Newsletter, June 2025
Africa Rice Sector Update
CARD is a coalition of 32 Sub-Saharan African countries and 14 Development Partners. We are working together to double rice production in Africa by Year 2030.
🌾 CARD SECRETARIAT RETREAT IN NAIROBI
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. 👉 Click here to the full article
🌾 OVERVIEW OF THE GHANA RICE
An interview with the Director of Crop Services (DCS) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA)
Dr Solomon Ansah is the current Director of Crop Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and a Focal Point of the Ghana National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS). Before becoming the Focal Point the NRDS, Dr Solomon was a member of the task force team for several years. He was part of the team that drafted the strategy. In this interview conducted by the CARD Senior Regional Advisor, Dr Solomon gave an overview of the rice sector of Ghana, the challenges that are currently hindering the rapid development of the sector and what can be done to accelerate the development towards attaining the goal of the NRDS which is self-sufficiency in rice production by 2028.
👉 Click here to the full article
🌾 UNLOCKING RICE POTENTIAL: REGIONAL/COUNTRY ACTIVITIES
Finalization of the ECCAS Regional Rice Strategy: A Turning Point in Libreville, Gabon
Following the the Yaoundé workshop held in February 2025, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC) organized a second regional workshop from June 9 to 12, 2025, in Libreville. This session focused on the technical finalization of the Regional Rice Development Strategy (SRDR). The event marked a key milestone toward submitting a joint strategic document for a more sovereign, sustainable, and integrated rice sector in Central Africa. 👉Click here to the full article
Angola Working Week for Elaboration of National Rice Development Strategy (ENDA 2) and Concept Notes
The preparation of the National Rice Development Strategy (ENDA 2) and its respective Concept Notes in Angola commenced in March 2025 (week 3 to 7), with the assistance of the CARD Technical Coordinator and the reporter. However, this task was not fully completed during the referred period due to the need to update data to meet the current situation of the rice industry in the country. 👉Click here to the full article
The preparatory meeting in the operationalization of the NRDS2 in Ghana
The second Ghana National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS2) was revised in 2019 but was only validated in 2024. Recently, a working week was organized marking a significant step forward in the operationalization of the NRDS2. The concept notes working week was preceded by a two-day Subsector Intervention Element Matrix (SIEM) session. The objective of the SIEM was to identify critical gaps along the rice value chain to guide future interventions. This preparatory meeting was held on the 15th and 16th of May in Accra. It brought together 12 participants, all key members of the Ghana Rice Task Force. During the session, the task force team thoroughly reviewed the NRDS2 document to pinpoint persistent challenges hindering the development of the rice sector. Several needs were identified across all thematic areas—these were systematically documented in a comprehensive Needs Matrix. 👉Click here to the full article
Zambia Elaboration of Concept Notes
Zambia has developed its Third Generation National Rice Development Strategy (TNRDS) to run from 2022 to 2026 but the Concept Notes then developed were not implemented due to inoperability of the Task Force. With the appointment of a new Focal Point, NRDS activities have gained momentum. This included updating of the Concept Notes to align them with the current context of agricultural production in Zambia and with rice sector. 👉Click here to the full article
Check out all the recent developments on CARD activities. Our news includes coverage of major events and activities, programmes, and CARD engagement with its stakeholders. 👉Click here to see the news
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