Born in Nounaa small town in the western part of Burkina FasoEdgar started primary school at the age of six.
As part of the curriculum at the basic levelthey were taught practical agriculture - how to grow vegetables such as tomatoescabbage and lettuce. His father was a school teacher howeverhis family spent the rainy season vacation in the fields. He joined the military high school in Ouagadougouthe capital. Therehe learned a lot about self discipline and leadership. Possibly because he was not destined to stay in the armythe military school was closed after the revolutionary military regime came to power in the country. Edgar completed his secondary studies in a civilian high school where he earned his diploma in mathematics and life science. Soon afterhe joined the national agricultural research institute (INERA) as a laboratory technician in plant virology. Edgar was actively involved in studies on epidemiology and control of plant viral diseases (especially maize streak and latelyrice yellow mottle which has become one of the most damaging constraints to rice cultivation in Africa since the mid-1990s).Being fully involved in training for good disease management practicesI established close contact with farmers and so can appreciate the sorrow they go through during epidemics. he states. Knowing that seeds were a part of the puzzleEdgar went back to university where he studied quality control in agribusinessbiochemistry and microbiology. As a quality control officerhe contributed to the release and use of virus-free seeds to farmers. His research and extension work yielded several factsheets and scientific papers in refereed journals. Edgar believes that enrolling in the WACCI programme is a good opportunity and an exciting challenge.With my pathologist backgroundI am convinced that acquiring additional knowledge in plant breeding will help me better contribute to increasing rice yield and quality in Africa through the development of new virus-resistant genotypes Edgar