[Nairobi, Kenya, June 2026]: AATF and AfricaRice have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the productivity, competitiveness, and resilience of Africa’s agricultural sector by increasing rice productivity, strengthening food and nutrition security, and reducing poverty across the continent.
Through this partnership, AATF and AfricaRice will work together to improve rice value chains and ensure that farmers have access to better rice technologies. The agreement is expected to boost rice production, improve food and nutrition security, and help African countries move closer to rice self-sufficiency.
Dr. Canisius Kanangire, the Executive Director of AATF, noted that the partnership agreement with AfricaRice will help raise agricultural productivity to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers on the continent, noting that AATF is keen on transforming farmers livelihoods in Africa through scaling of agricultural technologies.
“We stand at a crossroads in Africa’s food production journey, where population growth, climate change, and declining agricultural productivity continue to threaten food and nutrition security. By investing in agricultural innovations, we have a unique opportunity to transform African agriculture into a powerful driver of economic growth,” said Dr. Kanangire.
He added that smallholder farmers in Africa continue to face various constraints that hinder their ability to increase their yields, improve their incomes, and contribute to food security.
“We deliver our mission through a public-private partnership model, working with like-minded organizations and leveraging our collective strengths to create impact for farmers across Africa. We are therefore committed to building strong partnerships with governments, national and international research institutions, Regional Economic Communities, farmer organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders across the agricultural value chain to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions that improve farmers’ livelihoods.,” he noted.
Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, Director General, AfricaRice, noted that the pact will strengthen capacity and partnerships for rice research, development, and entrepreneurship in Africa, while also facilitating and promoting production, distribution, commercialization, and use of good quality seed of improved rice varieties, including hybrids.
He observed that the agreement will support in developing and promoting the sustainable use of productivity-enhancing technologies, including good agricultural practices and decision support tools for efficient use of inputs such as fertilizers.
“Through this partnership, we will work together with AATF to develop and promote mechanized tools and agricultural equipment to reduce drudgery in rice production, improve processing efficiency, and enhance the quality of locally produced rice,” said Dr. Manneh.
For Africa to deliver on its economic goals including job creation for the youth and women and to develop a competitive agricultural sector to improve people’s standards of living, the continent needs to adopt the critical use of new technologies such as the hybrid technology to boost Africa’s rice productivity.
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About AATF (www.aatf-africa.org)
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is an international not-for-profit organization established in 2003 to empower farmers across Africa with access to agri-food innovations and agricultural technologies that enhance productivity, strengthen food and nutrition security, and improve livelihoods. As a farmer-focused institution, AATF is committed to delivering practical, science-based agri-food innovation solutions that address critical agricultural productivity constraints and unlock the potential of African agriculture.
Working through inclusive public–private partnerships such as withgovernments, national research institutions, universities, private sector actors, farmer organizations and cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, civil society, financial institutions, and development partners, AATF facilitates the access, adaptation, development, delivery, and commercialization of transformative agricultural technologies. Its work spans the entire agricultural value chain—from research and product development to policy engagement, capacity building, and market linkages—ensuring that farmers benefit from technologies that are practical, affordable, sustainable, and responsive to their needs.
Over the past two decades, AATF has championed innovative solutions that have reached over 98 million farmers across 32 countries. Guided by a vision of a prosperous, resilient, and food-secure Africa, the organization believes that farmers deserve equitable access to cutting-edge technologies transforming agriculture globally. This enables them to sustainably intensify production, reduce hunger and poverty, and compete effectively in regional and international markets.
The AATF 2023–2027 Strategy, aligned with key continental and global frameworks including AU Agenda 2063, the Malabo Declaration, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, sets out an ambitious pathway focused on deploying Next Generation agricultural technologies while scaling proven innovations to accelerate agricultural transformation across the continent. To deliver on this mandate, AATF continues to leverage strong global and regional partnerships, including collaborations with leading academic and research institutions.
About AfricaRice (https://www.africarice.org)
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is a pan-African Center of Excellence for rice research, development and capacity building. It contributes to reducing poverty, achieving food and nutrition security and improving livelihoods of farmers and other rice value-chain actors in Africa by increasing the productivity and profitability of rice-based agri-food systems, while ensuring the sustainability of natural resources.
AfricaRice is one of 15 international agricultural research centers of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. It is also an intergovernmental association of African member countries.
It was established under the name “West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA)” by 11 African countries and officially began operating in 1971. Recognizing the strategic importance of rice in Africa and the effective geographic expansion of the organization, its Council of Ministers took a historic decision in 2009 to change the organization’s name to “Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)”.
Today AfricaRice’s membership comprises 28 African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda.
AfricaRice’s strength lies in its locally-tailored rice research-for-development capacity with on-the-ground knowledge and networks. The Center has led ground-breaking work on many fronts that is transforming the lives of millions of rural households in Africa. It has contributed significantly to boosting Africa’s rice sector through improved seeds, cropping practices, processing technologies, policy advice and capacity development.
The modus operandi of the Center is partnership at all levels. Its research and development activities are conducted in collaboration with various stakeholders—primarily the national agricultural research systems (NARS), academic institutions, advanced research institutions, farmers’ organizations, non-governmental organizations and donors—for the benefit of millions of African farmers and other actors of the rice value chain for whom rice means food and livelihoods.
Headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, AfricaRice has a staff complement of about 230 members, out of which 40 are internationally recruited staff, based in Côte d’Ivoire and in research stations in Madagascar, Nigeria and Senegal and in project sites in Liberia and Uganda.
AfricaRice receives funding from governments, foundations, international financial institutions, development banks, the private sector, as well as from the CGIAR Trust Fund.
For more information contact: George Achia, Communications Officer, East and Southern Africa, AATF; G.achia@aatf-africa.org ; +254 785 334163
