Ivory Coast: The Government and FAO sign an agreement to improve rice grain local Capacity

Image Credit: KOACL

---

A signing of a convention on capacity building and sharing for the development of rice value chains took place in Abidjan between the Ivorian Government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ).

The State of Ivory Coast was represented by Gaoussou Touré , Minister of Rice Promotion and FAO represented by Samy Gaiji and the documents were initialed in the presence of officials from the ministry and those from FAO .

This project focuses on building training capacities in the field of rice value chains through study tours, workshops estimated at approximately USD 1,278,265, a grant from the Korean government. Its objective is to improve the local capacity of Côte d'Ivoire to develop competitive and inclusive rice value chains .

The project will be implemented directly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) over a period of 36 months starting in June 2020 and Côte d'Ivoire will benefit from organizations rice Korean and international icoles to strengthen the capacity of national experts and national research institutes and training.

Minister Gaoussou Touré said , This agreement signed with the FAO meets the specific needs due to the expertise of this international organization in the field of rice cultivation. I am delighted with the signing of this agreement and I have very good hopes that together we will build an economy around rice cultivation because it is a sector that needs colossal investments. And before investing, you have to do very good analyze.

Sam Gaiji, FAO Representative indicated that the first engagement between the two institutions is in line with the continuity of the technical assistance that FAO has been providing to Ivory Coast through the technical ministries for many years.

He said, FAO is also committed to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2, namely, eradicate hunger, ensure food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. It is in this context, and with regard to the importance of rice in the diet of populations on the one hand, and the Government's vision for the rice sector through the SNDR 2020-2030 on the other hand, which FAO has also made of support for the rice sector is one of these priorities. And is committed to supporting the MPR to achieve its objectives.

The FAO Representative recalled that an identical project had been signed between the organization and Ivory Coast, the implementation of which from 2015 to 2019 made it possible according to him to strengthen the commercial and management capacities of producer organizations, small businesses and other actors in the rice value chain (40 actors including 7 women) to acquire and install two parboiling units (improved GEM parboiling technologies) for the benefit of two groups of women parboilers.

Samy Gaiji finally announced that within the framework of technical cooperation for the 2020-2021 biennium, FAO will release US $ 150,000 for the financing of a project on the revitalization of the rice seed system in Ivory Coast.