10th CARD General Meeting successfully completed in Madagascar

The 10^th CARD General Meeting (GM10) was held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, from March 9 to 12 with fruitful outcomes. 30 out of the 32 CARD Member Countries—excluding Sudan and Gabon— participated in GM10. In addition, 17 organizations from the CARD Steering Committee, along with the participants from the host country’s Ministry of Agriculture and distinguished guest speakers, attended, totaling over 160 participants.

Main entrance

The venue

Opening Remarks

Group photo

(the above photo on the left: Opening Remarks by Mr. Tiana Fabien Randriambololona, Secretary General, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock)

CARD Phase 2, a twelve-year initiative from 2019 to 2030, has now passed its halfway point. It was noted that while the target is to produce 56 million tons of rice in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by 2030, production in 2024 stood at only 38.3 million tons, with long-time stagnant productivity as a major cause. A wide range of discussions took place, including the dissemination of technology to rice farmers through research and development, the strengthening of seed systems, mechanization, and stimulating farmers through the market and value chain development, etc. To tackle these challenges, resources are needed. Therefore, it was agreed that the greatest efforts going forward will be focused on resource mobilization.

Comment from participant

In response to the rapid increase in rice demand and the growing importance of rice for food security, it was also agreed that to ensure sustainable rice development even after the completion of CARD Phase 2 in 2030, activities must be advanced by enhancing ownership among CARD member countries and strengthening alignment with continental agendas such as the Kampala CAADP Declaration.

At GM10, we held two new events. The first was the thematic sessions. We organized sessions on four key themes for advancing rice development—”inclusive rice farming (gender and youth)”, “climate change”, “sustainable enhancement of on-farm rice productivity”, and “rice marketing and trade”—and invited guest speakers to engage in robust discussions.

Inclusive rice farming

Climate change

Sustainable enhancement of on-farm rice productivity

Rice marketing and trade

The second was the “Stakeholder Meeting”. Individual Steering Committee Organizations and CARD member countries held meetings to exchange views for the realization of project ideas. We will follow up on these discussions to facilitate project development.

Stakeholders meeting

Finally, we conducted a field visit to observe research on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from paddy fields and improving productivity, as well as the “P-dipping” technique for efficient application of phosphate fertilizer.

Field trip

At GM10, the accession of five new countries—Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Somalia, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe—to CARD Phase 2 was officially approved. As a result, the number of CARD Member Countries has grown from 32 to 37.

Prior to GM10, 21^st CARD Steering Committee (SC21) was held to discuss the future direction of rice development in SSA. SC21 was attended by 17 SC organization and online participation of Islamic Development bank (IsDB).

SC 21 meeting

Whether we can meet the growing demand for rice in SSA depends on the advancement of CARD Phase 2. Let’s move forward with CARD Phase 2 together to feed Africa!