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Technical experts from around 20 rice seed companies will be trained in the production and marketing of hybrid rice seeds as part of a global campaign to boost rice production in West Africa. Held in the Senegalese city of Saint Louis from September 2 to 6, 2019, this capacity-building activity will bring together companies from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

The workshop is funded by the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development (PAIRED), an initiative funded byUSAID and implemented by CORAF, and AfricaRice as part of the Technologies for Agricultural Transformation in Africa (TAAT Rice Compact) funded by the African Development Bank.

Demand for rice is growing in West Africa and throughout Africa. Political leaders and development partners are constantly looking for ways to increase production to meet demand. Experts argue that the hybrid version of rice can increase production with lasting positive impacts on the region's food security.

Since the launch of the AfricaRice hybrid rice program in 2010, numerous high-yielding hybrid varieties have been developed in several African countries. For example, in Senegal, the aromatic hybrid rice variety (AR051H) was launched in 2017 by theSenegalese Agricultural Research Institute under the name ISRIZ 09.

The Saint Louis course will actively encourage private seed companies to collaborate with the public research institution to promote the development, production and dissemination of hybrid rice.

At the end of the meeting, an action plan for hybrid seed production will be drawn up to promote the adoption of this technology in the various countries of the region.

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