of the program was entrusted to a technical task scale development impact in Africa. force comprising the Economic Community of West “We have adopted a new format this year for our African States (ECOWAS), Hub Rural, AfricaRice, the annual research meeting to allow improved planning International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) of collaborative activities with our partners,” said and Laboratoire d’Analyse Régionale et d’Expertise Marco Wopereis, AfricaRice deputy director general. Sociale (LARES). The task force met in Cotonou in “This will ensure that rice research products can be March. delivered as rapidly as possible into the hands of those The program is designed for the period 2015–2025, who need them most — smallholder farmers — along and the budget for the first 5 years is estimated at with other stakeholders in the rice value chain such as US$ 404 million. The estimation by the task force millers, processors and rice consumers. Our annual shows that the region may start to attain rice self- Science Week is always cooperative and productive. sufficiency by 2023. The rice self-sufficiency ratio will It is rewarding to get so many good people together in range between 87% and 99% between 2015 and 2022. the knowledge that we’re all striving toward the same By 2023, production of over 26 million tonnes (Mt) of goals. It generates energy, enthusiasm and ideas, and white rice should more than double the level of 2015. 50 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Projections confirm the importance of promoting • ARICA9 and ARICA10 also for both rainfed and local and regional markets via which surplus rice irrigated lowlands are both cold tolerant; and have production released by some major rice-producing both been identified for release in Mali. basins can cover the deficits of other production areas. The estimation shows that per-capita consumption will • ARICA11 for mangrove agro-ecosystems is salt be around 54 kg for an aggregate demand between tolerant; it has been released in The Gambia. 24 and 26 Mt of milled rice in 2025. Achieving self- sufficiency could improve the trade balance in rice, SARD-SC steering committee boost regional economic growth by approximately Members of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) 0.5%, and contribute to the creation of over 8 million of the ‘Multinational CGIAR support to agricultural jobs in 2025. The cumulative job creation would be research for development on strategic commodities more than 36.5 million over the period 2015–2025, in Africa’ (SARD-SC) converged at the AfricaRice that is 20.7 million in the agricultural sector and temporary headquarters in Cotonou for its annual 15.8 million in non-agricultural sectors. meeting on 17 March. Participants were leaders from CGIAR Centers, IITA, AfricaRice, ICARDA Naming of second batch of ARICAs and IFPRI, and a few from the private sector. The objective of the meeting was to give an overview and The annual meeting of the Africa-wide Rice Breeding implementation update of the SARD-SC project, and Task Force was held in early 2014, some time before discuss emerging challenges and issues. Decisions postharvest testing of the season’s candidate varieties were made in relation to budgeting, gender, students was complete. However, the STRASA project had (MSc and PhD) and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) produced a number of selections and uses the same issues. methodology as the task force ARICA scheme (see ‘Research in brief — First fruits of the Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force: ARICA’, AfricaRice Annual CGIAR Consortium Board meeting Report 2013, pages 32–37). AfricaRice biometrician AfricaRice interim director general Adama Traoré Ibnou Dieng and his team trawled the global database participated in the CGIAR Consortium Board for data on 77 ‘good lines’ identified in STRASA members and Center directors meeting hosted by and shortlisted 6 that met the criteria for ARICA the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture nomination. These were approved by the task force (IITA) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 19–20 March. The on 14 March: meeting provided an opportunity to showcase the work that the Centers and CGIAR Research Programs are • ARICA6 for rainfed lowland agro-ecosystems is conducting and achieving in East and Southern Africa. tolerant of iron toxicity; it has already been released in Guinea and identified for release in Ghana. “The agricultural sector is crucial today, more than ever before, particularly in the face of climate change • ARICA7 for both rainfed and irrigated lowlands is and the increasing global population. People who are tolerant of both iron toxicity and cold; it has been already vulnerable and food insecure are already identified for release in Ghana and Senegal. being affected by our changing climate. The CGIAR • ARICA8 also for both rainfed and irrigated Research Programs are large-scale strategic programs lowlands is tolerant of iron toxicity; it has already put in place to deal with the cross-cutting nature been released in Burkina Faso and has been identified of these challenges,” said Frank Rijsberman, chief for release in Guinea. executive officer of the CGIAR Consortium. “Sub- AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 51 Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions, where a majority of the population are smallholder farmers who frequently face food insecurity and poverty.” 35th annual full Board meeting The AfricaRice Board of Trustees met for its annual meeting in Cotonou on 25–27 March. The business of the Board included approval of the Center Development Plan 2014–2020, which will see the Center strengthen its decentralized mode of operation and relocate its headquarters back to Côte d’Ivoire. (Left to right) Peter Matlon, AfricaRice Board chair; Lucie Dalie, AfricaRice bilingual secretary; Rebecca Khelseau­Carsky; George Maina, AfricaRice head of finance; and Adama Traore, AfricaRice interim director general “For AfricaRice, the period has been one of growth and landmark achievements,” Board chair Peter April Matlon said at the end of the meeting. “We are also very grateful to all our donors and partners for their Crop Science Society of Japan award continued support and commitment to improving the lives of resource-poor rice farmers in Africa.” Drs Koichi Futakuchi, Moussa Sié and Kazuki Saito received the Best Paper Award in 2014 from 2014 AfricaRice Dr Robert Carsky Award the Crop Science Society of Japan for their paper ‘Yield potential and physiological and morphological The AfricaRice Dr Robert Carsky Award was instituted characteristics related to yield performance in Oryza in honor of the late Dr Robert Carsky, who lost his glaberrima Steud.’ published in Plant Production life while on duty in 2004. It is presented to staff in Science in 2012. the internationally recruited (IRS) and general service (GSS) categories who have excelled in their sphere of New project launch: Rapid mobilization of alleles work and made exceptional contributions to the Center for rice cultivar improvement in sub-Saharan and its mission. Africa On 27 March 2014, the award was presented to A new project — ‘Rapid mobilization of alleles for AfricaRice head of finance George Maina (IRS) and rice cultivar improvement in sub-Saharan Africa’ to bilingual secretary Lucie Dalie (GSS) for their (RAM) — was launched at a workshop in Ibadan, contributions to the smooth functioning of the Center. Nigeria, on 10–12 April. The project is being funded 52 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 HE Papa Seck, Senegal Minister of Agriculture and Rural (Left to right) Sié Moussa, Koichi Futakuchi and Kazuki Saito Equipment (center), flanked by Babacar Bâ, assistant to the with their award for Best Paper from the Crop Science Society governor of Saint­Louis (left), and Vincent Bado, AfricaRice of Japan regional representative in Senegal (right) for 5 years by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Université d’Abomey-Calavi’s Science & Technology and seeks to fast-track gene identification in Oryza Week glaberrima and rapid transfer into O. sativa-based varieties, especially for drought and flooding tolerance From 15 to 18 April, the Université d’Abomey-Calavi and tolerance of soil-related stresses (e.g. iron (UAC) held its second Science & Technology Week, toxicity). (See ‘Donor profile: Bill & Melinda Gates under the theme ‘Challenges and opportunities of the Foundation — Harnessing abiotic stress tolerance scientific and technological revolution for progress’. from African rice’, pages 42–43, for more details.) The event was organized to present the technological progress achieved by UAC and its partners and to Senegal Minister of Agriculture visits AfricaRice Sahel station A high-level delegation led by HE Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Senegal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment, accompanied by the assistant to the governor of Saint- Louis region, in charge of development, Babacar Bâ, and regional director of rural development (DRDR) Tacko Diawara Ndao, visited Sahel station in Saint- Louis on 14 April. HE Papa Seck is a former director general of AfricaRice. The visit formed part of the minister’s meetings in Saint-Louis region to talk with rice farmers and scientists about the government’s new ‘Accelerated program for agriculture in Senegal’ (PRACAS). Scenes from the second UAC Science & Technology Week AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 53 strengthen collaboration in science and technology. reliability of rice production statistics in support AfricaRice took part in the exhibition, showcasing of the objectives of the Coalition for African Rice seeds of improved varieties (e.g. the ARICAs, Development (CARD) initiative. the NERICAs and the Sahel series developed by AfricaRice and its partners) in addition to posters Representatives from 20 countries participated in and publication CDs relating to rice research and the technical workshop. Yasuhiro Miyake, Deputy Director, Statistics Planning Division, Statistics development (R&D). Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan also attended. Training workshop on experimental auctions for NARS scientists in Tanzania The rice value-chain team at AfricaRice Cotonou, May Dar es Salaam and Saint-Louis organized and hosted a ‘Training workshop on experimental auctions’ for Biotic stress, climate change and agricultural national scientists from seven African countries, with production support from AfDB, 21–25 April, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. From 5 to 7 May, researchers from the International AfricaRice has used experimental auctions as an Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), AfricaRice important research tool to find out consumers’ and Institut national de recherches agricoles du Bénin perceptions of different types of rice and the price they (INRAB) organized a meeting in Cotonou on ‘Biotic would be willing to pay for them. The training course stresses, climate change and agricultural production’. was intended to contribute to building the capacity of The major objective of the conference was to establish partners from SARD-SC project countries in the theory a research center of excellence on climate change and practice of conducting experimental auctions. and biotic problems at the IITA regional station in Cotonou, which is currently serving as the temporary headquarters of AfricaRice. Canada project technical meeting “This is also our contribution to a good transition The Canada-funded ‘Support to rice research in strategy of AfricaRice HQ from Benin as recommended Africa’ held a technical meeting at Cotonou on by the Board and the Council of Ministers,” said 22–26 April. The food-security project focuses on Adama Traore, AfricaRice interim director general. postharvest handling, marketing and developing new rice-based products. (For more information on the Genebank review project, see pages 00–00 under ‘November’.) The CGIAR Research Program for Managing and Improving food security information in Africa Sustaining Crop Collections (Genebanks CRP) is coordinated by the Crop Trust, which commissioned The technical workshop of the Japan-funded a review of the AfricaRice genebank managed by its ‘Improving food security information in Africa’ Genetic Resources Unit (GRU) from 5 to 8 May. The project was held from 29 April to 2 May in Cotonou. review panel comprised Johannes Engels (Chair), a The project, which was launched in 2013, seeks to genetic resources specialist retired from Bioversity improve food security and reduce poverty in sub- International, and Chikelu Mba, in the seeds and Saharan Africa by improving the availability and plant genetic resources team of the Plant Production 54 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 and Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture losses in 27 sub-Saharan African countries, thereby Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The panel reducing rice imports and averting the need for costly was accompanied by Genebanks CRP coordinator food-relief activities. Charlotte Lusty, and facilitator and Crop Trust finance assistant Amanda Dobson. Ms Dobson worked