Dr. Bubacarr Manneh, a Gambian was on Tuesday, 21st February 2023 appointed as the new Director General of Africa Rice Consultative Group in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He replaces Dr. Harold Roy Macauley who has served eight years as Director General of the West Africa Rice Center in Ivory Coast.
According to Business24 Africa in Abidjan, Dr. Manneh’s appointment was revealed at the 5th extraordinary session of the Africa Rice Group. He is now the West African representative of the International Consultative Agricultural Research group.
About AFRICA RICE CENTER
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is a pan-African Center of Excellence for rice research, development, and capacity building. It contributes to reducing poverty, achieving food and nutrition security, and improving the livelihoods of farmers and other rice value-chain actors in Africa by increasing the productivity and profitability of rice-based agri-food systems while ensuring the sustainability of natural resources.
AfricaRice is one of 15 international agricultural research centers of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. It is also an intergovernmental association of African member countries.
It was established under the name “West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA)” by 11 African countries and officially began operating in 1971. Recognizing the strategic importance of rice in Africa and the effective geographic expansion of the organization, its Council of Ministers took a historic decision in 2009 to change the organization’s name to “Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)”.
Today AfricaRice’s membership comprises 28 African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda.
AfricaRice’s strength lies in its locally-tailored rice research-for-development capacity with on-the-ground knowledge and networks. The Center has led ground-breaking work on many fronts that is transforming the lives of millions of rural households in Africa. It has contributed significantly to boosting Africa’s rice sector through improved seeds, cropping practices, processing technologies, policy advice and capacity development.
