The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated every 11 February, recognizes the vital contributions of women in STEM and promotes equal access and participation in scientific fields. Marking its continued impact in 2026 under the theme “Synergizing AI, Social Science, STEM and Finance: Building Inclusive Futures for Women and Girls”.

AfricaRice embarked on a transformative leadership journey with the launch of a five-day Leadership & Culture Workshop, bringing together managers and leaders from across the center to strengthen leadership capacity, align strategic direction, revive the team spirit and enhance operational effectiveness. This workshop marked a pivotal step in preparing AfricaRice for the next decade, as the organization advances toward its 2026–2035 strategy and reinforces its role in driving

The International Year of the Woman Farmer — a global call to action to support rural women and unlock their potential to transform agrifood systems, food security, and community resilience. AfricaRice and Ppartners are empowering women to drive Africa’s rice future.

Visit of Dr. Demba Sabally, Minister of Agriculture of The Gambia, and his high-level delegation to deepening strategic collaboration on rice self-sufficiency and food security in The Gambia and across West Africa.

Workshop for the institutional diagnosis of agricultural research centers and national institutions, held in December 2025 in Antananarivo.

AfricaRice participated in the national agriculture fair 2025, showcasing rice varieties being introduced to Liberia’s ecology - IR841, Orylux 6, CY-2, NERICA 4, and CB1.

AfricaRice and Kasetsart University partner to transform Africa’s rice sector. The collaboration was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding during the relaunch of the Thailand–Africa Initiative (TAI) in Bangkok.

Picture 1: Practical field tour and demonstrations. (Credit: AfricaRice) On October 19, 2025, Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)  in collaboration with its partners under the IsDB -funded Reverse Linkage project held a pivotal training workshop in Sierra Leone, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s rice seed sector. The workshop aimed to address persistent technical gaps limiting both the quality and quantity of rice seed production.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the Smart-Valleys approach is transforming lowland rice production with a solution that is both affordable and high-impact.

Sierra Leone marked a major milestone in its agricultural transformation as His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio officially released two new climate-resilient rice varieties developed by AfricaRice during a high-level visit to the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute

Through the KAFACI rice project implemented by The Korea-Africa Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI)-AfricaRice partnership, the 2025 KAFACI Africa Rice New Varieties has been recently released.

12-day practical workshop on the fabrication and deployment of solar–gas hybrid dryers—an innovative clean-energy solution designed to reduce post-harvest losses and enhance food quality across Africa.

Photo 1: Group photo  AfricaRice staff/ ICS-CAAS ( Credit photo : AfricaRice) Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire – November 16, 2025 , AfricaRice welcomed two senior rice breeding experts from the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS–CAAS)— Prof. Wensheng Wang  and Prof. Xu —to its M’bé Research Station in Bouaké. The high-level visit marks a significant milestone in expanding Africa–China scientific cooperation, particularly in rice breeding inn

Representatives from implementing institutions posed alongside the project donor partner – the EU Delegation to Liberia (Photo Credit: George A. Harris, AfricaRice) The EU-funded Seeds4Liberia project concluded a one-day steering committee meeting with project implementing partners, beneficiary stakeholders—including the Farmers Union Network and the National Rice Federation of Liberia—and the donor partner, the European Union delegation to Liberia, to finalize an operational

AfricaRice’s new Country Representative to Liberia, Mr. Moustapha Gaye. (Photo Credit: George A. Harris, AfricaRice)   Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) , a pan-African Center of Excellence for rice research, development and capacity building, has appointed Mr. Moustapha Gaye as new Country Representative to Liberia  and Coordinator of the EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project, led by AfricaRice .     Mr. Gaye comes to the position with over 30 years of international development expe

Photo 1:  Ratoon rice from AfricaRice agronomic experimental fields in Madagascar (Credit: AfricaRice). Madagascar is the largest rice producer in East Africa, where transplanting is the most predominant method for rice cultivation. Depending on the location, farmers grow rice once, twice, or even three times annually. Growing multiple seasons, however, usually comes with heavy workload, because it requires ploughing the fields and transplanting seedlings after each harvest.

High-Level Forum on Rice Self-Sufficiency in Africa – Cairo, 7-9 October 2025 Cairo, Egypt — The Journey to Rice Self-Sufficiency in Africa took a big leap forward at the High-Level Forum on Rice Self-Sufficiency in Africa: Peer-to-Peer Learning from Egypt's Experience , held from 7 to 9 October 2025  at the Safir Hotel in Cairo. The event was co-organized by the AfricaRice Center (AfricaRice)  and  the Agricultural Research Centre   (ARC) of Egypt and hosted by The Egypti

Group picture with participants and facilitators. (Credit: AfricaRice)   22 September 2025, Mbé, Côte d’Ivoire  – As part of the...

Photo 1. Participants of the training during practical session in rice fields. (Credit: George Harris, AfricaRice)   As part of national...

Handshake by Aliko Dangote (left) and Dr. Baboucarr Manneh (right). (Credit: AfricaRice) September 13, 2025, Lagos, Nigeria – Africa Rice...