with As part of the project, quality seed is produced and AfricaRice financial staff to review the financial disseminated to vulnerable rice farmers by collabo- support of the Trust to AfricaRice. rating partners, in particular farmer organizations, extension agencies and NGOs. Seed distribution Overall, the impressions of the review team were ceremonies with representatives from government positive, and recommendations were formulated that authorities, national programs, Japanese embassies are being implemented by AfricaRice. and AfricaRice are organized in the project countries. Interim director general Adama Traoré participated External review of Policy, Innovation Systems in the seed distribution ceremony held in a village in and Impact Assessment Program Glazoué, Benin, on 30 May. Idrissou Adam Yacoubou A Center-commissioned external review (CCER) of Touré, cabinet director of the Ministry of Agriculture the Policy, Innovation Systems and Impact Assessment in Benin; HE Daini Tsukahara, Japanese Ambassador Program was conducted from 26 May to 6 June. in Benin; and David Arodokoun, director general of The review panel comprised Dunstan Spencer, Institut national de recherches agricoles du Bénin consultant and CCER chair, who focused on policy (INRAB) also participated in the ceremony, along with and value-chain research; Nathalie M. Me-Nsope, representatives from the national rice program, local gender lead/agricultural economist, Global Center authorities and rice farmer organizations. for Food Systems Innovation, USAID-HESN Lab, Sixty tonnes of certified seed produced by INRAB Michigan State University, who focused on gender and its partners were distributed to 2400 vulnerable research; and Timothy Dalton, director and associate farmers identified in four communes. Representatives professor, Kansas State University, who focused on from these farmers thanked the project after receiving M&E and impact assessment. Panel members visited the seed at the official ceremony. and interacted with AfricaRice staff and partners in Benin, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda. Their report was presented during the September 2014 AfricaRice Board meeting by the CCER chair, via video link. June Overall, the social-science research was found to be effective, relevant and efficient. The view of the Panel WECARD/CORAF Fourth Agriculture Science was that “the Program is well structured and is fulfilling Week its mandate well.” Recommendations were made to The West and Central African Council for Research further enhance the performance of the program. and Development (WECARD/CORAF) held its fourth Agriculture Science Week in Naimey, Niger, Country-led seed distribution ceremonies of 16–19 June. Japan-funded Emergency Rice Initiative During the week, AfricaRice interim director general The Emergency Rice Initiative aims to boost rice Adama Traoré not only chaired major sessions but also production in 2014 and beyond by improving farmer received a special award for his distinguished services access to quality seeds and reducing postharvest to agricultural science in Africa. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 55 actors. Each country is expected to develop an action plan and ‘rice knowledge management package’ (combinations of video, rural radio, use of the Rice eHub, printed material, billboards, etc.) that best fits their resources and priorities. Based on these country action plans, partners such as Farm Radio International and Digital Green will provide technical support to ensure the selected tools facilitate information and knowledge exchange with large numbers of end-users. The event was organized with support from the Global Rice Science Program (GRiSP) and the AfDB-funded SARD-SC project. Interim director general Adama Traoré receives his award from the Governor of Niamey Region, M. Hamidou Garba Mamadou, July at WECARD/CORAF’s 4th Agriculture Science Week National experts committee Information and knowledge exchange facilitation The ninth biennial meeting of the National Experts workshop Committee (NEC: directors general of the national agricultural research systems (NARS) of AfricaRice AfricaRice organized a 3-day workshop and training member states) was held in Saint-Louis, Senegal, from event on ‘Facilitating information and knowledge 2 to 4 July. Directors general of NARS of 17 countries exchange in rice sector development’ in Cotonou participated, and there were representatives from on 25–27 June. Thirteen African countries were WECARD/CORAF, Association for Strengthening represented by national experts in communication, Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa ICT and knowledge management. These experts are (ASARECA), Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural working in the rice sector development hubs. Producers’ Organizations of West Africa (ROPPA) The objective of the workshop was to create a joint and the president of Fédération des groupements et mechanism to (i) share information and knowledge associations des femmes productrices de la région related to scalable rice technologies and activities in Saint-Louis (FEPRODES, women farmers’ association the hubs in the most effective and efficient manner; in Saint-Louis). and (ii) reach out to end-users of rice technologies and AfricaRice interim director general Adama Traoré services, such as rice farmers, processors, agricultural gave an overview of the major developments since machinery manufacturers and traders. the last Council of Ministers in December 2013 and Participants discussed the use of video and rural briefed the NEC on the recruitment process for the radio to report on work with farming communities next director general. An update on the plans for the and to document scalable technologies. Rural radio return of AfricaRice to Côte d’Ivoire was presented will be used to guide the rice community throughout by the regional representative of Côte d’Ivoire. the cropping season, advising on crop management The NEC expressed its appreciation for all the present- practices and sharing experiences among value-chain ations and reports, and made 12 recommendations. 56 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 NEC members and other participants at their meeting went on a guided tour of the new AfricaRice Regional Training Center A guided tour of the new Regional Training Center August was organized for the NEC participants. Ebola strikes! Evacuation of staff from Sierra Another NERICA award! Leone and Liberia The AfDB received the US Treasury Award for Just 2 months earlier (in early June), AfricaRice Development Impact for the ‘NERICA dissemination management had asked rice research coordinator project’. The project ran for 8 years from 2004 to in Sierra Leone, Bert Meertens, for a situation 2011, and was operated under the auspices of the report on the Ebola epidemic that had broken out African Rice Initiative (ARI), itself launched in in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. At that very 2002. NERICA varieties were AfricaRice’s flagship moment, AfricaRice internal auditor Serge Ebanga technology for boosting the rice-production sector, was running risk-management training at the Rokupr first in the uplands from the late 1990s and later in Research Station where the AfricaRice staff are the lowlands. based. Moreover, Rokupr was free of the disease. The epidemic was taken as a case study by the training Liberia office operational participants, and it was deemed that the risk was ‘not too high’. However, things then moved quickly, with Also in July, renovation of the AfricaRice Liberia the president of Sierra Leone declaring a state of office was completed, enabling AfricaRice projects emergency on 30 July. AfricaRice staff were ordered to coordinator for the country, Inoussa Akintayo, to evacuate to Cotonou for 2 weeks (!). It took 5 days for finally have an office to call his own... albeit only the team to be able to get onto a flight to Abidjan and briefly! (See next item.) then continue on to Cotonou. There can be few people AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 57 around the world who have access to the media who do Training of national partners in automation of not know what happened next. Ebola went exponential data collection, analysis and impact assessment in the three countries at the center of the epidemic: by the end of the year, the World Health Organization In the framework of the AfricaRice Strategic Plan estimated that there had been over 20,000 cases and 2011–2020, baseline surveys are being carried out in 34 fast approaching 10,000 deaths.. rice sector development hubs in 18 countries. In order to continue with the harmonization and automation of “It was not easy,” says Meertens. “We left with just baseline surveys in the rice hubs, AfricaRice has been two suitcases each, leaving behind colleagues and organizing a series of training courses for national belongings. Things developed very rapidly during partners on automation of impact and socioeconomics the 5 days we had to prepare.” AfricaRice staff were analysis. A training course for English-speaking the ‘lucky’ ones! countries was organized, 4–9 August, in Kigali, Meanwhile, staff at AfricaRice temporary headquarters Rwanda, in which 17 NARS scientists representing 11 in Cotonou were monitoring the Ebola situation countries of the Africa-wide Rice Policy Task Force in Liberia from a distance. AfricaRice projects took part. This was followed by a training course for coordinator in Liberia, Inoussa Akintayo, takes up the French-speaking countries, which took place in the story: “The situation was evaluated on a day-to- Cotonou, 21–29 August. day basis from Cotonou. When the situation became serious, we were instructed to leave immediately, and tickets were sent to us.” The first staff left on 4 August. September “I was of course, as team leader, the last person to leave on 8 August,” says Akintayo. “I flew to Accra Scalable rice technologies and from Accra to Cotonou.” The First Innovation Fair on Scalable Rice Technologies Ebola had devastating effects on Liberia’s rice sector. for Benin and Togo was held at AfricaRice in Cotonou Farmers abandoned their fields and even their villages, on 1–2 September. Innovative R&D products, tools and and many of them died from the disease. Restrictions approaches developed by AfricaRice and its partners on movement stopped farmers from working together. to boost productivity in Africa’s rice farming were Markets were closed, so there was nowhere to buy showcased. The technologies on display included new inputs (e.g. seed, fertilizer) and nowhere to sell any climate-smart ARICA rice varieties; Smart-valleys, rice produced; fresh produce simply rotted. Seed a low-cost participatory and sustainable approach production plots were abandoned as a result of the to develop inland valleys in sub-Saharan Africa for AfricaRice evacuation, both at the research station and rice-based systems (see ‘Smart-valleys’, pages 32–34); among outgrowers, as there was no one to monitor the mechanical weeders; power tillers; an energy-efficient production and support the farmers. rice parboiler (GAM); and RiceAdvice, a decision- support app for providing farmers with field-specific Subsequently, the Liberia staff relocated to the resource management guidelines. AfricaRice M’bé research station in Côte d’Ivoire with a very specific agenda: to produce seed ready The main objectives of the Rice Innovations Fair to rehabilitate the rice sector in Guinea, Liberia were to raise awareness about the latest innovations and Sierra Leone post-Ebola; to continue breeding and to identify, with development partners, donors activities with material brought from Liberia; and to and researchers, promising scalable technologies and assist in regional seed mobilization. define dissemination pathways. 