Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) announced a 10-year strategic plan for reaching the goal of having 90 percent self-sufficiency of Africa in rice by 2020. According to AfricaRice Director General Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck, the plan shows that developing the rice sector can be a driver for economic growth across the continent. If successful, AfricaRice projects the following outputs:

• Rice production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will increase from 18.4 million tons in 2010 to 46.8 million tons by 2020.
• At least 11 million Africans (including rice farmers, consumers, processors and traders) will be lifted above the $1.25 poverty line by 2020 and about 5.6 million undernourished people will reach caloric sufficiency.
• New rice-based production systems will be sufficient to cope with climate change and increasing water scarcity.
• Sub-Saharan Africa will have improved R&D capacity by 2020 through increased number of fellowships and internships.

The plan is linked with the Millennium Development Goals, vision and objectives of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the system-level outcomes of the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers.

Read more at http://www.africarice.org/warda/newsrel-strategic-plan-feb12.asp.