Brief biography of the Director General

Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck is the Director General of Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) since October 2006.

The Africa Rice Center is an intergovernmental association of African countries. It is also one of the 15 international agricultural research Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Before joining AfricaRice, Dr Seck was the Director General of the Senegal Agricultural Research Institute (ISRA) and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Senegal. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Academy of Science and Technology of Senegal.

Dr Seck has served on numerous national and international committees and was the Chair of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) from 2003 to 2005. He is currently the representative of the Alliance of the CGIAR Centers on the FARA Board and in the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) Executive Committee.

Dr Seck earned his PhD in agricultural economic analysis and policy from the University of Dijon, France, in 1989.

In 2009, Dr Seck received the prestigious award of the Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole from the Government of France for outstanding service to agriculture. In 2005, the Government of Senegal conferred upon him the title of the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Lion for his services to the country.

He received the Medal of Honor from the West and Central African Council for Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) in 2007 and the Certificate of recognition from FARA in 2005.