58 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Scenes from the first Rice Innovations Fair CGIAR Development Dialogues links to social media and different content sections, and links to the user’s Slideshare, podcast, video and Top scientists, policy-makers and donor representatives photo gallery accounts. Users can also find relevant gathered together at the high-level ‘CGIAR Develop- news about the latest technologies that could help ment Dialogues 2014’ on 25 September in New York to rice farmers increase their production. Quick links to draw global attention to the vital roles of agriculture, Facebook and Twitter are also included. livestock, fisheries, landscapes and food systems in sustainable development. The event also urged global leaders to think more broadly about climate-smart October agriculture. AfricaRice was well represented at this important event. French embassy poster competition AfricaRice research assistant Bachabi Fatima received AfricaRice mobile app becomes ‘App of the Week’ a Scientific Poster award in the competition organized Infinite Monkeys made the AfricaRice app its ‘App of by the French Embassy in Benin, IRD and CIRAD. the Week’ for 28 September to 4 October. She was ranked sixth. Each week Infinite Monkeys selects one app from the AfricaRice sets up shop in the home of the lemurs thousands published with its free app-maker platform. The AfricaRice app was chosen as an example of the AfricaRice has deployed two scientists to Madagascar: quality, beauty and usefulness that mobile apps can senior rice breeder Moussa Sié (transferred from bring to a traditional community. The app has 16 Benin) and high-altitude rice breeder Negussie AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 59 Zenna (transferred from Tanzania). Sié is country any change in Africa’s rice sector will begin with coordinator, based at Centre National de Recherche innovation from AfricaRice.” Appliquée au Développement Rural (FOFIFA) headquarters in Antananarivo. Zenna is sharing an office with the upland rice breeders of FOFIFA and Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) at the FOFIFA station in Antsirabe. Madagascar is the second largest rice producer in Africa (after Nigeria). Everywhere you look there is rice — lowland, irrigated, upland, high elevation. AfricaRice is providing backstopping and training to FOFIFA. For the first year, AfricaRice is concentrating on the medium- and high-elevation areas, particularly the Amoubary–Ivory hub, which covers both ‘lowland’ and upland rice. A particular focus is on red forms FAO assistant director­general and regional representative of Oryza glaberrima, with a drive to evaluate all for Africa Bukar Tijani (second from left) with (left to right) red-rice landraces available in the genebank and the AfricaRice Genetic Diversity and Improvement Program leader hubs. There will also be participatory varietal selection Takashi Kumashiro, AfricaRice interim director general Adama Traoré, and FAO representative in Benin Yo Tiémoko (PVS) activities in the hubs, especially with red-rice farmers, and Sié will be shuttle breeding between West Africa and Madagascar. “Madagascar forms a bridge between Africa and Asia,” says Sié. “It has a rich genebank that is not well maintained or used.” FAO delegation visits AfricaRice FAO assistant director-general and regional represent- ative for Africa Bukar Tijani visited AfricaRice temporary headquarters in Cotonou on 22 October. After detailed discussions and presentations, Mr Tijani was taken on a tour of the facilities, including the fields AfricaRice grain quality specialist John Manful (left) describes and postharvest workshop. the briquette­making process to a visitor to the AfricaRice booth at the Fourth International Rice Congress FAO is seeking to build a broad partnership with governments, the private sector, research institutions, Fourth International Rice Congress producer organizations and donors to develop an AfricaRice was well represented at the Fourth efficient, productive and sustainable rice-growing International Rice Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, sector in the continent. from 27 October to 1 November. “AfricaRice will be a key partner in this initiative, AfricaRice scientist Gaudiose Mujawamariya and as recommended by African ministers of agriculture research assistant Esther Leah Achandi received the and other partners,” said Tijani. “We believe that Young Rice Scientists Award. 60 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 November and its partners with support from donors, particularly Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Rice diseases workshop Development (DFATD), displayed at the exhibition. AfricaRice also fielded a panel of Dr Traoré, head of From 24 to 26 November, AfricaRice, CIRAD and the grain quality unit John Manful and postdoctoral IRD co-organized a workshop on rice diseases, fellow Sali Atanga Ndindeng to respond to questions ‘Improving epidemiology and disease diagnosis for about rice production, quality and imports in Africa. sustainable management’, in Montpellier, France. The workshop was funded by GRiSP and (a) initiated the development of robust, cost-effective and transportable epidemiological surveys and diagnosis protocols; (b) designed the framework of an international network of rice pathologists taking into consideration continental/regional specificities (mainly targeting Africa); and (c) established the African Network of Rice Pathologists. The workshop provided an opportunity to review the results and progress of the current GRiSP project on ‘Methodologies and new resources for genotyping and phenotyping of African rice species and their pathogens for developing strategic disease resistance breeding programs’ The AfricaRice panel at the Second National Meeting of Small (MENERGEP). and Medium­sized Enterprises, Cotonou, November Discussions focused mainly on: standardized protocols for diagnosis, genotyping and phenotyping of the Celebrating FARA main rice diseases; pathogen isolate collections: A ‘Celebrating FARA’ event was held in Johannesburg, rules, management and backup strategies; pathogen South Africa, from 26 to 28 November. As part of the epidemiological surveys: a multi-pathogen approach CGIAR-led Agricultural Technology Fair, AfricaRice and better connection with the Africa-wide Rice posters and publications were prominently displayed Breeding Task Force and rice sector development at the CGIAR booth. An AfricaRice delegation was hubs in Africa; and emerging diseases: symptoms, led by interim director general Adama Traoré. distribution and diagnosis tools. UEMOA 20th anniversary seminar at AfricaRice AfricaRice showcases improved seed, machinery The West African Economic and Monetary Union and tools (UEMOA) resident representative in Senegal, Fatimata AfricaRice showcased improved seed, machinery Sawadogo, gave a lecture at the AfricaRice training and tools, and interim director general Adama Traoré center in Saint-Louis, Senegal, on 28 November made a speech at the Second National Meeting of as part of UEMOA’s 20th anniversary activities. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME/PME) of Sawadogo presented UEMOA’s current activities, its Benin held at the Palais des Congrès, Cotonou, 10–14 achievements and ongoing challenges. Both Institut November. Participants showed keen interest in the sénégalais de recherches agricoles (ISRA) and Société range of rice technologies developed by AfricaRice d’Aménagement et d’Exploitation des terres du Delta et AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 61 des vallées du fleuve Sénégal et de la Faléme (SAED) suggested that the project should focus more on the were also represented at the seminar. dissemination of research results in the next step. The review made a number of recommendations that Mid-term review of the Canada-funded food are being implemented by AfricaRice, in particular: security project • the design, planning and implementation of the In November and December 2014, there was a mid- extension activities should be as participatory as term review of the Canada-funded project ‘Enhancing possible, involving key rice value-chain actors to food security in Africa through the improvement of rice ensure broad buy-in and ownership of the improved postharvest handling, marketing and the development harvest and postharvest techniques; of new rice-based products’ commissioned by the • NARS should establish a system of regular contact donor. The review panel comprised M&E expert with ‘trained’ persons to discover and address any Ouadi Youssef and consultant Serge Eric. The review issues that may cause them to stop being active as team members visited Benin, Cameroon and Senegal, trainers. meeting AfricaRice staff and partners (Institute of Agricultural Research for Development [IRAD] and ISRA). The project is also active in The Gambia, December Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda. New video On 4 December, AfricaRice launched a new 11-minute video, From harvest to plate: Adding value to Africa’s rice, based primarily on the Canada-funded food- security project (see ‘November — Mid-term review of the Canada-funded food-security project’, left and above). Review of the Sustainable Productivity Enhancement Program From 4 to 12 December, a CCER was held focusing on the Sustainable Productivity Enhancement Program. Mid­term review panel for the Canada­funded project reviewing The review panel comprised: Andre Bationo, consultant rice­based products with AfricaRice PDF Sali Ndindeng based in Accra, Ghana, and CCER chair, who was focusing on soil fertility and general agronomy The overall assessment of the project was positive research; Anneke de Rouw, Institut de recherche concerning its relevance, and (to a fair extent) its pour le développement (IRD), Paris, France, who was governance approach, the progress made by partners focusing on weed research; and Cees van Diepen, in achieving most research results, and in adopting a Alterra, Wageningen, Netherlands, who was focusing gender-sensitive approach. However, the evaluation on crop simulation modeling and remote sensing. noted considerable room for improvement in a number Panel members talked to AfricaRice staff and partners of areas that limit the project’s ability to fully realize in Benin, Senegal and Tanzania. The report will be its inherent potential, particularly in relation to presented at the March 2015 AfricaRice Board meeting knowledge sharing and dissemination. The reviewers by the CCER chair. 62 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Financial statements Statement of financial position As at 31 December 2014 ASSETS 2014 (US$) 2013 (US$) Current assets Cash and cash equivalent 8,513,696 13,914,637 Accounts receivable: Donors 9,069,407 8,265,287 Employees (net of allowances) 631,312 536,290 Accounts receivable – CGIAR Centers 806,347 679,085 Others (net of allowances) 1,046,954 206,639 Inventories 361,196 319,740 Prepaid expenses 1,273,907 664,368 Total current assets 21,702,819 24,586,046 Property and equipment Property and equipment 13,146,677 15,103,741 Less: Accumulated depreciation (11,701,981) (14,472,074) Total property and equipment – Net 1,444,696 631,667 Total assets 23,147,515 25,217,713 LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 2014 (US$) 2013 (US$) Current liabilities Bank balances (overdraft) 21 Accounts payable: Donors 4,635,131 6,473,990 Employees 950,187 736,293 Accounts payable – CGIAR Centers 327,961 426,636 Others 468,122 556,356 Employees investment account 214,562 Provisions and accruals 3,606,940 3,694,520 Total current liabilities 9,988,362 12,102,356 TOTAL LIABILITIES 9,988,362 12,102,356 Net assets Unrestricted net assets: Undesignated 11,714,457 12,483,690 Designated 1,444,696 631,667 TOTAL NET ASSETS 13,159,153 13,115,357 TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS 23,147,515 25,217,713 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 63 64 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Statement of activity For the year ended 31 December 2014 (Expressed in US$) 2014 2013 Unrestricted CRP Non-CRP Total Unrestricted CRPs CRP Total Revenue and gains Grant revenue Window 1 & 2 — 10,198,151 0 10,198,151 — 9,484,716 — 9,484,716 Window 3 91,140 4,746,915 3,115,685 7,953,740 269,565 3,991,578 5,738,707 9,999,850 Bilateral 693,249 7,723,941 1,998,859 10,416,049 508,093 8,518,203 1,684,059 10,710,355 Total grant revenue 784,389 22,669,007 5,114,544 28,567,940 777,658 21,994,498 7,422,766 30,194,921 Other revenue and gains 707,099 — — 707,099 622,850 — — 622,850 Total revenue and gains 1,491,488 22,669,007 5,114,544 29,275,039 1,400,508 21,994,498 7,422,766 30,817,772 Expenses and losses Research expenses 1,014,703 17,307,740 3,224,396 21,546,839 12,007 16,179,643 3,197,722 19,389,373 CGIAR collaborator expenses — 237,553 — 237,553 — 108,560 — 108,560 Non-CGIAR collaborator expenses — 3,063,421 1,681,509 4,744,930 — 3,792,960 2,995,253 6,788,213 General and administration expenses 2,701,921 0 0 2,701,921 3,954,636 — — 3,954,636 Indirect cost recovery (2,268,932) 2,060,293 208,639 0 (3,143,125) 1,913,335 1,229,791 0 Other expenses and losses Total expenses and losses 1,447,692 22,669,007 5,114,544 29,231,244 823,517 21,994,498 7,422,766 30,240,781 Surplus (deficit) 43,795 0 (0) 43,795 576,990 (0) 0 576,990 Expenses by function Personnel costs 2,897,465 7,659,579 1,646,558 12,203,602 2,156,835 7,041,501 1,154,856 10,353,192 CGIAR collaboration costs 237,553 0 237,553 108,560 108,560 Other collaboration 3,063,421 1,681,509 4,744,930 3,792,960 2,995,253 6,788,213 Supplies and services 267,009 7,180,461 1,202,203 8,649,673 1,187,405 7,014,169 1,539,948 9,741,523 Travel 338,343 1,813,452 220,535 2,372,330 447,815 1,607,789 291,417 2,347,021 Depreciation 213,807 625,367 149,622 988,796 174,588 486,744 202,829 864,161 Cost-sharing percentage 28,880 5,478 34,358 29,440 8,673 38,113 Indirect cost recovery (2,268,932) 2,060,293 208,639 0 (3,143,125) 1,913,335 1,229,791 0 Total operating expenses 1,447,692 22,669,007 5,114,544 29,231,243 823,517 21,994,498 7,422,766 30,240,782 Schedule of grant revenues For the year ended 31 December 2014 (Expressed in US$) Donor1 and program/project Grant period Grant pledged 2014 annual 2013 annual (total) revenues revenues UNRESTRICTED GRANTS Japan Jan–Dec ’14 91,140 91,140 269,565 Member states contributions Jan–Dec ’14 693,249 693,249 508,093 Sub-total unrestricted grant revenues 784,389 784,389 777,658 Window 1 and Window 2 (W1/W2) funding CGIAR Research Program (CRP) grants CCAFS CRP total Jan–Dec ’14 366,565 366,565 397,470 GRiSP CRP total Jan–Dec ’14 8,715,042 8,715,042 7,602,000 GRiSP – IRRI bilateral projects Jan–Dec ’14 679,775 679,775 1,161,563 Sub-total 9,761,382 9,761,382 9,161,033 CGIAR Genebank CRP funding Fund Council genebank Jan–Dec ’14 406,315 359,740 323,683 Fund Council genebank (DRC) Jan ’13–Dec ’15 49,880 36,664 Fund Council genebank (CAR) Mar ’13–Dec ’15 48,720 40,365 Sub-total CGIAR Genebank CRP fund grants 504,915 436,769 323,683 Sub-total W1 and W2 CGIAR CRP funding 10,266,297 10,198,151 9,484,716 Window 3 (W3) funding Gates Foundation – RAM for rice cultivar improvement Nov ’13–Dec ’18 7,500,000 1,170,502 EU – RAP project Jan ’11–Dec ’14 3,187,903 1,108,169 905,947 EC-IFAD/CARD South–South collaboration Aug ’12–Sep ’14 551,200 192,614 293,850 IFAD – WCA Phase 2 Mar ’13–Mar ’16 1,470,000 381,567 370,659 Japan/UNDP-TCDC – Interspecific Hybridization Project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 210,000 105,351 411,954 Japan – Increasing quality project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 68,800 19,063 68,668 Japan – Development of interspecific progenies project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 60,200 19,595 83,922 1. Abbreviations are spelled out in the list that starts on page 102. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 65 Donor1 and program/project Grant period Grant pledged 2014 annual 2013 annual (total) revenues revenues Japan – High yield varieties in humid zone project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 60,200 34,360 102,852 Japan – Physiological & genetic investigation project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 33,000 30,147 139,715 Japan – Development of sustainable rice farming systems project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 17,000 17,502 82,059 Japan – Breeding project Jan ’10–Dec ’14 8,000,000 1,602,800 1,424,041 Japan – Emergency project phase 2 Apr ’13–Mar ’15 9,000,000 3,081,293 5,738,707 Japan – RYMV project Apr ’14–Mar ’15 60,200 65,246 107,911 USAID – Seed scaling project Oct ’14–Sep ’15 1,960,000 34,392 Sub-total W3 funding 32,178,503 7,862,600 9,730,285 BILATERAL FUNDING ANR – ESCAPE project Jul ’11–Nov ’14 146,146 14,949 70,126 ACP – AfroWEEDS project Oct ’09–Oct ’12 348,469 21 –39 BADEA – Rice production training Nov–Dec ’13 64,710 –10,142 74,852 CAAS – Green Super Rice phase II Oct ’12–Oct ’15 1,300,000 439,410 589,050 Canada – Support to Rice Research in Africa Apr ’11–Mar ’16 7,136,573 934,967 1,749,713 CFC – Central Africa rice project Jan ’08–Dec ’12 2,309,560 2,106 –72,255 DFID – SCPRID project Sep ’13–Aug ’17 387,303 119,143 86,937 EU – Rice policy (Incremental Fund) Jun ’10–Dec ’13 2,700,222 60 174,614 Gatsby project Jan–Dec ’13 11,776 11,776 GCP – Rice Challenge Initiative Jun ’09–Nov ’15 2,687,634 238,255 767,008 GCP – Integrated Breeding Platform support Jan ’14–Dec ’15 120,000 71,946 GCP – Rice Challenge Initiative extension Dec ’14–Nov ’15 100,000 566 GIZ – GlobE project Jul ’13–Jun ’16 551,200 256,135 45,839 GIZ – CAUSA project Oct ’14–Dec ’16 608,000 GIZ – MICCORDEA Jan ’10–Dec ’13 1,600,937 131,237 GIZ – Attributed grant Jan–Dec ’14 286,003 286,003 307,853 AIDP – Liberia Oct ’12–Jul ’15 854,232 279,386 445,425 FTF – Ghana Feb–Dec ’12 292,783 253 –4,281 Africa Rising Apr–Dec ’12 170,000 –2,465 AfDB – SARD-SC May ’12–Nov ’16 15,500,500 2,784,219 1,919,598 AfricaRising – Tanzania project Dec ’14–Aug ’15 300,000 16,692 Gates Foundation – IRRI – STRASA phase 2 Mar ’11–Feb ’14 4,800,000 1,598,246 66 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Donor1 and program/project Grant period Grant pledged 2014 annual 2013 annual (total) revenues revenues GRiSP/IRRI–USAID – University linkage fund Jul ’13–Dec ’14 38,738 2,596 14,700 IRRI – STRASA phase III Apr ’14–Mar ’19 8,000,000 1,616,128 Japan – SMART-IV project Oct ’09–Sep ’14 3,055,239 409,131 545,228 Japan – CGIAR Fellowship program (Abe) Nov ’10–Feb ’11 12,700 5,807 Japan – CGIAR Fellowship (Michi) Jan–Dec ’12 7,192 6,420 Japan – Statistics project Oct ’12–Mar ’15 811,863 262,293 362,899 JIRCAS – Fellowship Nov–Dec ’12 51,560 665 Japan – SMART-IV phase 2 Oct ’14–Sep ’15 475,642 69,997 Mali LABOSEM – Seed lab audit project Jan ’12–Dec ’13 95,448 3,102 38,648 Nebraska University – GYGA project Feb ’12–Mar ’14 102,350 20,199 71,114 Nigeria Federal Government – RTA project Jan ’13–Dec ’15 1,666,170 587,555 848,133 IBRD–Sierra Leone government – WAAPP Sierra Leone Mar ’13–Feb ’16 2,164,528 430,892 220,968 IBRD–Liberia government – WAAPP Liberia Jul ’13–Jun ’16 1,540,112 408,992 3,746 CORAF/WECARD – WAAPP May ’13–Oct ’14 50,000 33,140 Nebraska University – GYGA project phase 2 Apr ’14–Mar ’15 75,000 69,613 CORAF/WECARD – WAAPP May ’14–Oct ’15 181,000 79,219 Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) – NRM evaluation Mar ’14–Oct ’15 103,000 76,486 UEMOA – PACER – Saint-Louis Center of Excellence project Aug ’12–Aug ’14 301,205 180,322 127,139 UEMOA – PAU project Jul ’14–Jun ’17 2,167,065 WOTRO – Parasite project Apr ’11–Mar ’15 139,923 23,207 44,419 GCP-NAM population – AfricaRice/CIAT Aug ’08–Dec ’13 138,950 23,098 Fund Council Genebank (RIN) Jan–Dec ’14 12,010 12,006 Sub-total bilateral funding 63,465,742 9,722,800 10,202,263 Total restricted grants 105,910,542 27,783,551 29,417,263 Total grant revenues 106,694,931 28,567,940 30,194,921 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 67 Board of Trustees (As at 31 December 2014) Chair Peter Matlon (USA) Vice-Chair Yo Tiemoko (Côte d’Ivoire) ‡ — outgoing Vice­Chair Momodou Ceesay (The Gambia) — incoming Vice­Chair Members Barbara Becker (Germany) ‡ Henri Carsalade (France) Thenjiwe Chikane (South Africa) Masa Iwanaga (Japan) Gordon MacNeil (Canada) * Sylvie Mbog (Cameroon) * Lala Razafinjara (Madagascar) Fatouma Seyni (Niger) ‡ Eric Tollens (Belgium) Ex-officio Adama Traoré (Mali), Interim Director General, AfricaRice * Joined in 2014. ‡ Left in 2014. 68 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Senior Staff and Associates (As at 31 December 2014) Office of the Director General Adama Traoré Interim Director General Marco Wopereis Deputy Director General, Director of Research for Development Serge Ebanga Internal Audit Manager Fidelia Aurore O. Babadjide Assistant to the Director General Corporate Services Division Denis Huneault Director of Administration and Finance Samba Soulé Bâ Administration and Finance Officer (Senegal) Ella Agathe Dama Bado Administrative Manager Nasra Saidana Mdee Administration and Finance Manager (Tanzania) Rougie Thomasi Head, Legal Unit Damtotine Tiem Administrative Support Services Officer Finance Unit George Maina Head of Finance Ayénan Janvier Doumatey Deputy Head of Finance Leny Mangonon Medenilla Budget and Planning Manager Bastou Agnide Salami Senior Accountant François Tosse Senior Accountant Akram Akanni Abiodou Sadikou * Senior Accountant Farouck Adosso * Financial Coordinator Gbènakpon U. Christson Azondekon * Senior Accountant – Grants Awa Jarjusey ‡ Consultant Human Resources Office Kelly M. Mbokeli Head of Human Resources Services Gabriel Dao Senior Human Resources Advisor Mathieu A.D. Kpadonou Human Resources Analyst Maimouna Gnougo Ouattara Human Resources Coordinator Hervé Félix Afanda Messi * Human Resources Officer Luc Hervé Zok A. Moubeke Administrative Assistant Josselyne Gogan Anani ‡ Regional Human Resources Officer Safiatou Yabré Manager, Travel and Liaison Gisèle Dago Chargé d’accueil et de l’orientation / Welcome Officer AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 69 Operations and Facilities Unit Klana Dagnogo Head of Facilities and Operations Mohamed Mouhidiny Abdou Purchasing Specialist Richelle Sandra Houngue * Head of Procurement and Supplies Maryana Yuno Compliance Logistician Information and Communications Technology Unit Moussa Davou ‡ ICT Manager Nadia Abbas Kazmi * Information & Communications Technology Unit Abdoulaye Sanwidi Systems Analyst Koffi Pascal Kpangui * Electronics Engineer René Christian Kacou * Senior Systems Administrator / Deputy ICT Manager Research Division Olupomi Ajayi Risk Management Coordinator / Project Coordination Support Maïmouna Diatta French Editor/Translator Emmanuel Onasanya Desktop Publishing Assistant Fassouma Sanogo Translator Genetic Diversity and Improvement Program Takashi Kumashiro Program Leader Kofi Isaac Bimpong Molecular Geneticist – Salinity Tolerance (Senegal) Ibnou Dieng Biometrician Khady Nani Dramé Molecular Biologist (Tanzania) Raafat El-Namaky Hybrid Rice Breeder (Senegal) Mamadou Fofana Drought Physiologist (Ibadan) Baboucarr Manneh Irrigated Rice Breeder (Senegal) Marie-Noëlle Ndjiondjop Molecular Biologist, Head of Genetic Resources Unit Saber El-Sayed Sedeek Upland Rice Breeder (Tanzania) Mandè Semon Upland Rice Breeder (Ibadan) Moussa Sié Senior Rice Breeder, Rice Breeding Task Force Coordinator ‡ Country Representative (Madagascar) * Drissa Silué Plant Pathologist Negussie Shoatec Zenna High-altitude Rice Breeder (Tanzania, later Madagascar) Ramaiah Venuprasad Rainfed Lowland Rice Breeder (Ibadan) Mounirou El Hassimi Sow PDF Molecular Genetics 70 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Yonnelle Dea Moukoumbi PDF Yield Potential in Irrigated and Aerobic Growth Conditions (Senegal) Honoré Kam * PDF Abiotic Stress (Nigeria) Sangeetha Kalimuthu Kannan Programmer (Tanzania) Oluwatoyin O. Afolabi Research Assistant Amakoé Délali Alognon Research Assistant Nana Kofi AbakaAmoah Research Assistant (Senegal) Cheikh Oumar Ly Research Assistant Plant Breeding (Senegal) Fatimata Bachabi Research Assistant Saidu Bah Research Assistant Popoola Bosede Research Assistant (Ibadan) Judith Hubert Research Assistant (Tanzania) Ghislain Kanfany ‡ Research Assistant (Senegal) Esther Delphine Makamte Pegalepo Research Assistant Daouda Mbodj Research Assistant (Senegal) Martin E. Ndomondo ‡ Research Assistant (Tanzania) Aderonke Adelola Oludare Adesida Research Assistant Plant Pathology Dro Daniel Tia Research Assistant Felix Waweru Research Assistant (Tanzania) Tiémoko Coulibaly * Program Assistant STRASA/GSR (Senegal) Sustainable Productivity Enhancement Program Koichi Futakuchi Program Leader and Crop Ecophysiologist Senthilkumar Kalimuthu Cropping Systems Agronomist (Tanzania) John Manful Grain Quality Specialist Mutsa Masiyandima Water Management Specialist (Senegal) Jonne Rodenburg Agronomist (Tanzania) Kazuki Saito Rice Agronomist Karim Traoré Grain Quality and Seed Systems Expert (Senegal) Pepijn van Oort Crop Modeler (Wageningen) Sander Zwart Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist Mohamed Abd Salam El Vilaly *‡ Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist Justin Djagba Research Assistant GIS Kodjo Soklou A. Worou Consultant Alpha Bocar Balde PDF Climate Risk Assessment (Senegal) Mamadou Cissoko PDF Weed Science (Field Fellow, Tanzania) Sali Atanga Ndindeng PDF Grain Quality and Postharvest Technology AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 71 Atsuko Tanaka PDF Soil Science Elke Vandamme ‡ PDF Agronomist (Field Fellow, Tanzania) Koffi Djaman * PDF Agronomist (Field Fellow, Senegal) Cyrille Adda Research Associate, Entomology Abou Togola Research Associate, Entomology (Ibadan) Amadou Touré Research Associate, Agronomy Olusola Morayo Adefurin Research Assistant Kokou Ahouanton Research Assistant Daniel Damson Elifadhili Research Assistant (Tanzania) Seth Graham Acquaah Research Assistant Y. Jean-Martial Johnson Research Assistant Yaha Perpetue Kouamé Research Assistant Derek Makokha Research Assistant (Tanzania) Cesse Valère Mel Research Assistant (Senegal) Francis Molua Mwambo ‡ Research Assistant Abibou Niang Research Assistant Oyetunji Olumoye Research Assistant (Ibadan) Abdoulaye Sow Research Assistant (Senegal) Bonaventure January Tesha Research Assistant (Tanzania) Fitta Silas Sillo * Research Assistant in Extension Agronomy (Tanzania) Edjrossè Justin Max-Didier Tchobo * Research Assistant in Agronomy Policy, Impact Assessment and Innovation Systems Program Aliou Diagne ‡ Program Leader and Impact Assessment Economist Rita Afiavi Agboh-Noameshie Gender Specialist, Gender Task Force Coordinator Aminou Arouna Impact Assessment Economist Attisso Kafu-Ata Attiogbevi-Somado Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Rose Edwige Fiamohe Agricultural Economist Jean Moreira Consultant Cara M. Raboanarielina Social Scientist, RAP Coordinator Emelina Nieva Caceres Bimpong Data Analyst and Computer Programmer Gaudiose Mujawamariya PDF Rice Value Chain (Field Fellow, Tanzania) Mandiaye Diagne PDF Agricultural Economist / Value Chain Specialist (Senegal) Enangnon Espérance B.E. Zossou* Agricultural Economist (Consultant) Esther Leah Achandi Research Assistant (Tanzania) Eyram Amovin-Assagba Research Assistant Abdoulaye Kaboré Research Assistant 72 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 M.M. Florent Kinkingninhoun Research Assistant Tebila Nakelse Research Assistant Maïmouna Ndour Research Assistant (Senegal) Partnership & Capacity Strengthening Division Samuel Bruce-Oliver Director, Partnership & Capacity Strengthening Issaka Yougbare Principal Administrative Assistant Rama S. Venkatraman Multimedia Designer Regional Stations and Offices Inoussa Akintayo Country Representative (Liberia) Boubié Vincent Bado Regional Representative in Senegal and Sahel Agronomist Amadou M. Bèye Representative in Côte d’Ivoire and Seed Systems Expert Paul Kiepe Regional Representative for East and Southern Africa (Tanzania) Francis Nwilene Regional Representative in