IRRI Opens Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office in Burundi

The new building was named after IRRI’s 

current director general, Dr. Robert S. Zeigler.

8 November 2013. The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has opened its Eastern and Southern Africa (E/SA) regional office in Burundi to help improve food security by boosting rice production in the region.

E/SA countries include 22 national states: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Madagascar and South Africa. Most of these countries are dependent on rice imports to meet growing domestic consumption.

The Burundi government has provided 10 hectares of land for the new IRRI regional office which aims to develop and test new varieties of rice suitable for eastern and southern Africa region. In 2011, IRRI helped Burundi develop two new rice varieties, Vuninzara (IR77713) and Gwizumwimbu (IR79511), which has found acceptance among farmers there due to improved milling quality and taste, IRRI says.

The new office will also aim to make Burundi a regional hub for high yielding, rice varieties that also have good grain quality. 

“I’m very optimistic that this new regional hub will substantially contribute to the development of the rice sector in Eastern and Southern Africa, and build our collaboration with our partners in Burundi and the greater region,” Dr. Robert Zeigler said.

Interim director general of AfricaRice Dr. Adama Traoré also attended and highlighted the importance of Asia-Africa knowledge exchange that has been made possible by the CGIAR Research Program on Rice, known as the Global Rice Science Partnership.

See also 07/12/2013 Agrilinks