Rice Today Special Supplement for the World Bank and Japan

Selected features on the impact

of rice research in Africa

Special Supplement for the World Bank and Japan, 3 December 2013

38 Rice Today April-June 201238 Rice Today April-June 2012

Compiled by Lovely Merlicel Quipot

COUNTRY HIGHLIGHT:

C il d b L l M li l Q i t

IRRI and Japan

J

Sacred rice

Early rice science

A pioneering partner

Japan: fast facts (2009)

Population: 127 million

Total land area: 37.8 million ha

Total rice production: 10.6 million tons

Area planted to rice: 1.6 million ha

Average rice yield: 6.5 t/ha

Amount of rice eaten per person per year (2007): 56.6 kg

Source: World Rice Statistics, www. irri.org/world-rice-statistics

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On the cover:

Ex-combatant women in Burundi get a second chance for a peaceful life by turning to rice farming.

39Rice Today April-June 2012 39Rice Today April-June 2012

Past research collaboration

Fig. 1. Rice production area and quantity in Japan (1960–2009).

Source: World Rice Statistics

3.5Million hectares Million tons

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

01960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985

Year

1990 1995 2000 2005

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6Area of harvested rice

Quantity of rice produced4

2

0

Current work

Fig. 2. Average rice yield in Japan (1960–2007).

Source: World Rice Statistics

0

20

40

60

80

100

120Kilograms/person/year

1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986Year

1991 1996 2001 2006

3

The Republic of Cameroon is often described as “Africa in miniature” because of its rich diversity of climate, ecology,

landscape, and culture. Few are aware that the country has huge potential to not only achieve rice self-

granary of Central Africa.The country is endowed with

large areas of arable land, abundant water resources, and favorable agroclimatic conditions that are conducive to rice production. Recognizing its agribusiness potential, and in response to the food

in 2008, the government is taking measures to revitalize the rice sector.

improve the country’s food security are supported by the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Afri-can Development Bank (AfDB), and the Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion of the United Nations (FAO).

Reviving the rice sectorRice is still a relatively new crop in certain areas of Cameroon although the Far North, Northwest, and West provinces have a long tradition of rice cultivation.

Moreover, rice is increasingly becoming an important commodity fueled by shifts in consumer preferences and rapid urbanization. In Tonga, for example, homage is paid yearly to the farmer who introduced rice in the region. Here, local rice is preferred over imported varieties; when quality concerns are met, consumers are prepared to pay a premium for local varieties.

With renewed interest in the rice sector in recent years, the

Cameroon may soon gain fame as a rising star in rice production

Cameroon: Cepotential ri

Rice Today October-December 201336

by Savitri Mohapatra government is strengthening the country’s rural infrastructure such as irrigation, milling and processing facilities, and farm-to-market roads.

Government-owned corporations, such as the Company for the Expansion and Modernization of Rice in Yagoua in Far North province and the Upper Nun Valley Development Authority (UNVDA) in the Northwest province, are being revamped to support rice farmers.

UNVDA, for example, supports about 13,000 rice farmers, facilitating their access to improved seeds, fertilizer, herbicide, information, and training as well as equipment rental services for farm operations.

The company also provides a market for farmers by buying rice from them. “Thanks to the UNVDA support, I have been able to pay school fees for my children and medical bills from the sale of my rice harvest,” remarked Mr. Ako Thea Francis, a rice farmer from Ndop.

Connecting researchers and farmersThe Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) is a public institution that has been collaborating with international partners to develop improved rice varieties and technologies to increase rice productivity in the region. Technology packages developed by IRAD are shared to farmers for faster adoption.

“We multiply the foundation seed of improved rice varieties received from IRAD and provide seeds to farmers at subsidized rates,” said Ms. Lilian Yacoumbo, UNVDA chief

Highlighting the vital role of research in the revival of the rice sec-tor, IRAD Director General Noé Woin said, “The government recognizes the need to support a strong research and development program to develop improved technologies for smallhold-er farmers to help them raise their output and income.”

Serious constraints

constraints hinder the country from expanding and intensifying its rice production. These challenges include a lack of good-quality seed and adequate equipment for labor-intensive tasks, and a lack of postharvest technologies to make local rice competitive in the market.

The country’s rice production has not yet been able to keep pace with the increasing demand. Over the last

has been less than 20%, according to the United States Department of Agriculture and FAO. In 2012, Cameroon produced 102,000 tons of paddy rice and had to import up to 375,000 tons of rice to meet its demand.