Nigeria (Ibadan) Olufisayo Atinuke Kolade Research Administrative Manager (Ibadan) Seyi Olaoye-Williams Executive Assistant (Ibadan) Lansana Koroma Office Manager (Consultant, Sierra Leone) Rice Sector Development Program Mamadou Kabirou N’Diaye Program Leader (Senegal) Gbenga Akinwale Seed Systems Specialist (Abuja) Mohammed Moro Buri * Land and Water Management Specialist (Liberia) Paul Kofi Ayirebi Dartey * Rice Breeder (Liberia) Mansour Diop Research Assistant (Senegal) Thomas Dubois ‡ Rice Commodity Specialist Philip Atsaboghena Idinoba Agronomist / Water Management Specialist (Abuja) Bert Meertens Rice Research Coordinator (Sierra Leone) Mobio Modeste R. N’kou Research Assistant (Côte d’Ivoire) Chijioke Maduka Osuji Rice Value Chain and Postharvest Specialist (Abuja) Sidi Sanyang* Rice Commodity Specialist Ali A. Touré Agricultural Economist (Sierra Leone) Johnson Adedayo Adetumbi ‡ Consultant Boubakary Cissé Program Assistant Bernard Firmin Tano Research Assistant AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 73 Marketing & Communications Unit Savitri Mohapatra Head of Marketing and Communications Dohoué Yvette Singbo Dossa‡ Donor Relations Assistant Mazen El Solh Project Management and Resource Mobilization Officer Knowledge Management & Capacity Strengthening Unit Myra Wopereis-Pura Head, Knowledge Management & Capacity Strengthening Marc Winfried Bernard * Knowledge Management Specialist Lucie Marie-Chantal Dalie Training Assistant Collaborating Scientists Bertrand Muller Agro-climatologist (CIRAD, Senegal) Joël Huat Vegetable Agronomist (CIRAD) Philippe Menozzi Entomologist (CIRAD) Seiji Yanagihara Rice Breeder (JIRCAS) Olivier Husson * Systems Agronomist/Agro-ecologist (CIRAD) *Joined in 2014 ‡ Left or changed job title in 2014 AfricaRice team members and partners 74 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Postgraduate trainees Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Abebrese, Samuel Oppong University of Ghana, Ghana M IRRI PhD Characterization and utilization of novel Legon salinity tolerance donors from traditional African rice varieties using the approach of whole-genome sequencing Addison, Monica Kwame Nkrumah Ghana F AfDB PhD Impact of technology introduction in University of the rice value chain on gender roles and Science and balances Technology (KNUST), Ghana Agbeleye, Opeyemi Adeola University of Ibadan, Nigeria F Gates PhD Genetic analysis of anaerobic germination Nigeria Founda- in rice tion Amayo, Robert Makerere University, Uganda M IRRI PhD Characterization of pathogen– Kampala, Uganda host–environment relationships for Magnaporthe grisea in Uganda Amponsah, Shadrack KNUST, Ghana Ghana M AfDB PhD Post-harvest and mechanization: The role of mechanization towards competitiveness of locally-produced rice Bah, Saidu University of Free The Gambia M Japan PhD Estimation of outcrossing in rice using a State, South Africa morphological marker Basse, Blaise Waly Université Gaston Senegal M EU PhD Évaluation de l’impact des variétés Berger, Saint-Louis, Senegal Bilaro, Atugonza Luta Sokoine University Tanzania M Japan PhD Genetic improvement of rice (Oryza of Agriculture, sativa) for phosphorus deficiency Morogoro, Tanzania tolerance Bissah, Matilda N. University of Ghana Ghana F WACCI PhD Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) tolerant to salinity in rice (Oryza sativa) from traditional African donor and improvement of some popular varieties in Ghana Danvi, Alexandre University of Bonn, Germany M Japan PhD Hydrological impact of rice intensification Germany in inland valleys AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 75 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Dibba, Lamin University of The Gambia M IRRI PhD Assessing the impact of improved rice Henheim, Germany technology on household food security in The Gambia Diouf, Ndeye Seynabou Université Gaston Senegal F IRRI PhD The impact of NERICA varieties on food Berger, Saint-Louis, security — Role of gender in development Senegal strategies of rice Dossa, Sylvester Leibniz Universität, Benin M BMZ/ PhD Molecular analyses of the interaction of Hannover, Germany GIZ rice and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae under climate change — The effect of temperature and drought Duku, Confidence Wageningen Ghana M EU PHD Ecosystem services analysis in West University, African inland valleys Netherlands Gaye, Sokhana Rokhaya Université Gaston Senegal F IRRI PhD Approche genre dans les chaines de Berger, Saint-Louis, valeurs du riz en Afrique au Sud du Senegal Sahara : L’intégration du genre dans la chaine de valeur du riz au Sénégal Gayin, Joesph Kwesi Guelph University, Ghana M IRRI PhD How differences in rice starch properties Canada affect functional and nutritional properties of indigenous and improved varieties Hinnou, Leonard Cossi Université Benin M AfDB PhD The role of multi-stakeholder platforms d’Abomey-Calavi, (MSPs) in ameliorating the rice value Benin chain Kabiri, Stella Wageningen Uganda F WUR PhD Understanding how host–parasite University, interactions for economically important Netherlands parasitic weed species in rainfed rice are differentially affected by present and expected future environmental conditions Kante, Nouwodjro Université Gaston Senegal M AfDB PhD Effects of agricultural contracts on the Berger, performance of the rice value chain Saint-Louis, Senegal and improvement of living conditions of actors: The case of the Dagana area (Senegal) 76 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Konate, K. Abdourasmane Université Burkina M GCP PhD Identifying morphological features and d’Abomey-Calavi, Faso physiological processes as an integrated Benin overall strategy for tolerance to water deficit in rainfed lowland rice Kondayen, Arsene Université CAR M Japan PhD Création variétale et amélioration d’Abomey-Calavi, génétique des plantes Benin Koudamiloro, Augustin Université Benin M Japan PhD Caractérisation et étude biomoléculaire d’Abomey-Calavi, des insectes vecteurs de la panachure Benin jaune du riz (RYMV) au Bénin. Perspective de contrôle avec l’huile de neem Kremer, Johanna Bonn University, Germany F GIZ PhD Modelling production potential and Germany constraints of rice and maize cultivation in East African wetlands Kwesiga, Julius Bonn University, Germany M GIZ PhD Rice production in the Kilombero flood Germany plain, Ifakara, Tanzania: Effect of water regime and cropping intensity on grain yield and nutrient flows Montcho, David Université Benin M IRRI PhD Diversité et bases génétiques des d’Abomey-Calavi, traits liés à la vigueur végétative et à Benin l’adaptation du riz africain aux différentes conditions hydrauliques Nanfumba, David Makerere University, Uganda M AfDB PhD Yield gap assessment and development of Uganda baskets of good agricultural practices with rice farmers Ncho, Akahoua Simon University of Côte M WUR PhD Assessing current and future economic, Wageningen, d’Ivoire social and environmental impacts of Netherlands parasitic weeds in rice in sub-Saharan Africa Ndaw, Faye Omar Université Cheikh Senegal M IRRI PhD Study of the salt tolerance using Anta Diop, Saint- suppression subtractive hybridization Louis, Senegal microarrays and genetic transmission of this character in rice AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 77 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Ndour, Daba Université Cheikh Senegal F Gates PhD Tolérance du riz au froid Anta Diop, Saint- Founda- Louis, Senegal tion Niang, Abibou University of Bonn, Senegal M IRRI PhD Modeling the effect of nutrient Germany management on rice yield in rainfed upland environment in Africa Nwobodo, Cynthia University of Nigeria Nigeria F AfDB PhD Effectiveness of communication tools in disseminating rice technologies Ogoundele, Simon Codjo Université Benin M AfDB PhD Enhancing value addition through d’Abomey-Calavi, contracts, marketing and branding of rice Benin products Onaga, Geoffry Georg August Uganda M BMZ/ PhD Impact of climate change on pathogen University, GIZ diversity, and rice gene expression in Göttingen, Germany response to Magnaporthe oryzae Oumarou, Souleymane University of Ghana, Nigeria M WACCI PhD Breeding rice (Oryza sativa L.) for salt Legon tolerance in Niger Paresys, Lise University of France F EU PhD Ecological intensification of farming Wageningen, systems in inland valleys of Benin Netherlands through rice and vegetables Sangare, Jean Rodrigue Université Mali M GCP PhD Effets du déficit hydrique chez le riz à d’Abomey-Calavi, l’aide d’une population biparentale : Benin paramètres agromorpho­physiologique et identification des QTLs impliqués dans la tolérance Santos, Carline Université Benin F IRRI PhD Analyse de l’influence des conditions agro d’Abomey-Calavi, écologiques de cultures sur la résistance Benin du riz aux insectes de stock au Bénin et possibilité d’amélioration de la qualité par étuvage Shaibu, Abraham Attah University of Nigeria M GCP PhD Assessment of the utility of Oryza Nigeria, Nsukka glaberrima in drought tolerance rice breeding 78 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Sikirou, Mouritala Université Benin M Japan PhD Genetic analysis of iron-toxicity tolerance d’Abomey-Calavi, in rice Benin Tippe, Dennis Wageningen Tanzania M WUR PhD Developing and disseminating locally University, adaptable and socially and economically Netherlands acceptable strategies for prevention and damage control of parasitic weeds in rainfed systems in sub-Saharan Africa Traoré, Abou Pennsylvania Guinea M EU PhD Understanding how multi-stakeholder State University, platform processes promote value chain University Park, innovations in the inland valley systems Pennsylvania, USA Tusekelege, Hezron Sokoine University Tanzania M BMZ/ PhD Pyramiding five bacterial leaf blight of Agriculture, GIZ resistance genes using MAS into TXD306 Morogoro, Tanzania variety in Tanzania Wiredu, Alexander Nimo University of Ghana M IRRI PhD Impact of a fertilizer subsidy program on Hohenheim, farm-level productivity and food security: Germany A case study of rice producers in northern Ghana Yebas, Lydie Marie Françoise Université Congo F Japan PhD Étude de l’adaptabilité du riz pour d’Abomey-Calavi, l’intensification de la riziculture dans Benin différents écosystèmes de la République du Congo et perspective d’amélioration génétique Ziegler, Susanne Bonn University, Germany F GIZ PhD Agricultural use of wetlands scrutinized Germany on sustainability and yield potential — Rice production in the Namulonge inland valley: Effect of different cropping systems on yield and nutrient flows AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 79 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Abiba, Omar Moussa Université Benin F AfDB MSc Innovation platforms in the local rice d’Abomey-Calavi, value chain for food security and Benin increased income: The case of Bantè and Glazoué in Benin Adegbola, Nadege Université Benin F IRRI MSc Revue de politiques commerciales d’Abomey-Calavi, mises en œuvre par les exportateurs Benin et producteurs pour atteindre l’autosuffisance : quelles leçons pour le Bénin ? Adegoute, Crepin Faculté des sciences Benin M Japan MSc Évaluation de la qualité physico­chimique agronomiques et culinaire de quelques variétés de riz (FSA), Université étuvé commercialisées dans certains d’Abomey-Calavi, marchés du sud du Bénin Benin Adjibogoun, Rodrigue Université Benin M IRRI MSc Étude des caractères génétiques des d’Abomey-Calavi, lignées de riz obtenues par marqueurs Benin moléculaires Agossadou, Arsene Juste Université Benin M Canada MSc Impact du tarif extérieur commun sur d’Abomey-Calavi, l’offre, la demande du riz et sur le revenu Benin des producteurs au Bénin Akindejuoye, Oludola S. University of Ilorin, Nigeria M IRRI MSc Economic analysis of the nature and Nigeria performance of contractual arrangements in the rice value chain: Case of Nasarawa and Benue States of Nigeria Akintayo, Titilola O. Kwame Nkrumah Togo F IRRI MSC Caractérisation de différentes collections University of Science de la variété Jasmine 85 au Ghana and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana Akodegnon, Gildatte Fifamé FSA, Université Benin F UEMOA MSc Évaluation de la qualité physico­chimique d’Abomey-Calavi, et culinaire de la variété Sahel 108 en Benin fonction de la fertilisation minérale et de l’incorporation des résidus et paille de blé 80 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Akoto, Hannah F. KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana F IRRI MSc Process development and product Ghana characteristics of extruded rice (milled and parboiled) and soybean snack Ambaliou, Olounlade O. Université Benin M Japan MSc Impact of contract farming on income of d’Abomey-Calavi, rice farmers: Case of Zou and Collines Benin departments Antwi, Godfred University of Ghana, Ghana M Canada MSc An ex­ante analysis of the impact of Legon improved rice postharvest technology adoption on income of rice farming households in Ghana Assouma, Imorou Alidou Université Benin M IRRI MSc Analyse socio­économique selon le genre d’Abomey-Calavi, des effets de la variabilité climatique sur Benin les ménages riziculteurs du centre et du nord­ouest du Bénin Azilinon, Cendra Institut International Benin F AfricaRice MSc Professional training de Management (IIM), Cotonou, Benin