Africa’s largest conference on the rice sector set to begin in Cameroon
From 21-24 October 2013, Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé will host the 3rd Africa Rice Congress, which is bringing together more than 650 participants from 60 countries – including 36 countries from Africa and 24 countries from outside Africa – to discuss recent developments in science and technology, policies, agri-business issues and investment opportunities relating to Africa’s rice sector.
The Congress comes at an important time as rice has become critical for food security and political stability throughout Africa. Despite recent increases in rice production in several African countries, the continent imported 12 million tons of rice in 2012 alone valued at US$ 5 billion. The critical challenge facing the African rice sector today is to enhance performance in production, processing and marketing.
With the theme ‘Rice Science for Food Security through Smallholder and Agri-business Development in Africa’, the Congress will provide a forum for representatives from the public and private sectors including rice experts, development partners, policy makers, investors, traders, processors and farmers to address this challenge.
Date
2013-10-21 - 2013-10-24
