On Monday, January 20, 2024, Matthijs van Eeuwen, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Côte d'Ivoire, participated in a joint economic mission of the European Union to Bouaké, the second-largest city in Côte d'Ivoire, as part of TeamEurope, alongside colleagues from Belgium 🇧🇪, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, and the EU delegation 🇪🇺.
During this mission, a visit was organized to the Africa Rice Center, a pan-African center of excellence dedicated to research, development, and capacity building in the field of rice.
Rice is the second-largest source of food energy in Africa, with demand increasing by over 6% per year, the fastest-growing rate on the continent. Despite this, Africa remains one of the largest importers of rice. Strengthening local production is essential to reduce this dependency and promote self-sufficiency. AfricaRice contributes to this goal by supporting food security and sustainable production.
The center collaborates closely with the NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research), Wageningen University & Research, and the KIT Institute, leveraging Dutch expertise in agricultural innovation and water resource management.