Baffour, Leonora KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana F IRRI MSc Process development and product Ghana characterization of cowpea fortified extruded breakfast cereal from low-grade rice Balde, Gima Institut Supérieur de Guinea F UEMOA MSc La satisfaction des clients sur la qualité Management, Dakar, Bissau des grains Senegal Bates, Paulina Ancona Ghent University, Mexico M Erasmus MSc Business models in the rice value chain in Belgium Mundus Tanzania Biaou Olaye, Romaric Université Benin M Canada MSc Mécanisation de la riziculture en Afrique d’Abomey-Calavi, subsaharienne Benin Bizimana, Jean Pierre Makerere University, Rwanda M BMZ/ MSc Analysis of Xanthomonas oryzae pv Kampala, Uganda GIZ oryzae population structure and cultivar resistance in Rwanda AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 81 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Boucher, Alexandre Université Paris Sud France M IRRI MSC Caractérisation de la régulation naturelle II, France des principaux ravageurs des cultures dans un bas­fond rizicole du Bénin en saison sèche Chin, Rebecca McGill University, Canada F Canada MSc Construction of the pilot plant and the use Montreal, Canada of multimedia Cissé, Boubakary Université Gaston Mali M Japan MSc Analyse des Pôles de développement Berger (UGB), Saint- rizicole : cas des Pôles de Dagana Louis, Senegal (Sénégal) et du Kouroumari (Mali) Cissé, Cheikh Amalah Université Cheik Senegal M IRRI MSc Identification des QTLs liés à tolérance Anta Diop (UCAD), de riz (Oryza sativa L.) aux hautes Senegal températures dans une population en disjonction, obtenues du croisement NERICA L­20 / GIZA 178 Da Gloria, Khalid Université Africaine Benin M Canada MSc Recherche et étude des logiciels de des Technologies dessins 3D en mécanique et choix du plus et de Management adapté (UATM GASA- FORMATION), Benin Dairo, O. Sunday Federal University Nigeria M Japan MSc Phenotyping of selected Nigerian Pantoea of Agriculture, species isolates on potential differential Abeokuta, Nigeria rice accessions Daunal, Ibara Institut Sous- Cameroon M Canada MSc Accès au crédit comme une contrainte régional de majeure de commercialisation du riz local Statistique et au Bénin: facteurs déterminants d’Économie Appliquée (ISSEA), Yaoundé, Cameroon Dembele, Joseph Sékou Institut Mali M UEMOA MSc Gestion intégrée des engrais minéraux polytechnique rural et résidu de récolte dans un système de de formation et de production intensif de riz­riz­blé recherche appliquée (IPR/IFRA), Koulikoro, Mali 82 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Dembele, Mamadou Bréma IPR/IFRA, Mali M UEMOA MSc Agro-morphological evaluation of F3 lines Koulikoro, Mali derived from Oryza sativa × O. sativa for their high yield potential and adaptability to aerobic growth conditions Dembele, Moctar Institut International Burkina M EU MSc Caractérisation de la sécheresse des bas­ d’Ingénierie Faso fonds rizicoles au Burkina Faso à l’aide de l’Eau et de de la télédétection l’Environnement (2iE), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Diallo, Cheikh Omar UGB, Saint-Louis, Senegal M Gates MSc Identification des QTLs de riz impliqués Senegal Founda- dans la tolérance à des stress abiotiques tion Diarra, Aboubacar Université Mali M GCP MSc Effect of drought on the grain yield of d’Abomey-Calavi, the marker-assisted recurrent selection Benin (MARS) population and polymorphism survey on parental lines with simple sequence repeat markers Diarrisso, Makan IPR/IFRA, Mali M UEMOA MSc Agro-morphological characterization Koulikoro, Mali of high yielding varieties for their adaptability to aerobic growth conditions Diouf, Youssoupha École Nationale Senegal M UEMOA MSc Étude socio­économique des exploitations Supérieure agricoles familiales de la VSF, en vue d’Agriculture d’apprécier leur niveau de vulnérabilité/ (ENSA), Thies, résilience : Fanaye / Boundom Senegal Edikou, Koba Espero Université Benin M Canada MSc Diagnostic de la mini­rizerie de Kérou d’Abomey-Calavi, pour une meilleure gestion technique et Benin économique Ehirim, Bernard University of Ibadan, Nigeria M IRRI MSc Screening of Oryza glaberrima accessions Nigeria for tolerance to stagnant flooding Ekpo, Kotchikpa Faculté des Arts et Benin M Japan MSc Évaluation de la texture et corrélation Sciences Techniques, avec le taux d’amylose de quelques Université variétés de riz cultivées au Bénin et au d’Abomey-Calavi, Sénégal Benin AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 83 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Fantodji, Murielle Université Benin F Japan MSc Étude de la diversité génétique des d’Abomey-Calavi, populations Ouest africaines de Benin Magnaporthe oryzae (agent causal de la pyriculariose), pour un développement efficient et durable des stratégies de control de la maladie Fatognon, Irene FSA, Université Benin F Canada MSc Demande de riz et préférence des d’Abomey-Calavi, consommateurs au Bénin Benin Faye, Souhaibou ENSA, Thiés, Senegal M UEMOA MSc Effet du planage au laser sur la gestion de Senegal l’eau et le rendement du riz dans la Vallée du Fleuve Sénégal Forson, Lena University of Ghana, Ghana F Canada MSc Preference mapping and consumer Legon demand for rice in the Accra and Kumasi metropolis Furlan, Theo Montpellier France M EU MSc Évaluation ex-ante des performances SupAgro, France agro­environnementales des systèmes de culture riz­maraîchage dans les bas­fonds rizicoles du sud­Benin et du sud­Mali Gbebo, Espérance S.F. Dona FSA, Université Benin F UEMOA MSc Caractéristiques physico­chimiques et d’Abomey-Calavi, culinaires du grain des hybrides F1 et de Benin leurs parents Gnacadja, Kouassi Claude Université Benin M Canada MSc Caractérisation (agromorphologique et d’Abomey-Calavi, moléculaire) et évaluation des propriétés Benin nutritionnelles des variétés traditionnelles de riz africain Goudanaou, Zaineibou Institut Niger F UEMOA MSc Analyses génétique de la stérilité Polytechnique Rural male conduite par les facteurs de Formation et de environnementaux chez le riz Recherche Appliquée (IPR/IFRA), Katibougou, Mali 84 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Hamani, Mounkaila IPR/IFRA, Niger M UEMOA MSc Criblage et caractérisations génétiques Katibougou, Mali des lignées de riz pour la tolérance à la salinité Kaboyo, Solomon Makerere University, Uganda M BMZ/ MSc Distribution and population structure of Kampala, Uganda GIZ M. grisea in Uganda Kalisa, Alain Makerere University, Rwanda M BMZ/ MSc Distribution and population structure of Kampala, Uganda GIZ M. grisea in two hot spots in Rwanda Karama, Amira IPR/IFRA, Burkina F UEMOA MSc Gestion de la fertilité des sols et réponse Katibougou, Mali Faso du riz à la fertilisation minéral dans un système intensif riz–riz–blé au sahel Kayongo, Nicholas Makerere University, Uganda M Self MSc Farmer participatory variety screening for Kampala, Uganda Striga hermonthica resistance in upland rice in Uganda Kisanga, Peter Sokoine University Tanzania M AfDB MSc Estimation of demand and consumers’ of Agriculture, preferences for quality attributes of rice in Morogoro, Tanzania Tanzania Kossi, Kini Université de Burkina- M IRRI MSc Pathotyping of isolates of Pantoea sp., Ouagadougou, Faso RYMV and screening for resistance of Burkina Faso selected rice accessions in Togo Kumako, Koffi G. Jerry UATM GASA- Benin M EU MSc Impact des plateformes multi acteurs FORMATION, (PMA) sur la production et le revenu des Benin producteurs du riz au Bénin Lavinon, T. Ulrich UATM GASA- Benin M EU MSc Impact socio­économique de la vente FORMATION, groupée du riz par les membres des Benin plateformes multi acteurs (PMA) au Bénin Maganga, Reinfrid Martin Sokoine University Tanzania M GIZ MSc Analysis of population structure of of Agriculture, M. grisea and cultivar resistance in three Morogoro, Tanzania major rice-growing regions of Tanzania AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 85 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Mangane, Mary UGB, Saint-Louis, Senegal F Japan MSc Caractérisations physiologique et Senegal moléculaire de lignées parentales de riz (Oryza sativa) utilisées par AfricaRice dans des programmes de tolérance à la salinité Maureaud, Clémentine Montpellier France F INRA MSc Follow-up in-depth analysis of farm SupAgro, France systems typologies for scenarios in the Ambohibary hub, Madagascar (ScenaRice project) Mgendi, George Sokoine University Tanzania M AfDB MSc Comparative analysis of local rice of Agriculture, varieties to ascertain its marketing Morogoro, Tanzania efficiency in Tanzania: Case study of Kahama District Michodjehoun, Clementine Université Benin F IRRI MSc Étude des caractères génétiques des d’Abomey-Calavi, lignées de riz obtenues par marqueurs Benin moléculaires Montcho, Karel Isidore FSA, Université Benin M Japan MSc Influence du temps de récolte sur les d’Abomey-Calavi, propriétés d’usinage, les caractéristiques Benin physico­chimiques et culinaires de certaines variétés de riz O. glaberrima Montcho, Perrian A.A Institut IPR/IFRA, Benin M UEMOA MSc Caractérisation génétique de tous les Katibougou, Mali NERICAs pour la tolérance à la salinité Mwenda, Meshack Sokoine University Tanzania M BMZ/ MSc Analysis of population structure of of Agriculture, GIZ bacterial leaf blight and cultivar resistance Morogoro, Tanzania in three major rice-growing regions of Tanzania Ndongo, Houleymatou UGB, Saint-Louis, Senegal F UEMOA MSc Besoin en eau et efficacité d’utilisation de Senegal l’eau pour le riz dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal : Site de l’expérimentation station de Fanaye et Ndiaye Nguyen, Duy Nhiem University of Leuven Vietnam M IRRI MSc Phenotyping rice roots for P-uptake (KU Leuven), enhancing traits Belgium 86 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Oluwaseun, Dada Adenike University of Ibadan, Nigeria F IRRI MSc Varietal resistance of rice to blast Nigeria fungus Magnaporthe oryzae in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria Omotoyossi, Laleye Nabilatou École Polytechnique Benin F Canada MSc Relation entre la teneur en amylose et les d’Abomey-Calavi propriétés physico­chimiques, culinaires, / Université rhéologiques et texturales de quelques d’Abomey-Calavi, variétés de riz Benin Ongom, Joel Makerere University, Uganda M BMZ/ MSc Pathogenic diversity of Xanthomonas Kampala, Uganda GIZ oryzae pv. oryzae in Uganda and reaction of rice germplasm to the pathogen Popogbe, Oluwaseun Federal University Nigeria M Self MSc Physiology mechanism of drought of Agriculture, tolerance in some upland rice varieties at Abeokuta, Nigeria both reproductive and vegetative stages Ramos Pires, Ronize Ivan Université Dakar- Guinea M UEMOA MSc Stratégies financières à adopter pour Bouguiba, Senegal Bissau minimiser les coûts sur le marché du riz local en Afrique Sanya, Daniel Ruben Université Benin M IRRI MSc Caractérisation de l’isolat de d’Abomey-Calavi, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae Benin provenant de Tanguieta, partie nord du Bénin, sur certaines accessions de riz Seye, Adama UCAD, Dakar, Senegal M Gates MSc Détection de QTLs (au stade reproductif) Senegal Founda- pour l’amélioration de l’adaptation à tion la salinité en utilisant 3 populations recombinantes de riz en zone sahélienne Sodjinou, Bienvenu Université Benin M Canada MSc Performance de la chaîne de d’Abomey-Calavi, commercialisation du riz local au nord Benin Bénin Steinbach, Stefanie University of Bonn, Germany F EU MSc Validation and application of an algorithm Germany for characterizing inland valley systems using a digital elevation model (DEM) AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 87 Name and thesis topic Institution/ Country of Gender Sponsor Degree university origin Tennakoon, Wathsala McGill University, Canada F Canada MSc Construction of the pilot plant and the use Montreal, Canada of multimedia Viboudoulou Vilpoux Mervy ISSEA, Yaoundé, Cameroon F Canada MSc Impact de l’amélioration des technologies Cameroon post récolte du riz sur la productivité : Cas du battage Yank, Audrey McGill University, Canada F Canada MSc Construction of the pilot plant and the use Montreal, Canada of multimedia Yelome, Octaviano Igor Université Benin M Japan MSc Développement de nouvelles sources de d’Abomey-Calavi, résistance durable contre la panachure Benin jaune du riz á partir de l’espèce africaine Oryza glaberrima pour une gestion efficace des épidémies en champ Zipporah, C. Page Sokoine University Liberia F Gates MSc Genetic variation of iron-toxicity of Agriculture, Founda- tolerance in lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) Morogoro, Tanzania tion varieties 88 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 AfricaRice training programs Training courses conducted by AfricaRice in 2014 Theme Location and dates Total number of participants Formation sur la mise en place et la gestion des essais Saint-Louis, Senegal 28 21 & 23 January Training of seed producers, extension agents and technicians on Burkina Faso 80 techniques of production of certified seed and seed marketing 22 January to 3 February Video production and dissemination training Hohoe, Volta, Ghana 14 23–26 January 2014 GPS training Sierra Leone 8 23–24 January GPS training Liberia 11 27–28 January Training of seed producers, extension agents and technicians on