October 7, 2024

1 thought on “Women of scientific substance: Marie-Noelle Ndjiondjop

  1. I have known Marie-Noelle since she started her professional career at at AfricaRice. At that time, I was Director of the Centre for Research on Adaptation of Plants to Drought (CERAAS) based in Senegal an dhosted by ISRA. A specific discussion we had when WARDA (as AfricaRice was known at that time) was finding a home for its Molecular Biology Laboratory. I was wooing for it to be instituted at CERAAS where I was the Director and where I had also opened a new Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory. For one reason or another, it never happened but I have always been impressed by the determination of Marie-Noelle and also her dedication. I was particular impressed by her work on mitigating RYMV disease on rice, and the role she played in collaborating with CORAF/WECARD to ensure scaling out of resistant rice varieties in the region; at that time I was the Executive Director of CORAF/WECARD. Little did I know that I would one day be heading AfricaRice where she was. When I arrived i knew that we had to scale up the ambition and passion she had for working on genetic resources and this was certainly through the establishment of the Rice Biodiversity Center for Africa. I strongly encouraged her to embark on that work, and she has willingly and successfully done that. The RBCA is a jewel for rice stakeholders in Africa. I want to use this opportunity to create awareness on its existence and encourage our African countries and donors to invest in it for its full development, to the service of the African community. This will certainly add value to efforts Marie-Noelle, the first female scientist at AfricaRice, is making to let her dreams and ambitions for a rice sufficient Africa come to full fruition. Well done Marie-Noelle; you are indeed a good example amongst women and girls in science.

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