The Africa Rice Centre (WARDA) has entered into strategic partnership with other research institutes to create a strong synergy for rice research on the continent, the centre said in a statement made available to PANA in Lagos Sunday.

The statement said WARDA was entering into collaboration with Centro International de Agricultural Tropical (CIAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

"To improve resource efficiency, WARDA and IITA-Contonue are adopting common corporate services for the activities at IITA research station in Benin," WARDA said.

WARDA, IRRI, CIAT and IITA are centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).