Saint-Louis 26 techniques of production of certified seed and seed marketing 5–7 February Value chain analysis Sierra Leone 41 10–15 February Training to NARS partners/scientists on GAP testing, nutrient- Doho & Olweny hubs, 9 omission trials and mechanical weeder trial protocols Uganda 14–15 February Researchers trained on yield-gap survey protocol Namulonge hub, Uganda 13 17–19 February Site selection and validation (Smart-valleys) Atakpamé, Togo 17 17–21 February Training on data analysis for yield-gap survey and development of Cotonou, Benin 21 decision support system for nutrient management 18–21 February Data collection and sample analysis for generating consumer Cotonou 8 preference maps 18–21 February Formation sur la construction de la batteuse à riz ASI au Benin par Centre Songhai, Porto 12 AfricaRice Novo, Benin 24 February to 7 March Multi-stakeholder platform (MSP) facilitation training workshop Dassa-Zoumé, Collines, 17 Benin 5–7 March Site selection and validation (Smart-valleys) Kara, Togo 34 10–14 March Seed production training Bo, Sierra Leone 20 17–28 March Accountants’ training for AfricaRice partners (French) Cotonou 17 18–20 March AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 89 Theme Location and dates Total number of participants Farmers’ leaders training (Smart-valleys) Kétou, Benin 19 23–26 March Hands-on training in marker-assisted breeding conducted for Saint-Louis 4 researchers from Rokupr Agricultural Research Centre (RARC), 31 March to 11 April Sierra Leone Training on Validation AfricaRice Trial (VAT) protocol and rice Madagascar 8 garden trial protocol 30 April 2014 Formation des acteurs locaux sur la production et la certification Mouila, Gabon 21 des semences 13–19 April Training on experimental auctions Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 7 21–25 April Farmers’ field days for season 1: Exposure of local farmers to good Kilombero, Tanzania 90 agricultural practices (GAP) and farmers’ practices 22 April to 3 May Training on the selection and adoption of power tillers and two Niono, Mali 21 types of reapers 22 April to 4 May Farmers’ leaders training (Smart-valleys) Kara 28 23–25 April Formation sur la production du riz Saint-Louis 29 5–23 May Accountants’ training for AfricaRice partners (English) Cotonou 16 14–16 May SudBiotech 2014: Molecular breeding techniques and bioinformatics Cotonou 21 24 May to 2 June Accountants’ training for AfricaRice partners (French) Cotonou 18 4–6 June Second regional training/workshop on facilitation of the multi- Dassa, Benin 19 stakeholder platforms (MSPs) in the hubs 23–25 June Information and knowledge exchange facilitators training Calavi, Cotonou 16 25–27 June Nutrient-omission trials, good agricultural practices and Democratic Republic of 14 participatory weeder selection protocol Congo 3–5 July NARS participants trained on GAP testing, nutrient-omission trials Ethiopia 3 and mechanical weeder trial protocols 4–5 July Opérationnalisation de la collecte décentralisée des données et leur Saint-Louis 20 diffusion via les cyber­semences (Sénégal zone nord) 21–27 July Training on automation of socioeconomic data analysis Kigali, Rwanda 16 4–12 August Site maintenance (Smart-valleys) Kétou 17 11–13 August 90 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Theme Location and dates Total number of participants Training to NARS partners/scientists on GAP testing, nutrient- Gikongo 1 & 2 hubs, 7 omission trials and mechanical weeder trial protocols in Rwanda 12–13 August Formation sur l’automatisation de la collecte des données, l’analyse Cotonou 17 et l’évaluation d’impact 21–29 August Training course on data analysis and management Saint-Louis 15 25–29 August Exposure of local farmers to good agricultural practices for cowpea Kilombero 12 integrated in fields after rice harvest 2014 15–17 September Rice production course Dar es Salaam 25 15 September to 3 October Formation avancée sur l’analyse qualitative des données de Cotonou 7 l’enquête diagnostique – Benin 6–10 October Enumerators’ training for the PASIC project on yield-gap survey Tororo, Uganda 33 protocol 10–12 October Training on the use of MK Insight software Cotonou 9 20–22 October Training course on manufacturing the ASI thresher Saint-Louis 20 20 October to 9 November Farmers’ field days for season 2: Exposure of local farmers to good Kilombero 30 agricultural practices and farmers’ practices 22–25 October Clone – prévenir et détecter les fraudes Cotonou 16 23–24 October Training course on milling equipment Rosso, Mauritania 20 11–30 November Formation des agents de la DRDR et de FEPRODES sur la collecte Anambe, Senegal 8 décentralisée des données sur les semences et leur diffusion via les 18–20 November cyber­semences (Sénégal zone sud) Formation logiciel Système d’information géographique QGIS. Cotonou 15 Diversification des systèmes de culture et gestion agro écologique 24–28 November des bio agresseurs en Afrique de l’Ouest (Divecosys) Formation sur la gestion intégrée de la riziculture Saint-Louis 27 1–19 December Rice advice training Cotonou 6 8–10 December Formation écriture scientifique. Diversification des systèmes de Cotonou 17 culture et gestion agro écologique des bio agresseurs en Afrique de 15–19 December l’Ouest (Divecosys) AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 91 Publications* Papers published in peer-reviewed journals Afolabi O, Milan B, Amoussa R, Koebnik R, Poulin L, Szurek B, Habarugira G, Bigirimana J and Silue D. 2014. First report of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola causing bacterial leaf streak of rice in Burundi. Plant Disease, 98: 1426. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-14-0504-PDN Afolabi O, Milan B, Poulin L, Ongom J, Szurek B, Koebnik R and Silue D. 2014. First report of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola causing bacterial leaf streak of rice in Uganda. Plant Disease, 98: 1579. http://dx.doi. org/10.1094/PDIS-07-14-0745-PDN Agro A, Akissoe NH, Manful J, Mestres C and Hounhouigan DJ. 2014. Optimisation de la fermentation en milieu semi-solide pour la production d’ablo, pain cuit à la vapeur d’Afrique de l’Ouest. Journal of Applied Biosciences, 82: 7469–7480. Ahmadi N, Audebert A, Bennett MJ, Bishopp A, de Oliveira AC, Courtois B, Diedhiou A, Diévart A, Gantet P, Ghesquière A, Guiderdoni E, Henry A, Inukai Y, Kochian L, t Laplaze L, Lucas M, Luu DT, Manneh B, Mo X, Muthurajan R, Périn C, Price A, Robin S, Sentenac H, Sine B, Uga Y, Véry AA, Wissuwa M, Wu P and Xu J. 2014. The roots of future rice harvests. Rice, 7(29): 1–9. www.thericejournal.com/content/7/1/29 Akator SK, Adjata DK, Hode GY, Awande S, Dieng I, Séré Y and Gumedzoe YMD. 2014. Cultural and pathological studies of Pyricularia oryzae isolates at Abomey Calavi in Benin. Plant Pathology Journal, 13: 44–49. Akator SK, Adjata DK, Silué D, Awande S, Zadji L, Sangare G, Séré Y and Gumedzoe YMD. 2014. Pathological studies of Pyriculaira oryzae at M’be in Côte d’Ivoire and Ouedeme in Benin. Asian Journal of Plant Pathology, 8: 10–17. Asante BO, Wiredu AN, Martey E, Sarpong DB and Mensah-Bonsu A. 2014. NERICA adoption and impacts on technical efficiency of rice producing households in Ghana: Implications for research and development. American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 4(3): 244–262. Awan MI, Bastiaans L, van Oort P, Ahmad R, Ashraf MY and Meinke H. 2014. Nitrogen use and crop performance of rice under aerobic conditions in a semiarid subtropical environment. Agronomy Journal, 106(1): 199–211. Awan MI, van Oort PAJ, Bastiaans L, van der Putten PEL, Yin X and Meinke H. 2014. A two-step approach to quantify photothermal effects on pre-flowering rice phenology. Field Crops Research, 155: 14–22. Bentley J, Van Mele P, Okry F and Zossou E. 2014. Videos that speak for themselves: When non-extensionists show agricultural videos to large audiences. Development in Practice, 24(7): 921–929. doi:10.1080/09614524. 2014.942216. Bèye AM and Wopereis MCS. 2014. Cultivating knowledge on seed systems and seed strategies: Case of the rice crop. Net Journal of Agricultural Science, 2(1): 11–29. * The names of Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) authors are shown in bold 92 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Bimpong IK, Manneh B, Diop B, Ghislain K, Sow A, Amoah NKA, Gregorio G, Singh RK, Ortiz R and Wopereis M. 2014. New quantitative trait loci for enhancing adaptation to salinity in rice from Hasawi, a Saudi landrace into three African cultivars at the reproductive stage. Euphytica, 200: 45–60. doi:10.1007/s10681-014- 1134-0. Bimpong IK, Manneh B, El-Namaky R, Diaw F, Amoah NKA, Sanneh B, Ghislain K, Sow A, Singh RK, Gregorio G, Bizimana JB and Wopereis M. 2014. Mapping QTLs related to salt tolerance in rice at the young seedling stage using 384-plex single nucleotide polymorphism SNP, marker sets. Molecular Plant Breeding, 5(9): 47–63. Brévault T, Renou A, Vayssières JF, Amadji GL, Assogba-Komlan F, Diallo MD, De Bon H, Diarra K, Hamadoun A, Huat J, Marnotte P, Menozzi P, Prudent P, Rey JY, Sall D, Silvie P, Simon S, Sinzogan A, Soti V, Tamo M and Clouvel P. 2014. DIVECOSYS: Bringing together researchers to design ecologically-based pest management for small-scale farming systems in West Africa. Crop Protection, 66: 53–60. Calingacion M, Laborte A, Nelson A, Resurreccion R, Concepcion JC, Daygon VD, Mumm R, Reinke R, Dipti S, Bassinello PZ, Manful J, Sophany S, Lara KC, Bao J, Xie L, Loaiza K, El-hissewy A, Gayin J, Sharma N, Rajeswari S, Manonmani S, Rani NS, Kota S, Indrasari SD, Habibi F, Hosseini M, Tavasoli F, Suzuki K, Tumemoto T, Boualaphanh C, Lee HH, Hung YP, Ramli A, Aung PP, Ahmad R, Wattoo JI, Bandonill E, Romero M, Brites CM, Hafeel R, Lur H, Cheaupun K, Jongdee S, Blanco P, Bryant R, Lang NT, Hall RD and Fitzgerald M. 2014. Diversity of global rice markets and the science required for consumer-targeted rice breeding. PLoS ONE, 9(1). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0085106. Dada A, Togun AO, Adediran JA and Nwilene FE. 2014. Effect of compost on agro-botanical components responsible for rice (Oryza sativa) grain yield in southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability, 6(1): 88–109. Dada OA, Togun AO, Adediran JA and Nwilene FE. 2014. Growth, nutrient uptake efficiency and yield of upland rice as influenced by two compost types in tropical rainforest–derived savannah transition zone. Agricultural Sciences, 5: 383–393. doi:10.4236/as.2014.55040. Danbaba N, Ukwungwu MN, Maji AT, Ndindeng SA, Jiya AG, Danfulani S and Onyeneke EN. 2014. End- use quality of upland NERICA rice (Oryza sativa L) as affected by the addition of sweet cassava (low cyanide, Manihot esculenta) flour. International Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 4(3): 237–245. de Bon H, Huat J, Parrot L, Sinzogan A, Martin T, Malézieux E and Vayssières J-F. 2014. Pesticide risks from fruit and vegetable pest management by small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. doi:10.1007/s13593-014-0216-7. de Melo CMT, de Holanda NMA, Madari BE, Bastiaans L, van Oort PAJ, Heinemann AB, Soler da Silva MA, Petter FA and Meinke H. 2014. Biochar increases plant available water in a sandy soil under an aerobic rice cropping system. 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Conference papers and proceedings Agossadou AJ, Fiamohe R, Diagne A and Biaou G. 2014. Impact du Tarif Extérieur Commun (TEC) sur l’offre, la demande du riz et sur le revenu des producteurs au Benin. Paper presented at the Premier colloque de l’Association d’économie théorique et appliquée (AETA), Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November, 2014. Diagne A, Seck PA, Kinkingninhoun FMM, Alia D and Amovin-Assagba E. 2014. Adoption of improved rice varieties in Africa: Rates and areas estimates and their relative importance by growth environment. Paper presented at the 4th International Rice Congress (IRC2014), Bangkok, Thailand, 27 October to 1 November. Diagne A, Seck PA, Kinkingninhoun FMM, Alia D and Amovin-Assagba E. 2014. Adoption of improved rice varieties in Africa: Rates and areas estimates and their relative importance by growth environment. Paper presented at the First Colloquium of the Association of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. Fiamohe R and Diagne A. 2014. Analysis of marketing channels, costs and margins in West Africa: The case of Benin and Togo. Paper presented at the Premier colloque de l’Association d’économie théorique et appliquée (AETA), Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. www.ecoasso.org/articles/Fiamohe2_et_al.pdf Fiamohe R, Diagne A, Amovin-Assagba E, Ametonou F and Agossadou A. 2014. Farmer preferences for cooking characteristics of local rice and implication for food security in sub-Saharan Africa: A community- based evaluation approach. Paper presented at the Premier colloque de l’Association d’économie théorique et appliquée (AETA), Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. www.ecoasso.org/articles/Fiamohe1_et_al.pdf Kinkingninhoun MFM, Diagne A, Bonou A, Seck PA, and Amovin-Assagba E. 2014. Seed issue in rice farming in Africa: A survey in 17 countries on seed access and demand by rice farmers. Paper presented at the First Colloquium of the Association of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. 