Human resource development

Three PhD students (one each from Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria) will be supported by the project.

Two other students – from Burkina Faso (Mr Kam Honore) and from Nigeria (Miss Uzoma Chizoba) – have received grants from GCP for their training. Kam Honore was already engaged in PhD study at University of KwaZulu Natal when he received a six-month fellowship from GCP to perform one aspect of his PhD research project related to the characterisation of the Burkina Faso rice collection using microsatellite markers. It is anticipated that he will be recruited by as a rice scientist in his country when his PhD research is completed. Uzoma Chizoba received a scholarship from GCP to enroll for a 5-year PhD in rice breeding at the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI). After her coursework in Ghana, she will carry out a three-year research project on rice with the rice Research Initiative. She will contribute to the breeding programme of the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) in Nigeria

In addition to this individual support, group training will be conducted by AfricaRice through the Integrated Breeding Platform.

Infrastructure

Phenotyping: Facilities for yield and yield components will be developed in each target country (Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria), and at the AfricaRice research station near Cotonou. Facility for secondary traits and new tools and methods for drought tolerance will be first developed at AfricaRice; development in the three partner countries will be considered during the mid-term review of the project, on the basis of the preliminary evaluation of the outcome of the facility at AfricaRice, of the methodological adjustments needed, and of the ability of the country partners to sustainably run this considerably complex facility.