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Dakar, April 10 (APS) - Africa must promote scientific competitiveness by putting excellence at the heart of its approach if it is to qualify for ongoing and substantial research funding, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment, Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

Research is at the heart of the transformation of the agricultural world," said Mr. Seck, who chaired the 12th session of the General Assembly of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) in Dakar on Tuesday.

Agricultural performance must not be decreed, but built", said the Minister, adding that in Senegal, one of the building blocks of this construction is technological innovation.

For him, no matter what the agricultural investment, if there isn't a compass, or a change in attitudes and behaviors in the agricultural sector, which are induced by technological innovation, things won't be done differently or better.

It is in this sense that research must be at the heart of our efforts to transform the world of agriculture," insisted Minister Seck, pointing out that research is an ongoing process, a permanent activity.

To achieve this, a number of concerns need to be taken into account in order to achieve a better balance, the Minister pointed out, citing the creation of innovation systems to transform potential impacts into real impacts, and the existence of consistent, ongoing funding.

We need to be scientifically competitive, and put excellence at the heart of our approach to ensure consistent, ongoing funding," said Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

The third concern is to deepen the dialogue gap with policy-makers and users of research results, he stressed.

This means there is an urgent need to harness science, which must be everyone's business, working for everyone," he says.

The other is to develop synergies between universities and specialized agricultural research institutes, in order to tackle major development issues.

In addition, we are strengthening our cooperation with advanced research institutes.

We need to strengthen our cooperation. This will enable us to make the most of our scientific complementarity, in line with national, regional and continental priorities", said the Minister.

Among other aspects, he emphasized the need to deepen regional scientific and economic communities, which are major tools for integration.

We need to work a lot with these communities, in order to deal with the problems common to our area," he pleaded.

Speaking of agro-ecology, he suggested stepping up research to better reconcile socio-economic, environmental and public health issues, as the green revolution has shown its limits.

We need to invent another green revolution, reconciling the economy, the environment and science", emphasized the Minister of Agriculture, also calling for the development of capacities for anticipating climate change, so that "our agricultures are in a dynamic of uninterrupted growth".

SBS/OID/PON