98 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 Kinkingninhoun MFM, Diagne A and Biaou G. 2014. Impact of use of credit in rice farming on rice productivity and income in Benin. Paper presented at the First Colloquium of the Association of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. Kinkingninhoun-M, Mahoukede F, Diagne A and Adegbola PY. 2014. Impact of NERICA adoption on productivity and income in Benin: Is there gender difference? Paper presented at the First Colloquium of the Association of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. Lokossou J, Fiamohe R, Arouna A, Diagne A and Biaou G. 2014. Agriculture and health: An overview of relationship between rice cropping systems and rice farmers’ health in West Africa rice sector development hubs. Paper presented at the First Colloquium of the Association of Theoretical and Applied Economics, Cotonou, Benin, 11–13 November. www.ecoasso.org/articles/LokossouAETA_Paper_Agriculture%20and%20health.pdf Raboanarielina CM, Kaboré A, Bengaly A, Dossouhoui F and Kinha C. 2014. The role of multistakeholder platform processes in promoting innovation in rice-based systems in West Africa. Proceedings of the AISA Workshop on Agricultural Innovation Systems in Africa, Nairobi, 29–31 May 2013. Randrianjafizanaka MT, Michellon R, Andrianaivo AP, Rodenburg J, Rakotoarivelo Njaramanana NM and Autfray PA. 2014. Multi-criteria approach in comparing conventional and conservation agriculture in rice– maize cropping systems in the degradable and Striga-infested soils of central Madagascar. Presentation at the Agroecology for Africa (AFA) conference, Antananarivo, Madagascar, 1–7 November. Rodenburg J, Michellon R, Andrianaivo AP, Randrianjafizanaka MT, Rakotoarivelo Njaramanana NM and Autfray P. 2014. Management of Striga asiatica in the vulnerable uplands of central Madagascar: Combining zero-tillage rice–maize cover-crop rotations with resistant varieties. Presentation at the Agroecology for Africa (AFA) conference, Antananarivo, Madagascar, 1–7 November. Schut M, Klerkx L, Rodenburg J, Kayeke JM, van Ast A and Bastiaans L. 2014. Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS): Constraints and opportunities for innovation in controlling parasitic weeds in rainfed rice production in Tanzania. Proceedings of the AISA Workshop on Agricultural Innovation Systems in Africa, Nairobi, 29–31 May 2013. Togola A, Silvie P, Seck PA, Menozzi P, Nwilene FE, Glitho IA and Chougourou. 2014. Effectiveness of essential oils of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Cymbopogon citratus in protecting stored rice against Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Sitotroga cerealella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). IOBC/WPRS Bulletin, 98: 203–211. Proceedings of the meeting in Bordeaux, France, 1–4 July 2013. Vandamme E, Renkens M, Smolders E and Merckx R. 2014. A simple technique for studying root hair development under varying levels of buffered P supply. Poster presented at the Phosphorus in Soil and Plants 5th International Symposium, Montpellier, France, 1–3 September. Wiredu AN, Martey E and Fosu M. 2014. Describing adoption of integrated soil fertility management practices in northern Ghana. Paper presented at Tropentag 2014, ‘Bridging the gap between increasing knowledge and decreasing resources’, Prague, Czech Republic, 17–19 September. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 99 Reports and other publications Africa Rice Center. 2014. Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) annual report 2013. More than production: Policies for the African rice sector. Africa Rice Center, Cotonou, Benin. Africa Rice Center. 2014. Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) center development plan 2014–2020. Africa Rice Center, Cotonou, Benin. Africa Rice Center. 2014. Report of the 8th Biennial meeting of AfricaRice’s National Experts Committee (NECVIII), Grand Bassam and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 30–31 July 2012. Africa Rice Center, Cotonou, Benin. Centre du riz pour l’Afrique. 2014. Plan du développement du Centre, 2014­2020. Centre du riz pour l’Afrique, Cotonou, Benin. International Rice Research Institute. 2014. Special supplement for AfricaRice Science Week & GRiSP Science Forum, 24–28 Feb. 2014. Rice Today. Mohapatra S. 2014. Adapting to change. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 30–31. Mohapatra S. 2014. Adding value to Africa’s rice. Rice Today, 13(4): 30–31. Mohapatra S. 2014. Africa seeks ‘Marshall Plan’ for capacity building. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 26–27. Mohapatra S. 2014. A game changer in Africa’s rice agronomy. Rice Today, 13(3): 34–35. Mohapatra S. 2014. An interview with Peinda Cissé, Senegal’s mother of modern rice farming. Rice Today, 13(2): 38–39. Mohapatra S. 2014. Banking on Africa’s rice potential. Rice Today, 13(1): 34–35. Mohapatra S. 2014. Cameroon: Central Africa’s potential rice granary. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 6–7. Mohapatra S. 2014. Climate-smart rice for Africa. Rice Today, 13(2): 30–31. Mohapatra S. 2014. Decoding patterns of climate change and rice diseases. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 32–33. Mohapatra S. 2014. From tiger shrimp to rice. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 12–13. Mohapatra S. 2014. Giving an edge to young African researchers. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 10–11. Mohapatra S. 2014. Papa Abdoulaye Seck: An advocate of research for Africa’s development. Rice Today, 13(1): 36–37. Mohapatra S. 2014. Pockets of gold. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 28–29. Mohapatra S. 2014. Rice: Ethiopia’s millennium crop. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 14–15. Mohapatra S. 2014. Rice for peace. Rice Today, (Special supplement, February): 24–25. 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SMART­Valleys — A participatory and low­cost approach for rice development in inland valleys. 47 min 55 s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi0Gvm2AX88. MOOV-ON Productions. AfricaRice, [Cotonou, Benin]. Centre du riz pour Afrique. 2014. SMART­Valleys – Une approche simple, participative et peu coûteuse de developpment des bas­fonds. 48 min. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoxFhSccNLU. MOOV-ON Productions. AfricaRice, [Cotonou, Benin]. AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 101 Abbreviations ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states ADRAO Association pour le développement de la riziculture en Afrique de l’Ouest ( former French name of AfricaRice) AfDB African Development Bank AfricaRice Africa Rice Center AIDP Agriculture and Infrastructure Development Project ANAMBE Agence nationale d’appui au développement rural (Senegal) ANR Agence National de la Recherche ARICA Advanced Rice for Africa (varieties) ASI ADRAO–SAED–ISRA thresher–cleaner ATATC Agricultural Transformation Agenda Thresher–Cleaner (Nigerian version of the ‘ASI’ thresher–cleaner) BADEA Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany) CAAS Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences CAR Central African Republic CARD Coalition for African Rice Development CCAFS Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CRP) CFC Common Fund for Commodities CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture CIRAD Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (France) CORAF/WECARD West and Central African Council for Research and Development CRP CGIAR Research Program DEA Diplôme d’études approfondies (postgraduate degree) DFID Department for International Development (UK) DIIVA Diffusion and Impact of Improved Crop Varieties in Africa DRC Democratic Republic of Congo DRDR Direction régionale du développement rural (Senegal) ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States ESA East and Southern Africa ESCAPE Changements Environnementaux et Socio en Afrique : Passe, Présent et Future EU European Union F female FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FARA Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa FCFA CFA franc FEPRODES Fédération des groupements et associations des femmes productrices de la région Saint-Louis (Senegal) FMARD Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nigeria) FOFIFA Centre National de Recherche Appliquée au Développement Rural (Madagascar) 102 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 FTF Feed the Future GAP good agricultural practices GCARD Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development GCP Generation Challenge Program (CGIAR) GES Growth Enhancement Support (Nigeria) GIS geographic information systems GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GRiSP Global Rice Science Partnership GSR Green Super Rice (project) GYGA Global Yield Gap Atlas IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) ICT information and communications technology IER Institute d’économie rurale (Mali) IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IKEF information and knowledge exchange facilitator INERA Institut de l’envrionnement et de recherches agricoles (Burkina Faso) INRAB Institut national de recherches agricoles du Bénin IP innovation platform IRD Institut de recherche pour le développement (France) IRRI International Rice Research Institute ISRA Institut sénégalais de recherches agricoles (Senegal) JIRCAS Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences LABOSEM Laboratoires de semences LARES Laboratoire d’Analyse Régionale et d’Expertise Sociale M male M&E monitoring and evaluation MAS marker-assisted selection MICCORDEA Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change on Rice Disease Resistance in East Africa MSc Master of Science (postgraduate degree) MSP multi-stakeholder platform Mt million tonnes NAM Nested Association Mapping (project) NARS national agricultural research system(s) NCAM National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (Nigeria) NEC National Experts Committee (AfricaRice) NERICA New Rice for Africa (family of interspecific rice varieties for uplands) AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 103 NERICA-L New Rice for Africa (family of interspecific rice varieties for lowlands) NGO non-governmental organization PDF Post-Doctoral Fellow PhD Doctor of Philosophy (doctoral degree) pp. pages pv. pathovar PVS participatory varietal selection QTL quantitative trait locus R&D research and development RAP Realizing the agricultural potential inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan Africa while maintaining their environmental services RTA Rice Transformation Agenda (Nigeria) RYMV Rice yellow mottle virus SAED Société d’Aménagement et d’Exploitation des terres du Delta et des vallées du fleuve Sénégal et de la Falémé (Senegal) SARD-SC Multinational CGIAR Support to Agricultural Research for Development on Strategic Commodities in Africa (project) SMART-IV Sawah, Market Access and Rice Technologies for Inland Valleys STRASA Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa and South Asia TCDC Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (UNDP) UEMOA West African Economic and Monetary Union (Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine) UNDP United Nations Development Programme US United States USA United States of America USAID United States Agency for International Development WAAPP West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (World Bank) WARDA West Africa Rice Development Association ( former name of AfricaRice) WCA West and Central Africa WECARD West and Central African Council for Research and Development 104 AfricaRice Annual Report 2014 About CGIAR CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future. CGIAR re- search is dedicated to reducing rural poverty, increasing food security, improving human health and nutrition, and ensuring more sustainable management of natural resources. It is carried out by the 15 centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in close collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector. For more information, visit: www.cgiar.org The Centers AfricaRice Africa Rice Center (Cotonou, Benin) Bioversity Bioversity International (Rome, Italy) CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Cali, Colombia) CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research (Bogor, Indonesia) CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (Mexico, DF, Mexico) CIP International Potato Center (Lima, Peru) ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (Beirut, Lebanon) ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Patancheru, India) IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, DC, USA) IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (Ibadan, Nigeria) ILRI International Livestock Research Institute (Nairobi, Kenya) IRRI International Rice Research Institute (Los Baños, Philippines) IWMI International Water Management Institute (Colombo, Sri Lanka) World Agroforestry World Agroforestry Centre (Nairobi, Kenya) WorldFish WorldFish Center (Penang, Malaysia) Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) 01 B.P. 4029, Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire Telephone: (225) 20 21 01 20 Fax: (225) 20 22 01 33 E-mail: AfricaRice@cgiar.org www.AfricaRice.org