Kenya, June 2025

CARD retreat was held: in-depth discussions on the future direction of CARD Phase 2

From June 3 to 6, CARD Secretariat members (General Coordinator, Technical Coordinators, Regional Advisors and M&E Specialist) gathered for “CARD retreat” in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of the retreat was to discuss and confirm the future direction of CARD Phase 2. As CARD Phase 2 (2019–2030) has entered its latter half, all members thoroughly discussed what should be done in the remaining five and a half years.

The goal of CARD Phase 2 is to double rice production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (56m tons by 2030). Since 2019, rice production in SSA has been steadily increasing. This is the result of great efforts by the 32 CARD member countries. However, progress is significantly behind the pace required to achieve the goal of Phase 2. Considering the explosive increase in rice demand in Africa, it is necessary to accelerate the pace of increasing rice production. Therefore, we have reached consensus to strengthen CARD Phase 2 activities, specifically by further making efforts for implementation, namely enhancing resource mobilization following the formulation of NRDS/RRDS. The CARD Secretariat will provide as much support as possible to each CARD member countries and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) for fund mobilization.

It is also essential that rice development be sustained in the medium to long term. Therefore, we have confirmed that we will strive to strengthen the autonomy and ownership of each CARD member countries and RECs in promoting the NRDS/RRDS process. The aim is to enable them to advance the entire cycle of rice development on their own, even without or minimum support from the CARD Secretariat.

Furthermore, efforts are needed with a view to the completion of CARD Phase 2 in 2030. Rice is an indispensable food in Africa. As mentioned above, although rice production in SSA is steadily increasing, the growth in demand far exceeds this. As a result, the proportion of imported rice in consumption is increasing year by year, and now about 30% of the rice consumed in Africa is imported. In order to make rice development in Africa more sustainable, it will be necessary to position rice development within the Africa’s continental agenda and promote it over the long term. We have agreed that the CARD Secretariat plans to actively participate in events related to food security and food systems in Africa and internationally, and to broadly disseminate the importance of rice development and urgency of starting taking necessary actions.

Africa is the only region in the world where significant population growth is expected to continue until 2100. It is estimated that by 2100, one-third of the world’s population will be African. With economic growth and urbanization, explosive growth in rice demand is expected to continue. To significantly contribute to Africa’s future food security, the CARD Secretariat will work with 32 CARD member countries and the 19 CARD Steering Committee organizations including RECs, to strengthen CARD Phase 2 activities and promote rice development in Africa. On the final day of the CARD retreat, we had active discussions with Dr. Melanie Connor, Senior Scientist, Behavioral Science, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Africa Regional Office. We will continue these discussions and strive to further develop collaborative activities with IRRI.

Active discussions with Dr. Melanie Connor, Senior Scientist from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Africa Regional Office