Project News

Fentahun Mengistu, PhD (Director General, EIAR)

Ethiopia affords high focus to Rice as an important food security crop as can be demonstrated, among others, by the development of a national R&D strategy, and setting up of a unique center combining research and training- the National Rice Research & Training Centre (NRRTC). NRRTC, which its construction is close to completion, is stipulated to serve a national center of excellence for rice research, training and information dissemination for varied stakeholders. The new EIAR-JICA cooperation project, "EthioRice", has set off in November 2015 and is anticipated to leverage our efforts through assisting the functionality of the NRRTC. More specifically, it is expected to help us strengthen research, training & extension capacities via short- and long-term trainings, knowledge & skill transfer, and setting up basic research facilities. By doing so, the project is expected to help building a model rice research & training center that contributes to the rice industry development while the experiences gained and lessons learnt could be emulated to other research centers in the country.