AfricaRice welcomes new director general

DR HAROLD ROY-MACAULEY has been appointed as the next director general of the Africa Rice Center, the research organisation for rice development based in Cotonou, Benin.

Dr Roy-Macauley, who comes from Sierra Leone, is currently the executive director of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), the sub-regional organisation that coordinates and facilitates agricultural R&D activities in 22 countries in West and Central Africa.

His credentials include 30 years of experience in agricultural research and expertise in management and leadership. He was regional director for the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in West and Central Africa. He has consulted for international and bilateral organisations on biosafety and biotechnology, and was a former managing director for the Regional Center for Improving Adaptation to Drought (CERAAS) in Senegal, a research and training center of CORAF/WECARD.

As part of his mandate, Dr Roy-Macauley notes the importance of “introducing more high-end life science and socioeconomic applications in the Rice Sector Development Hubs, convened by AfricaRice, to help consolidate the already profound and significant changes the rice value chain is undergoing in Africa.”

On 9 March 2015 Dr Roy-Macauley takes the helm from interim director general Dr Adama Traoré who has been overseeing the center for the past 18 months.

AfricaRice’s work centers on improving livelihoods in the region through scientific research and partnerships. It currently has a membership of 25 countries.