Researchers
under the Support for Agricultural Research and Development of Strategic Crops
(SARD-SC) have been meeting at the ongoing 6th African Agricultural
Science Week in Accra to draw more support from partners into project.
The
side-event on the theme “Partners, Possibilities and Prospects,” has boosted efforts
to transform agriculture in Africa.
The
SARD-SC project will raise the productivity of maize, cassava, wheat, and rice
by 20% in twenty selected countries in Africa.
The
plan is to reduce food importation from other continents and offer farmers
better access to markets, improve livelihoods, and tackle poverty through
enhanced capacities of beneficiaries to sustainable development in the region.
About
a million farmers will directly benefit from the project through its
innovations basket, while another million and half will be reached by project
spin off effects.
“Narrowing
the yield gap is key for African farmers, and it will help them to compete
globally and to feed themselves,” says Project Coordinator of SARD-SC, Dr Chrysantus
Akem, from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
Funded
by the African Development Bank with US$ 63.24 million, SARD-SC also aims to
create knowledge on the tested innovations with farmers in Benin, Côte
d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali,
Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The 5-year multi-CGIAR center initiative
will run until 2016, and will be co-implemented by three Africa-based CGIAR
centers: IITA, Africa Rice Center, and the International Center for
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
No comments:
Post a Comment