Who We Are

#Rice4Prosperity

Our Story

The Alliance for Hybrid Rice in Africa (AHyRA) is a Public Private Alliance/ Partnership that promotes wide development and dissemination of quality, high yielding, and well adapted rice hybrids in Africa, develops delivery and commercialization pathways to impact the lives of rice farmers and other stakeholders through the extensive use of the technology in SSA. In addition, AHyRA catalyzes sustainable agro-business through licensing and commercializing the products of hybrid rice technology to improve the livelihood of rice farmers towards rice self-sufficient Africa.

Hybrid rice development and production offers a means to achieve significant yield gains in the region while building viable agri-businesses. The hybrid crop model has historically been used in Asia and other continents to leverage private sector involvement in rice seed production and is viable for revolutionizing rice production in Africa hence contributing towards elimination of extreme poverty and enhancement of food and nutrition security.

It is against this background that the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in partnership with Hybrids East Africa Limited (HEAL) and aWhere initiated the Hybrid Rice Project in 2012 to develop 2-line hybrid rice technology for production and commercialization by private rice stakeholders in SSA. The partnership has developed high yielding rice hybrids that are well adapted to Africa’s conditions for use by smallholder farmers. Already eight rice hybrids have been registered and commercially released in Kenya.

Apart from AATF’s hybrid rice initiative, there are other private companies and public institutions such as Advanta Seeds, AfricaRice, Afritec, Bayer, Egypt Rice Program, and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are developing and marketing hybrid rice. These efforts are yet to yield substantial results on the ground due to the fragmented nature of the initiatives.

In this light AATF consulted different stakeholders (IRRI, AfricaRice, Egypt Hybrid Rice Program, Bayer, Advanta and Afritec) on the need for an alliance to ensure consolidated efforts towards the promotion, adaptation, and commercialization of the hybrid rice technologies in the region for the benefit of African farmers. This led to the formation of AHyRA.

Our Vision

Building prosperity and food security through hybrid rice technologies in Sub Saharan Africa

Our Mission

Promote wide development and deployment of quality, high yielding, and well-adapted rice hybrids in Africa, develop delivery and commercialized pathways to impact the lives of rice farmers and other stakeholders through the extensive use of the hybrid rice technologies and digital agriculture platforms along the rice value chain in Sub Saharan Africa.

Our Objectives

Promote collaboration and business integration among stakeholders of rice value chain to develop, produce and market hybrid rice seeds.
Facilitate an enabling environment for the sustainable adoption and scaling of hybrid rice technology in SSA.
Joint adaptability testing of rice hybrids and varieties to generate robust database for commercial use by stakeholders in SSA.
Strengthen the capacity of partners on hybrid rice technologies.
Enhance sustainable gender and youth responsive business models in rice value chain.

Our Governance & Leadership

The team at AHyRA brings together specialists with rich experience and deep technical know-how from different regions across the world. At the helm, is the executive committee that steers the organization in developing strategic plans and policy development. In implementing the vision and mission, the executive committee is assisted by the secretariat through the technical committees and regional hubs.