Africa Rice Center Operating Temporarily from Bamako

Africa Rice Center Operating Temporarily from Bamako
Tel: (223) 222 33 75; Fax: (223) 222 86 85; e-mail: warda@cgiar.org

Update on evacuation

In principle, all internationally recruited staff (IRS) and non-Ivorian senior General Services Staff (GSS) have been evacuated from Côte d’Ivoire.

Most of the evacuated staff are on leave to meet with their family members after the traumatic experience in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Center was able to retrieve essential equipment and all its vehicles from Côte d’Ivoire.

Update on the Center’s current operations

The Africa Rice Center is operating temporarily from Bamako with members of the senior Management team, a minimum number of finance and administration staff.

The last batch of scientists and support staff from Bamako who were waiting to go to Bouake when the crisis struck, are continuing their research activities in Bamako.

Work in the regional stations in Nigeria and Senegal has not been disrupted by the Ivorian crisis.

Networks and Consortia coordinated by the Center (ROCARIZ rice network for West Africa, ECARRN rice network for East and Central Africa, Inland Valley Consortium, African Rice Initiative) are functioning smoothly.

The Campus in M’be is intact and the genebank is continuing to operate with the help of local staff.

Next steps

An emergency meeting of the Center’s Board of Trustees will be held in Nairobi, 29 November – 2 December, to decide on the next steps.

Full operations are expected to resume in January 2005. Friends and partners of the Center will be kept informed of all the developments.

End-of-the-year leave

In keeping with its tradition, the Center will remain closed from 23 December 2004 and will reopen on 4 January 2005.