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EXCLUSIVE SHOWROOM for rice of the Upper Nun Valley

Development Authority (UNVDA) in Ndop, Cameroon.

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37Rice Today October-December 2013

Overcoming challengesAnother constraint is the long distance between the major rice production facilities and the main cities, which are

“Cameroon-made” rice. “Thus, JICA has launched a

program to support mainly the production of upland rice in the Center, South, and East provinces of Cameroon, so that people living in these areas can eat their own rice,” said Dr. Yoshimi Sokei, a JICA advisor based in Yaoundé.

The National Rice Development Strategy, drafted in 2009 within the framework of the Coalition for African Rice Development, has an ambitious aim to raise domestic production to 627,250 tons by 2018. To achieve this vision, the Cameroon government has deployed the following strategies.

Building rural enterprisesSome challenges are being tackled through collaborative research such as the innovative Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)-funded project on “Improving the competitiveness of

local rice in Central Africa.” Carried out by AfricaRice and its national partners from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Chad, it aims to build rural enterprises through co-sharing mechanisms.

Upland and lowland NERICA varieties selected through participatory varietal selection were introduced along with improved crop management practices to boost rice productivity. After that, the project established a “rapid-impact” seed program, postharvest

technologies, processing activities, and links with input dealers and

“To ensure competitiveness, ‘one-stop shop’ quality-processing centers, were established to enhance quality along the whole value chain from seed through milling, sorting, and packaging to marketing,” said Ms. Dorothy Malaa, IRAD national project coordinator.

The quality-processing center in Ndop, which was inaugurated in 2013

the success of this model.Quality rice as well as rice bran

and other by-products are sold to both wholesalers and retailers. The production and marketing

opportunities for women farmers who can process and sell rice-based products.

Focus on postharvest technologiesCameroon is one of eight pilot countries that are partnering in a pioneering Canada-funded

project to enhance the quality and marketability of locally produced rice through improved harvest and postharvest technologies.

The project, which is carried out by AfricaRice with its partners, aims to develop and evaluate suitable harvest and postharvest technologies that help produce quality rice products that respond to market demand.

The project gives households opportunities to raise their income by promoting the development of new rice-based products and rice by-products. Now, it is exploring the use

items. “Strengthening the capacity of

rice stakeholders throughout the value chain, from farmers through millers and parboilers to marketers, is a major part of the project,” said Dr. Jean Moreira, AfricaRice project coordinator.

Looking forwardThe Cameroon rice sector is

collaborative research for development activities carried out by AfricaRice and its partners with support from several donors, including the AfDB, CFC, Canada, the European Union, Japan, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Global Rice Science Partnership, the CGIAR Research Program on Rice.

IRAD is involved in all the Africa-wide Rice Task Forces covering breeding, agronomy, processing and value addition, mechanization, policy, and gender. It has welcomed an approach, rice sector development hubs, for greater coherence and

hubs representing the main rice ecosystems in the country.

With all these measures in place, Cameroon is well on its way to realize its vision for a high-quality rice sector serving the entire region.

Ms. Mohapatra is the head of Marketing and Communications at AfricaRice.

yyyyy

Ndop Rice Value Chain Cooperative

Quality Processing and Training

Center, Ndop, Cameroon.

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16 Rice Today April-June 2013

Uganda—widely known as “the pearl of Africa” for its exquisite natural

fauna, and rich mosaic of cultures—

potential rice basket for eastern Africa.

Over the last few years, Uganda has been experiencing a remarkable rice boom supported by good farming practices, premium market prices, and favorable policies that have stimulated large private investment in the rice sector.

The growth of Uganda’s rice production has contributed to greater food security and a reduction in rice imports. For instance, according to the Ugandan government, rice imports dropped between 2005 and 2008, which helped save the country about US$30 million in foreign exchange earnings.

The area sown to rice nearly doubled from about 80,000 hectares in 2002 to about 150,000 hectares in 2011. Similarly, paddy production jumped from about 120,000 tons in 2002 to more than 220,000 tons in 2011.

“The rice industry in the country has rapidly moved from improved seed to production to processing and to the markets over the last few years,” said Robert Anyang, program

and Market Access at Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG2000).

Africa would like to achieve. Yet, 10 years ago, Uganda was barely known

region. So, what triggered the rice transformation?

NERICA fills the voidIn 2000 and 2001, when the price of maize plunged in the region, Uganda’s government and farmers were desperate for an alternative crop that could provide food security and income.

