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If there was one wish for the stakeholders of the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) at the outset of the creation of the regional centers of excellence, it was to see them begin the process of collaborating and building the partnerships needed to catalyze essential innovations and technologies for the region's priority crops.

After many years of substantial investment in equipment, infrastructure and training, the Senegal-based Centre d'études régional pour l'amélioration à l'adaptation à la sécheresse (CERAAS) for dry cereals is now fully operational, thanks to PPAAO Senegal. It is now at the heart of vital research work on millet, maize, sorghum and other cereals.

"Today, it's impossible to envisage the possibility of research on dry cereals in West Africa without involving us," explains Dr Daniel Fonceka, former Scientific Director of CERAAS.

The Senegalese government, through the PPAAO, has not only built a new multi-purpose amphitheater for CERAAS, but has also contributed to the renovation of infrastructure at the research campuses associated with the regional center of excellence. The work undertaken includes:

• modernization of the BAME laboratory (Bureau d'Analyse Macro-économique de l'ISRA, Institut sénégalais pour la recherche agricole);
• rehabilitation of buildings and laboratories at the CNRA (Centre national de recherches agronomiques) in Bambey;
• Purchase of new equipment for the CERAAS laboratory;
• modernization of ITA laboratories(Institute of Food Technology).

(The CERAAS laboratory and the ITA mycotoxin laboratory have been ISO-certified thanks to considerable investment by the PPAAO.)

In doing so, the main aim of the WAPP was not only to create an enabling environment in which research excellence could flourish, but also to boost the morale of researchers and scientists. After decades of underfunding research and development (R&D) in West Africa, the WAPP felt it was vital to set R&D on a new winning trajectory.

Gain visibility

The multi-purpose amphitheatre on the campus of theSenegalese National School of Agriculture(ENSA) has a capacity of 200. In recent months, it has hosted international and national conferences on various aspects of dry cereals.

CERAAS managers claim that the new infrastructure has enabled them to better position the Centre among the most visible players in the ecosystem of regional and international research organizations, and to considerably improve their visibility.

"Less than a year ago, we couldn't organize a meeting for 80 people," maintains Dr Fonseca.

"But, thanks to the new buildings, we welcomed over 150 scientists, at the recent Future Innovation Lab international conference on collaborative research in sorghum and millet (SMIL)."

Asserting your leadership role

"We are committed to working with the research community to identify solutions for the future. This is the role we are called upon to play," continues Dr. Fonseca.

For those who were aware of the degrading state of research and development (R&D) before the advent of the PPAAO, you can admit that it has had a considerable impact over a relatively short period of time.

The WAPP funded both research operations and infrastructure at its nine specialized centers in West Africa. Based on an evaluation of nine criteria, these centers were to become regional centers of excellence. Since their creation, two of them have achieved this coveted status: the Regional Center for Dry Grains in Senegal and the Center for Roots and Tubers in Ghana.

CERAAS's status as an ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) regional center of excellence has enabled us to mobilize considerable resources for research on priority crops, and to strengthen collaboration and the dissemination of research results.

Rising stakes

CERAAS is located in Thiès, some 70 kilometers east of Dakar, the Senegalese capital. Its initial mandate was to provide technical solutions to mitigate the effects of drought on agricultural production. Together with other centers, it now leads research on dry cereals for the benefit of Senegal and the entire West African region.

The decline in millet production in the context of climate change means that its researchers have a vital mission to find solutions that will enable the population largely dependent on these cereals to become resilient and guarantee food and nutritional security.

Some excellent results generated by CERAAS

Since its creation, the regional center of excellence for dry cereals has developed over 20 technologies, five new bean varieties and two sorghum varieties. As part of its research into climate-smart varieties, the center has developed ten climate-smart peanut seed varieties, as well as other cowpea varieties. These technologies all contribute to helping farmers adapt to the effects of climate change. Eight permanent researchers work for CERAAS, while 70 others support the implementation of the research plan.