AfricaRice at CARD's 10th General Meeting: From Science to Impact for Africa's Rice Self-Sufficiency

Picture 1: Dr. Prem Bindraban, AfricaRice Deputy Director General and Director of research and innovation, giving his speech during CARD's 10th General Meeting. (Credit: MINAE)

Antananarivo, Madagascar, March 10-12, 2026 — As Africa races toward the ambitious target of producing 56 million tons of rice by 2030, one message resonated clearly at the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) 10th General Meeting: technology alone will not get us there.

Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) Deputy Director General and Director of Research and Innovation, Dr. Prem Bindraban, led the Center's delegation to Madagascar with a frank assessment: "We have an enormous wealth of agro-technological solutions for Africa—sustainable, climate-smart, gender-inclusive innovations that create youth employment and exploit big data and AI. But having technological solutions alone is not enough."

The Challenge Ahead

CARD Phase 1 (2008-2018) successfully doubled Sub-Saharan Africa's rice production to 28 million tons across 23 countries. Phase 2, launched in 2019 with 32 member countries, aims to double production again by 2030. Yet current progress—37 million tons in 2024—falls short of the trajectory needed.

With Africa's population growing rapidly and climate change intensifying, the continent's food security hangs in the balance. Rice imports continue rising, draining foreign exchange and increasing dependency precisely when self-sufficiency matters most.

Beyond Technology: The Three Pillars of Impact

AfricaRice has evolved from a research center to a Research and Implementation institution, endorsed by African governments to work directly with ministries and national agricultural research systems. This transformation reflects a critical insight: having technological solutions—climate-smart varieties, AI-driven advisory tools, sustainable post-harvest technologies—is necessary but insufficient.

True impact requires three dimensions working together:

1. Technology: AfricaRice's wealth of solutions spans the entire value chain—climate-resilient varieties, gender-inclusive approaches, youth employment opportunities, and big data applications tailored to Africa's diverse agro-ecologies.

2. Business Opportunities: Creating "market pull" rather than relying solely on "input push." When farmers see profitable markets for their produce, they invest in inputs. Connecting producers to consumers, through business opportunities for actors in the rice value chain, drives productivity more effectively than supplying input and hoping for demand.

3. Social Constructs: Establishing farmer cooperatives, multi-stakeholder platforms, institutional innovations and evidence-based policy options to build social capital that enables all chain actors to work together effectively.

Prior to the workshop AfricaRice staff contribute to 4 parallel sessions: (1) Inclusive Rice Farming; (2) Climate Change (3) Sustainable enhancement of On-farm Rice Productivity; and (4) The Last Mile: Rice Marketing and Trading.

The Investment Gap: Drizzles Won't Grow Crops

Dr. Bindraban used a powerful metaphor: "With donor funding alone, we can only make it drizzle. But drizzles don't grow crops—we need rain. And only African governments can make it rain."

This isn't just rhetoric. AfricaRice's December 2025 Impact from Science Week brought together representatives from 30 African countries to align research priorities with specific national needs. The technologies, knowledge, and capacity exist. What's missing is the sustained investment from African governments to unlock this potential at scale.

Following the Malabo Declaration and the January 2025 Kampala CAADP Declaration, African governments have committed to building resilient agri-food systems. Now comes implementation—translating commitments into budgets, budgets into programs, and programs into the 56 million tons of rice that will reduce import dependency and strengthen food security.

Picture 2: Group picture of AfricaRice delegation at CARD's 10th General Meeting. (Credit: AfricaRice)

During this strategic meeting, AfricaRice interventions focused on four key areas:

• Market-driven approaches connecting producers to consumers

• Enhanced on-farm productivity through improved varieties and Good Agronomic Practices

• Climate resilience in rice-based systems

• Inclusive growth empowering women and youth in rice value chains, with the launch of a dedicated policy brief

• Evidence-based policy options to achieve rice value objectives

Working alongside CGIAR sister organizations—particularly IRRI and CIAT—and aligning with continental and regional institutions like ECOWAS and EAC, AfricaRice is building the institutional scaffolding for sustained impact.