Through the timely assistance provided by SG2000 and the National Agricultural Research Organization

varieties developed by the Africa

as a suitable replacement for maize.

became so popular that, by 2008, it occupied almost 70% of the upland area under production,” said Dr. Jimmy Lamo, a rice breeder at NARO.

The turning pointGilbert Bukenya, the then vice

upland rice as a major strategic intervention for food security and poverty reduction. Because of Dr.

Museveni launched the Upland

acknowledged as the turning point for the growth of Uganda’s rice sector.

The campaign encouraged several nongovernment organizations (NGOs)and development partners to join forces with the Ugandan government. These were the Japan International

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Oxfam, and the United States Agency for International Development, in addition to SG2000.

The government and these

promote rice and strengthen the capacity of rice farmers, millers, traders, and extension workers.

The rice scheme also motivated

partnership, with each partner playing

and commercialization,” said Nicolai Rodeyns, managing director of

Uganda’s rice imports decreased and its food security improved because of its growing rice production

UGANDA:blazing a trailto rice successby Savitri MohapatraR.

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17Rice Today April-June 2013

was instrumental in the production

Suparica 2.

The breakthroughHowever, the real breakthrough for Uganda’s rice sector occurred in

government lobbied successfully

(35% for Kenya), according to Mr. Anyang.

“As the Ugandan government didn’t have the money to support subsidies, this was a good way to

cheap imported rice,” he commented. The shift in government policy

further stimulated rice production in the country and motivated the private sector to invest heavily in the sector. The focus gradually shifted from increasing rice production to improving postharvest handling, value addition, and marketing.

companies in the country, locally produced rice can replace imported

branded with consistent quality, and readily available on the market. Tilda

Similarly, small entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to add

value by developing niche products such as parboiled rice, which is not commonly available in Uganda.

Market integration

in Uganda’s rice sector are aware

hand in hand with agricultural sector development and market integration at all levels.

“The activities involved in rice value addition have potential to create wealth for all in the value chain, including farmers, transporters, middlemen, millers, traders, and the

and current director of Upland Rice Millers Ltd. (URM).

The URM rice factory in Jinja, in eastern Uganda, is helping rice farmers to become part of agribusiness networks through which they can sell surplus crops and invest in their farms. For example, rice farmers who bring their paddy to the factory for milling

rice traders at the same place.“As long as farmers have a market,

they always respond positively to that market so production is no longer an issue,” explained Ms. Joan Rutaroh, program director of the Uganda Development Trust, a local NGO that provides technical assistance and arranges agribusiness loans for small and medium rice enterprises.

Joyce Lalam Otema, a rice farmer from Gulu, agreed. “With rice, you

time you get a good yield, all the rice is sold in 2–3 months. You can either sell it locally or go to the nearest mill.”

In addition to a large mill owned by Tilda Uganda Ltd., the country

850 small mills with polishers and whiteners.

Lowland rice productionThe boom in Uganda’s rice production is also partly due to the resurgence of the Kibimba Rice Scheme. It currently produces about 20,000 tons of rice per year, which is 20% of the total rice produced in the country.

Although rice schemes are huge, they are still small considering Uganda has about 500,000 hectares of land suitable for seasonal lowland rice production. According to the National Rice Development Strategy, Uganda is expected to produce up to 335,000 tons of rice in 2013 and 500,000 tons in 2018. New lowland rice varieties are expected to be released soon by NARO.

“With everything in place, including the right policy and all the actors, the support of rice research

we can achieve this goal in the next 5 years,” said Mr. Anyang.

Ms. Mohapatra is the head of Marketing and Communications at Africa Rice Center.

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It was a proud moment for three PhD students from West Africa participating in the graduation ceremony at the University of

South Africa. They had just taken a decisive step forward in

Mounirou El-Hassimi Sow of Niger, Honoré Kam of Burkina Faso, and Kouadio Nasser Yao of Côte d'Ivoire all had worked in

the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in Cotonou, Benin, under the supervision of Marie-Noelle Ndjiondjop. Their sense of pride was

Benin, who successfully defended his PhD thesis in front of an international panel of scientists at the University of

“These students have each

knowledge of rice in Africa,” declared Prof. Mark Laing, director, African Centre for Crop Improvement at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. “They are also keen to apply their newly acquired skills in their respective countries.”

Their doctoral research was supported through a USAID-funded AfricaRice project on the application of marker-assisted selection (MAS).

