Ibadan, Nigeria
26 October 2011
An African initiative backed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research aims to put the continent in the driving seat of research agenda on key crops.
The home grown initiative tagged ‘Support to Agricultural Research for Development on Strategic Crops in Africa (SARD – SC),’ is a product of experts from the African Development Bank with inputs from three international agricultural research centers—the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice).
Dr. Peter Hartmann, IITA Director General, says SARD-SC, offers a relevant and appropriate approach to helping Africa move forward its vision of a food-secure Continent.
According to him, the initiative is consistent with the African agenda on hunger, food security, agricultural research, and sustainable food systems as conveyed in the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP).
“Another principle worthy of note here is that SARD-SC is designed to help Africa benefit from global research. By this I mean that SARSD-SC will access research from around the world for the benefit of the Continent,” he added.
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