- CORAF and the European Union (EU) will, on Thursday, September 30, 2021, donate cars, laboratory, and computer equipment to the Environment and Agricultural Research Institute (INERA) at a ceremony to hold in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
- The equipment is delivered under the West Africa Breeding networks and Extension Empowerment project (ABEE), a five-year plant-breeding program funded by the EU to strengthen the resilience of rural communities in the Sahel to climate change.
- The ceremony would be officially presided over by the Minister of Agriculture of Burkina Faso in the presence of some financial and technical partners of CORAF.
Ouagadougou, September 25, 2021 — CORAF and the EU will, on Thursday, September 30, 2021, donate cars, laboratory and computer equipment to the Environment and Agricultural Research Institute (INERA) at a ceremony to hold in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
This equipment to include cars, motorbikes, electrical and computer equipment such as desktops, laptops, tablets, inverters, and laboratory equipment are expected to improve the overall working conditions and research environment of INERA plant breeders.
“Progress in plant breeding supports improved production. It helps with breeding crops that are resistant to pests, pathogens, and droughts. So you can understand that without the cutting-edge technology it would be harder for plant breeders in Burkina Faso and across West and Central Africa to breed crop varieties that can withstand the changing climate and resist the growing number of pathogens,” said Dr. Abdou Tenkouano, Executive Director of CORAF.
“This support is expected to equip researchers from Burkina Faso to devise crop varieties that are resilient to climate change and offer better yields, are more resistant to pests and diseases and above all, adapted to their local environment.”
Funding for the equipment is made possible by the EU through the “Developing Intelligent Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA)” project — an initiative that aims at contributing to climate-relevant, productive and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems in low and middle-income countries.
DeSIRA also seeks to support research and innovation projects in Africa and strengthening research capacities and governance of actors at national, regional, continental and global levels.
The official handing over ceremony is expected to be presided over by His Excellency Alkassoum Maiga, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, in the presence of several financial and technical partners.
INERA is CORAF’s foremost partner in Burkina Faso. The partnership between both institutions has resulted in improved construction and rehabilitation of agricultural research and development infrastructure in Burkina Faso; the strengthening of the capacity of agriculture research, developing high-yielding varieties; enhancing access to innovations and technologies by producers, increasing incomes of producers, and reducing in poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in rural areas.
CORAF and Burkina Faso have a long working relationship dating back to its founding in 1987. Presently, CORAF supports research in Burkina Faso via a couple of projects. In addition to the West Africa Breeding networks and Extension Empowerment project (ABEE) under which this equipment is being donated, CORAF is also supporting technology scaling up initiatives funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID West Africa).
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