Inauguration of Africa Liaison Office of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)

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The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) is located in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, with Dr. Kenji Iiyama as President. JIRCAS has set up recently its Africa Liaison Office in Accra, Ghana inside the premises of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

Its inauguration ceremony was held on 14th July 2009. During this event Dr. Masami YASUNAKA, vice president of JIRCAS was interviewed.

Recently, there has been an increasing expectation for Japans contribution to agricultural research in Africa since the creation of the Yokohama Action Plan during the TICAD IV Meeting held in May 2008, which states that Japan will provide assistance to the development of agricultural research, extension, and training services for the improvement of agricultural technologies for Africa such as for variety improvement and improvement of soil fertility.

Accordingly, JIRCAS research activities in Africa are being strengthened and its share for research in Africa has been increasing rapidly. Furthermore, JIRCAS will also join the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) as a member of the steering committee and hopes to contribute to research and development of rice technologies in Africa.

To strengthen the base and strategy of agricultural research activities in Africa hereafter, it is necessary to build a system that attaches great importance to the collaborative relationships among national and regional agricultural research organizations in Africa and research networks on both crop and subject basis.

Dr. Masami YASUNAKA answers the following questions:

1. What is JIRCAS' vision to collaborate with Africa
   
2. Why was Ghana and FARA choosen to establish a liaison office?
   
3. Is climate change one of JIRCA's research topics?
   

JIRCAS establishes its Africa Liaison Office in Ghana

14th July 2009. Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) establishes its Africa Liaison Office in Accra, Ghana -As a base station for agricultural research for Africa conducted by Japanese researchers-

Dr. Masami YASUNAKA Vice president of JIRCAS
presents the JIRCAS activities in Africa.


JIRCAS has recently set up its Africa Liaison Office in Accra, Ghana inside the premises of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). Its inauguration ceremony was held on 14th July and was attended by guests and representatives from regional offices of international organizations for agriculture, agricultural research institutes in Ghana, as well as staffs of Japanese organizations in Ghana.


A Regional Coordinator was assigned to the Liaison Office to carry out important tasks such as information collection and coordination of research activities, that are relevant to the fulfillment of its function as a base station for agricultural research for Africa conducted by Japanese researchers.

Dr. Monty Jones welcomes warmly the opening of the JIRCAS liaison office inside the premises of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa.

The main tasks of the Liaison Office are as follows:

Establishment of close relationships with the international organizations located in Ghana, such as FARA, FAO Africa Regional Office, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Ghana Office, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) West Africa Office, to enable efficient collection and distribution of wide-ranging information on the present situation of African agriculture by meeting with them and by having dialogs with them.

1. Collection and distribution of the latest information on agricultural research and on the needs for collaborative research by periodic visit to national agricultural research organizations, universities, and governmental organizations in West Africa.
2. Communication, coordination of and assistance for research activities of JIRCAS and concerned organizations in West Africa.
3. To introduce JIRCAS activities and to collect information by participation in the meetings to held in Africa.

Reference:

News of the ceremony on the JIRCAS webpage: Establishment of the JIRCAS Liaison Office in Africa

Africa’s Rice Production to Double

June 3-4, 2009 Tokyo. AGRA and JICA entered into a long-term pact that builds on the strengths of each organization to reach their ambitious goal.

The pact was formalized at the second General Meeting of the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD). Mr. Kofi Annan, Chair of the AGRA Board of Directors, attended the signing ceremony, along with Madam Sadako Ogata, President of JICA. Dr. Namanga Ngongi, Agra’s President, and Mr. Kenzo Oshima, Senior Vice President of JICA signed the agreement on behalf of their organizations.

CARD is a consultative group of major donors, rice research organizations and a number of other development entities, which together are working with 21 African countries to strengthen their ability to produce this valuable commodity. Current CARD members include AGRA, FAO, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), JICA, the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), NEPAD and the Africa Rice Center (WARDA). The main target of the CARD initiative is reflected in the Yokohama Action Plan, which was one of the main documents adopted at the recent TICAD IV (The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development) held in Yokohama, May 2008.

Since its inception one year ago, CARD has focused on supporting the efforts of 12 countries to develop more effective National Rice Development Strategies. This “first wave” of African rice producing nations includes Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.

With the support of the CARD Secretariat, which is hosted by AGRA, all 12 counties have produced the first versions of their strategies. During the CARD meeting, Coalition members will discuss how to best support the national plans while refining them through policy dialogues. In the coming year, CARD will work on similar strategies with the “second wave” of rice-producing countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, The Gambia and Togo).

Reference:
African Excutive 10/06 Africa’s Rice Production to Double

Japan pledges to help Africa double rice production

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Japan vowed Wednesday 27/05 to use its technological prowess to help African nations double rice production within a decade and ease the burden of soaring food prices.

Fukuda opened the conference by pledging to double aid by 2012 and offering four billion dollars in low-interest loans to develop infrastructure. Amid spiralling food prices that have triggered unrest in some parts of the world, Fukuda also promised to devote Japanese technology to help Africa double rice production over the next 10 years from the current 14 million tonnes.

