Thanks to the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP), a young Togolese has considerably transformed his personal and business fortunes. From an annual turnover of 4 million FCFA (USD 6,890) before the WAAPP, Guema Concept, a company put in place by Guema M’Bantana, now has a yearly turnover of 120 million CFA francs (USD 206,710). The story of Guema M’Bantana is similar to that of millions of young Africans who dream of changing agriculture and easing producers’ burdens. Thanks to WAAPP Togo, Guema’s dream has come true. After his university training in physical science, Guema, very early on, nurtured the ambition to develop agricultural technologies that meet the producers’ needs. However, due to a lack of resources, he turned to teach physical science in colleges and occasionally worked on egg incubators production.

The last three years have seen two Guinean brothers’ fortunes change in substantial ways thanks in part to innovations from the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP-Guinea). Using innovative technologies such as the Red Goat of Maradi and an integrated fish farming technique, Ismael Fataye Yannick and Yacouba Fataye are now recording an annual turnover of close to 75 million Guinean francs (USD 7,800) per year. Put in the Guinean context where the majority of the population survives on less than USD 2 per day, this becomes a considerable revenue.

The new laboratory of the Fruits and Legume Regional Center of Specialization has been inaugurated by Burkina Faso Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation. The ceremony took place on Thursday, February 7, 2020, in Bobo Dioulaso, located about 270 kilometers south of the capital, Ouagadougou. The Fruits and Legumes center of specialization is an offshoot of a new research arrangement in West Africa that allows the pooling of resources (human and financial) to one center with a focus on a specific commodity.

Anié, January 28, 2020-It is market day in Anié, a commercial city 200 kilometers north of Lomé. The breakfast crowd is even bigger in front of Anifa Aboubacar’s stall. Customers of all ages are lining up for her “watché.” For more than 20 years, she has prepared this African fried rice garnished with fried white beans and peppers every day. This dish is very popular in several West African countries. And she does not alter the recipe, stating that “true watché is made with parboiled rice. Here in Anié, we have always remained faithful to this tradition.”

Glazoué, Benin, January 28, 2020―The bustling activity in the beautiful building facing the Agouagon train station serves as a counterpoint to the deadly silence in the totally deserted railway building. About ten women are busy at work around a traditional oven, pouring unhusked parboiled rice into large bowls before letting it dry for several days and taking it to downtown Glazoué for husking and cleaning. Welcome to the Agouagon Cooperative of Women Rice Parboilers, which is trying to breathe new life into a small town some four hours away from Cotonou seeking to become a dynamic hub.

Projects implemented under the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP) in Benin, Guinea, Niger, Togo, and Chad mainstreamed climate-smart agriculture dimensions at differentiated levels, an assessment has concluded. The participatory assessment was conducted by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).