Researchers under the Support for Agricultural Research and Development of Strategic Crops (SARD-SC) have been meeting at the ongoing 6th African Agricultural Science Week in Accra, to draw more support from partners into the project.The side-event on the theme “Partners, Possibilities and Prospects,” has boosted efforts to transform agriculture in Africa.The SARD-SC project will raise the productivity of maize, cassava, wheat, and rice by 20% in twenty selected countries in Africa.The plan is to reduce food importation from other continents and offer farmers better access to markets, improve livelihoods, and tackle poverty through enhanced capacities of beneficiaries to sustainable development in the region.About a million farmers will directly benefit from the project through its innovations basket, while another million and half will be reached by project spin off effects.“Narrowing the yield gap is key for African farmers, and it will help them to compete globally and to feed themselves,” says Project Coordinator of SARD-SC, Dr Chrysantus Akem, from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).Funded by the African Development Bank with US$ 63.24 million, SARD-SC also aims to create knowledge on the tested innovations with farmers in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.The 5-year multi-CGIAR center initiative will run until 2016, and will be co-implemented by three Africa-based CGIAR centers: IITA, Africa Rice Center, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.