A symposium hosted by Mrs. Sadako Ogata, the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was organised Tuesday 27/05 in advance of an African economic summit conference attended by some 100 heads of state of African nations, UN and international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Other members of the symposium included Jakaya Mrisho Kitwete, the President of Tanzania and the current head of the African Union, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former president of Mozambique and Donald Kaberuka, the President of the African Development Bank. Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University in New York delivered a video message to the symposium.

The panel members debated the current state of Africa's economic situation, the best ways to accelerate economic progress, the delicate balance between government controls and private enterprise and the lessons to be learned from Asia’s so-called economic miracle of recent decades.

References:

AFP 28/05 Japan pledges to help Africa double rice production

Japanese International Cooperation Agency New Initiative to Double Rice Production in Africa +

Africa Begins to See 'Light at the End of the Tunnel' in Fight for Economic Prosperity

World Bank Group, 27/05 Fukuda begins marathon talks with African leaders ahead of TICAD

Related:

World looks to Japan's rice mountain to ease crisis

Tokyo Int'l Conference on African Development (TICAD)

FARA is attending the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) held from May 28 to 30 in Yokohama, Japan.

Hundreds of delegates from all over the world, including over 40 heads of state of African countries are expected to attend the quinqennial event, under the theme "Toward a Vibrant Africa: A continent of Hope and Opportunity."

TICAD is a policy forum for African Development which Japan initiated in 1993 and has led with other co-organizers which consist of the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on African, the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank. A central feature of TICAD is the cooperation between Asia and Africa.

Since the inauguration in early 1990s, the TICAD meetings have evolved into a major global framework to facilitate the implementation of initiatives for promoting African development under the dual principle of African "ownership" and international "partnership".

The main objectives of TICAD are to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and their partners and to mobilize support for African-owned development initiatives. Summit-level meetings are held every five years, while four ministerial conferences and other meetings have been held in between.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2nd L, front), Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana (L, front) and Gabonese President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (3rd L, front) visit the booth of Ghana Shea Butter soap at the African Fair 2008 Opening Ceremony, during the first day of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in Yokohama, Japan, May 28, 2008. (Xinhua Photo/Ren Zhenglai)

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (C) and guests including Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba(5th L), Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana(4th R), take a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of African Fair 2008 in Yokohama, near Tokyo oJn May 28, 2008. This five-day fair opened here connected the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). (Xinhua Photo/ Kazuhiro NOGI/Pool)

The conference aims to mobilizes knowledge and resources of the international community in the core areas of boosting economic growth, ensuring human security and addressing environment and climate change issues.

TICAD IV is scheduled to conclude with the adoption of the "Yokohama Declaration", outlining guiding principles and approaches to African development among TICAD stakeholders, as well as the "Yokohama Action Plan and the Yokohama Follow-up Mechanism", laying out a road map for action-oriented initiatives with measurable targets.

Results from TICAD IV are expected to be fed into the G-8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit hosted by Japan from July 7 to 9, 2008.

References:

Xinhua, China 28/05 African leaders expect closer cooperation with Asia

Afrique en ligne, France 28/05 African heads of state flock to Japan for TICAD IV

Enhanced Africa Rice Development Initiative

A high – profile delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) visited FARA on 7th May to discuss the role of FARA in an initiative to enhance rice production in Africa. This initiative will be launched during the TICAD 4 meeting in Japan end of the month of May. The delegation comprised: Kenzo Oshima (Sr. Vice President), Yoshitaka Sumi (Group Leader Africa Group Rural Development Department), Kunihiro Yamuchi (Resident Representative), Masato Kumagai (Deputy resident representative), Akito Tatsuka (Project advisor – Agriculture and rural development).

This initiative with an overall strategy and a framework for action, is jointly proposed by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The initiative aims to respond to the increasing importance of rice production in Africa and to provide the international framework to assist self-effort of African countries to increase rice production, building on the existing policies and programs, such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and the Africa Rice Initiative (ARI).

Related:

JICA announcement 19/05 Project to Double Rice Production in Africa

"With world food prices soaring and global shortages increasing JICA has unveiled a project to double rice production in Africa within a decade. A symposium entitled Toward a Green Revolution in Africa will be held May 29 (15:00-18:00) at the Pacifico complex in Yokohoma, the headquarters of the forthcoming fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV). The symposium will include a panel discussion entitled "Toward a Green Revolution in Africa" and key speeches by JICA and leading African officials including Dr. M. Jones, the so-called father of a newly developed rice strain for the continent called Nerica."

Meeting between JIRCAS and FARA

24 September, 2007




PRESENT

JIRCAS

Satoshi Tobita
Hide Omae

FARA
FARA ED - Dr Jones
Sidi Sanyang
Wale Adekunle
Biopelo Freude
François Stepman
Aggrey Agumya

OBJECTIVES
· Enable the visiting JIRCAS team to learn about FARA (its structure, activities, research priorities/needs) and vice versa.
· Identify opportunities for partnership leading to the development of a collaborative project(s) that will add-value to ongoing FARA and JIRCAS projects.

Report of the meeting by Sidi SANYANG