(see the news report on page 8) and

stresses, African rice gall midge

(BLB). As part of their studies, the

students traveled thousands of

to interview rice farmers and collect their local varieties. Mounirou, for

rice varieties, many of which face

extinction. These varieties were then

resistance.

The making of a work force

MAS to transfer major rice genes is

develop varieties that are resistant to diseases and pests and tolerant of

However, many African countries lack adequate local research capacity in this area. In response to a strong

AfricaRice is progressively helping develop a work force of national

Giving an EDGE to young African researchers by Savitri Mohapatra

DR. NDJIONDJOP of AfricaRice, second from left, is

helping national partners to use molecular breeding

techniques to speed up the process of developing

disease- and pest-resistant rice varieties.

Training Africa’s national partners in rice biotechnology

8

32 Rice Today October-December 2012

researchers trained to apply

critical to solving agricultural

For Dr. Ndjiondjop, the overall strategy is to advance Africa toward the concept of

exploit this potential for food security in Africa.

“The USAID-sponsored PhD training was the starting point of this strategy, which has

of the capacity of the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES)

agricultural research in West Africa,” said Dr. Ndjiondjop. “For instance, Kam Honoré now

Dr. Ndjiondjop is the driving

research at AfricaRice relating

constraints. She and her team

NARES researchers, including PhD and MSc students from

AfricaRice is actively helping the NARES acquire the necessary skills and equipment

in Cotonou, Benin, is used for rice

partners and students to learn on the

“At AfricaRice, I have not only

and statistical analysis of research

techniques of managing germplasm

said Mounirou Sow. Thanks to this

selected for the multiyear training

is now involved in sharing his knowledge and skills with his colleagues from various countries.

“The hands-on experience

training programs, and technology

explained Dr. Ndjiondjop.

from the partnerships that AfricaRice has developed with advanced research institutions, particularly in France (Institut de recherché pour le développement and Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement) and the United States (Cornell University), and through

International Center for Tropical Agriculture and the International

as with national programs and universities in Africa.

Adequate infrastructureRealizing the importance of adequate research infrastructure in

that scientists can apply their newly acquired skills when they return to their countries, Dr. Ndjiondjop and her team have helped purchase

African countries (Burkina

Mali).

facilities to introduce MAS into

to transfer resistance genes into elite varieties,” said Dr. Ndjiondjop. Moreover, national scientists can use these facilities to apply molecular techniques

crops, not just rice. AfricaRice is now helping

the national programs to run

in Burkina Faso, Mali, and

It is also helping its

or upgrade the capacity of existing ones in several West

African countries involved in USAID-West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) projects.

“We will continue training our national partners in molecular techniques and MAS through a genetic and genomic platform focusing on low-cost, high-

AfricaRice,” said Dr. Ndjiondjop. The platform will facilitate the

expansion of molecular research

Africa for rapid development of new varieties. It will also help update the knowledge of conventional

help them understand the tools, statistical software, and experimental

molecular markers.

YOUNG AFRICANS, such as Mounirou Sow from Niger, who have been

trained in the AfricaRice biotechnology laboratory are dedicated to

applying molecular breeding and transferring the technology to other

staff members in their respective countries (above). AfricaRice’s

biotechnology facility in Cotonou, Benin, enables national partners

and students to learn on the job or gain hands-on experience in

marker-assisted breeding.

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32 Rice Today July-September 2012

Reminiscing about his early years, Baboucarr Manneh

with research was a few months after high school in 1988. He served as a hatchery assistant in an aquaculture lab where he looked

larvae.

agriculture and eventually studied

with a focus on rice,” he said. Since seafood and rice are

the smallest country on mainland

stages of his career.

A lover of nature and scienceBorn to a farming family in a small village called Sukuta, Dr. Manneh has always been fascinated with the beauty and diversity of nature.

biology, chemistry, and agriculture.

me to study biotechnology,” he said.

understand that science is not only a tool to uncover the mysteries of

farmers through research. For Dr. Manneh, working

humbling. He is most touched when

last chicken to a visiting agricultural

A serious worker

the National Agricultural Research

From tiger shrimp to rice

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by Savitri Mohapatra

A rice breeder from The Gambia looks back at his humble

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33Rice Today July-September 2012

fellow in the Biotechnology Unit in Cotonou, Benin, where he worked closely with his team on using marker-assisted selection and

Drought stress causes substantial

drought-tolerant rice varieties that

systems in Africa.

change is the use of rice varieties with good drought tolerance,” Dr. Manneh said.

