CGIAR CENTERS IN SENEGAL RECEIVED THE VISIT OF DR. KWESI ATTA-KRAH

By Sokhna Sall Seck

The CGIAR centers in Senegal, received on 24 August 2022 at the IFPRI Africa Regional office based in Dakar, the former IITA Director for Country Alignment and Systems Integration (CASI), Dr. Kwesi Atta-Krah, (IITA). Dr. Kwesi is closely assisting Dr. Sanginga in his role of Director of CGIAR for West And Central Africa. The visit was coordinated by the Africa Rice Regional representative in Senegal, Baboucarr Manneh. The delegation included Issa Ouedraogo, (Country Representative of the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), Fousseini Traore (Senior Research Fellow for IFPRI), Abdrahmane Wane, (Regional Director of ILRI). The purpose of the visit was to update the situation of CG transition in the country which is part of a broader regional assessment tour to all CG centers offices in West and Central Africa.

During the visit the parties exchanged views related to identifying areas where improvements can be made to ensure that CG continues to be an effective tool for poverty eradication and sustainable development for the Senegalese government.

Mr. Atta-Krah took this opportunity to give more details on the CG transition and progress towards achieving goals set out by the one CG transition for the region and why all CG centers representative in the country have to coordinate their efforts together with government agencies and other partners towards achieving quality outcomes in food security and malnutrition delivery at all levels in the country.

The main responsibility of the country convener is to ensure that all CG centers are working together according to the national plan and policy. The country representatives are requested to coordinate all activities of the CG centers in the country. This will include setting up meetings and workshops as well as making sure that there is effective communication between all CG centers in the country. This will ensure that there is no duplication of efforts or unnecessary competition among various regions or states within Senegal when it comes to implementing CG programs and policies at local levels.

In addition to this meeting, the country convener and team (member of other CG centers) will have a meeting in October with government and partners to present the portfolio of the One CGIAR.

Sokhna Sall Seck is a Communications Specialist with IFPRI's West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCAO).