Dakar, Senegal
8 April 2013

The Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have committed to a stronger and more strategic partnership to harness the power of agricultural research-for-development in achieving food and nutrition security and in fighting poverty in Senegal.

“Food security is on top of our government’s priority. We are addressing this through initiatives to improve the production of millet, sorghum, maize and rainfed rice,” said Dr Macoumba Diouf, Director General of ISRA, during the visit of the ICRISAT Governing Board members and management to ISRA’s largest research station in Bambey and the Centre d’étude regional pour l’amélioration de l’adaptation à la sécheresse (CERAAS) near Dakar on 6 April.

“Coping with drought, poor soils and exposure to pests and diseases and climate change are some of the major challenges for research in Senegal,” Dr Diouf added in his comprehensive orientation briefing of ISRA’s crop research initiatives, challenges and successes. Highlighting the importance of rainfed agriculture in the country in which 96% of its workforce depends on, he led the ICRISAT team on a field tour of the Bambey station to show the different varieties of crops being tested in the harsh drylands of Senegal.

“Our partnership with ICRISAT through the years has been very beneficial to our country, highlighted by nearly 3,000 varieties of sorghum exchanged between ICRISAT and ISRA as well as nearly 200 varieties of groundnut and 100 varieties of pigeonpea,” stressed Dr Samba Thiaw, Director of the Centre National de Recherches Agronomiques de Bambey (CNRA – Bambey). Groundnut is one of the two most important sources of foreign exchange income in Senegal (along with cotton).

Dr Thiaw also acknowledged ICRISAT’s important role in ISRA’s research initiatives, particularly in varietal development and in training and capacity building of scientists in cereals, legumes and natural resources. He noted the many ISRA scientists who have spent time at the ICRISAT headquarters in India for training on crop breeding/improvement, opening vast opportunities for joint research undertakings.

“I am very excited to be here to witness the value of the ICRISAT and ISRA partnership. To see the many ICRISAT varieties being used in research here and benefiting the country and its people, this shows that we have chosen our partners well,” according to Dr Nigel Poole, ICRISAT Board Chair.

Dr Meryl Williams, ICRISAT Board member, noted the decades of collaboration between ICRISAT and ISRA that have generated a strong system for knowledge sharing and support in pursuit of a common commitment to improve the livelihoods of the poor.

ICRISAT Director General, Dr William Dar, meanwhile affirmed a strong support to elevate the partnership between ISRA and ICRISAT with the CGIAR Research Programs as the platform. ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.

ICRISAT is leading two global, strategic research partnerships – the CGIAR Research Programs on GrainLegumes and DrylandCereals “which aim to help provide nutritious, drought-resilient crops for the dryland poor.” In response to Dr Dar’s statement of support, Dr Diouf has offered to host the implementation of some CGIAR Research Program activities in Senegal.

Dr Dave Hoisington, ICRISAT Deputy Director General for Research, promised to explore leadership opportunities for ISRA through the CGIAR Research Programs, as well as to continue the capacity building program for ISRA scientists.

The ICRISAT Board members and management also visited the CERAAS, the regional research centre on improvementment of drought tolerance – a national center of ISRA open to regional cooperation. Dr Ndiaga Cisse, Director of CERAAS, pointed out that his organization, which focuses on crop adaptation to drought, benefits much from its collaborative work with ICRISAT on dryland cereals such as sorghum, pearl millet and fonio, as well as on legumes such as groundnut, sesame and cowpea.

ISRA is currently hosting ICRISAT’s 68th Governing Board meeting in Dakar, Senegal from 6 to 10 April. The field visit to Bambey on 6 April was part of the week-long activities of the Board. A partnership day/press conference is also scheduled on 8 April to celebrate the strengthened partnership between ICRISAT and its partners in the West and Central African region, as well as to discuss highlights of research and new opportunities for collaboration and sharing of expertise and resources among partners.

About ICRISAT
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics have over 2 billion people, and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT innovations help the dryland poor move from poverty to prosperity by harnessing markets while managing risks – a strategy called Inclusive Market- Oriented development (lMOD).

ICRISAT is headquartered in Patancheru near Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, with two regional hubs and five country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. www.icrisat.org

CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research Centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org 
 
About ISRA
The Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA) is a scientific and technological public institution under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Senegal. ISRA is the major institution of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) that conducts agricultural research at the national and regional levels. One of the main missions of ISRA is to initiate, facilitate, promote and coordinate scientific research and development in different agricultural sectors, especially on cereals and legume crops cultivated in the arid and semi-arid agroecological zones of Senegal. ISRA plays a key role in the dissemination of improved and environmentally sound technologies, responding to farmer and market demands. www.isra.sn
 

Website: http://www.icrisat.org

Published: April 9, 2013