An advocate for partnershipDr. Manneh is a strong advocate for

-sources to tackle the challenges faced in converting Africa from a net food

observed. Hence, his unit has estab-lished strong collaboration with inter-national agricultural research centers and with local and regional universi-ties to foster research and contribute to

Dr. Manneh was the natural choice to lead the coordination of the

With funding by the Bill &

the International Rice Research

AfricaRice and the national

involves collaboration across

has a very sound background

including molecular biology.”Dr. Manneh is convinced that the

varieties, would make sub-Saharan

will invest more resources, time,

farmers’ livelihoods.”

tt

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Agricultural Engineering Unit and then in the Socioeconomics Unit.

for rice and coarse grains and to conduct socioeconomic surveys on

technologies.Since Dr. Manneh was keen to

continue his studies, he was granted a study leave by NARI to follow a

University in the Netherlands,

regional agricultural station in the country.

Dr. Manneh was very serious and hard-working and we were sure that he was going to succeed in his career,” said Dr. Samuel

which hosts more than a hundred

their families as well as other

advanced studies on genetic,

in rice when he was awarded

Wageningen University in 1998.

with awards from the Netherlands

and the International Foundation for Science.

Rising through the ranksDr. Manneh continued to be associated with NARI, where he rose to become a director of research and advisor to the Minister of Agriculture on seed and biotechnology issues.

and he is now an irrigated lowland breeder based at the Sahel regional

arriving at the station in 2008, he has

breeding activities there to cover

conventional and molecular breeding

DR. MANNEH believes that improved

rice-based technologies would make

sub-Saharan Africa's rice adaptable to

climate change.

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26 Rice Today January-March 2012

Ethiopia, Africa’s oldest independent country and the cradle of an ancient civilization, is fast emerging as one of the big

rice-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Area rose from 6,000 hectares in 2005 to nearly 222,000 hectares in 2010 and paddy production from 15,460 tons to 887,400 tons,” Dr. Tereke Berhe, former regional rice coordinator at Sasakawa Africa Association and current special advisor for rice at the Agriculture Transformation Agency in Ethiopia, said. “At the same time, the number of rice farmers increased from 18,000 to more than 565,000.”

Millennium cropAlthough rice has just been recently introduced to Ethiopia, recognizing its importance as a food security crop and a source of income and employment opportunities, the government of Ethiopia has named it the “millennium crop,” and has ranked it among the priority commodities of the country.

The national rice research and development strategy (NRRDS) for 2010-19 has been prepared to tackle rice-related progress in rice value chain, postharvest, grain quality, and marketing issues.

According to Dr. Berhe, the rice sector in the country saw a phenomenal growth from 2005 to 2010.

Abundant riceUntil a few years ago, the staple food crops in Ethiopia were maize, wheat,

to the country, which is used for making “injera,” a traditional Ethiopian bread.

Rice started to be recognized in the country because of its good productivity,

Rice is now a major livelihood option for farmers in Ethiopia and an important crop for the country’s food security

available labor, and vast areas suitable for both rainfed and irrigated systems.

In Ethiopia, about 30 million hectares are suitable for rice, according to the NRRDS. Vertisols, or black clay soils, are abundant in the country and have a high agricultural potential. But,

to work with, as they are hard when dry and sticky when wet.

“Earlier, farmers used to abandon the waterlogged vertisols in the Fogera plains—a major rice belt in northwestern Ethiopia—during the rainy season,” explained Bayuh Belay Abera, national rice research coordinator at Adet Agricultural Research Center in Bahir Dar.

“But now rice serves as a major livelihood option in this area,” said Mr. Abera. “When farmers saw that it grows well under waterlogged conditions, they

have switched to this crop in the rainy season and have become prosperous since then.”

Rice has also become popular because it can be used to make many valuable by-products, such as rice husk, rice bran, and beer. It can also partially or fully replace teff in the making of injera.

Contribution of researchThanks to active rice R&D activities and with strong support from the Ethiopian government, Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG 2000), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), farmers have access to several improved varieties and crop management techniques.

SG 2000 introduced NERICA rice varieties from the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). In the last few years, NERICA 1 and NERICA 2 have been

Ethiopia’s millennium crop


Rice

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RICE HAS become a profitable crop for farmers

of Fogera District in northwestern Ethiopia.

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27Rice Today January-March 2012

irrigated ecologies; NERICA 3, NERICA 4, and SUPARICA

1 for upland ecologies; and NERICA 14, NERICA 15, and NERICA 16 for irrigated ecologies.

