Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El Sayed el Quseir presided Saturday 02/04/2022 over the 32th session of the Africa Rice Center’s (AfricaRice) ministerial council via videoconferencing.
In his remarks to the session, which coincides with the center’s 50th foundation anniversary, Quseir said that Egypt had come up with many innovations closely pertinent to rice cultivation practices, during its current chairmanship of AfricaRice.
These innovations, documented by over 340 research papers in international scientific journals, helped in improving crop yield, which had a positive impact on African rice farmers and enabled the center to clinch many scientific awards, the minister added.
Quseir also praised the efforts exerted by a committee of experts chaired by President of Egypt’s Agricultural Research Center Mohamed Soliman, to dedicate model rice fields for extension purposes in the center’s member states, commending also the committee’s capacity-building efforts in this vital sector.
He also urged member states and international donors to work for increasing research activities on climate-smart rice cultivation practices to improve water-use efficiency and reduce methane emissions, especially under the ongoing challenges of climate change and water scarcity.
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is a leading pan-African rice research organization committed to improving livelihoods in Africa through strong science and effective partnerships. AfricaRice is one of the 15 international agricultural research centers that are members of the CGIAR Consortium. It is also an intergovernmental association of African member countries.
The center was created in 1971 by 11 African countries. Today its membership comprises 28 countries. Its mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment.
Egypt has been chair of the pan-African body’s ministerial council since 2018.
Source: State Information Service Egypt