In addition, various other improved

varieties, such as Shebele (IR688059-76-3-3-3-2), Gode-1 (BG-90-2), and Hoden (MTU-1001), have been released for irrigated systems. Among the

traditional varieties, farmers continue to grow “X-jigna,”

which was introduced by the North Koreans for the rainfed lowlands.

However, since much of the arable land in the country is located in mid to high altitudes, cold-tolerant rice varieties are essential for these areas. As part of the IRRI-AfricaRice joint Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project, researchers are focusing on developing cold-tolerant rice varieties for such regions.

“We have been evaluating varieties for cold tolerance in partnership with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and the Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute,” said Dr. Negussie Zenna, an AfricaRice researcher who is closely involved with the STRASA project.

As a result of this work, two cold-

ONE OF the main thrusts of the national

rice development strategy in Ethiopia is the

promotion of postharvest technologies such

as rice threshers and rice mills.

DR. TADESSE Lakew, rice breeder at Adet Agricultural

Research Center, shows variety WAB 189, which was

released in 2011 for the rainfed lowlands.

DR. BAYUH Belay Abera, national rice research

coordinator at Adet Agricultural Research Center in

Ethiopia, hopes to strengthen R&D partnership with

international organizations.

tolerant varieties have been selected—FOFIFA 3737 from the Madagascar national program released in 2010 for the irrigated ecology and WAB 189 from AfricaRice released in 2011 for rainfed lowlands. Through participatory varietal

varieties have acceptable grain quality. “The farmers showed great interest

in WAB 189 because of its earliness, high yield, and good biomass,” said Tadesse Lakew, rice breeder at Adet Center.

Dr. Lakew is among the new generation of young African rice scientists who are trained through the AfricaRice

Breeding Task Force, which has been launched to build the rice breeding capacity of national partners and stimulate the delivery of improved technologies through strong partnership between international and national rice scientists.

Such partnership will be vital to realizing the Ethiopian government’s plan to raise paddy production to about 4 million tons in 2019 and increase rice area to 774,000 hectares.

Paddy production in Ethiopia, 2005-2010

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18 Rice Today October-December 201118 Rice Today October-December 2011

COUNTRY SNAPSHOT:

IRRI in Burundi

Burundi: fast facts

Population (July 2011 estimate): 10.2 million1 Total land area (2011): 2.8 million ha1

Annual rice consumption (2007): 6.2 kg/person2

Area of rice production (2008): 21,000 ha2

Average rice yield (2008): 3.38 tons per ha2

1 CIA World Factbook2 World Rice Statistics, www.irri.org/world-rice-statistics

Rice was introduced in Burundi in 1890, but it did not develop

irrigated scheme of 2,550 hectares was installed.

Traditionally, in Burundi, rice was eaten only once or twice a year during feasts and festivals. In the 1980s, with the introduction of locally adapted rice and the distribution of rice in schools and the military by the government, it rapidly became popular. Now, many Burundians eat rice every day.

Burundi has three major rice-producing ecologies: the irrigated areas of the Imbo plain, the rainfed (nonirrigated) areas of Imbo and Moso lowlands, and the nonirrigated areas of the elevated marshland region.

Rice is grown once a year in

Compiled by Sophie Clayton

Burundi. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) estimates that, in 2010, about 75,000 tons of rough rice were produced in the country, and another 40,000 tons of rice were imported.

IRRI in Burundi IRRI started working in Burundi in 2008 when a Memorandum of Understanding between the country and the Institute was signed. The beginnings of this agreement came after current IRRI Liaison Scientist and Coordinator for Burundi Joseph Bigirimana attended the Rice Research to Production Training Course at IRRI in 2006.

University of Burundi campus, in the

natu

hattointo

ationalutet, in ons of roughn the country,ons of rice

IRRI Sites

Lowland

High elevation

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19Rice Today October-December 2011 19Rice Today October-December 2011

7Kilograms per person per year

Burundi: average rice consumption

1961-2007

1961 1966 1971 1976 1981

Year

1986 1991 1996 2001 2006

6

5

4

3

2

1

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capital city of Bujumbura, and employs six staff: a liaison scientist/coordinator, four research technicians, and an administrative assistant.

Rice research and capacity buildingThe institutions involved in rice research in Burundi are IRRI, the faculties of agricultural sciences at the University of Burundi and the University of Ngozi, and the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi.

Rice breeding

received and tested 670 rice varieties from IRRI headquarters. Variety IR77713 is due for release in 2011, pending national approval. It is suitable for irrigated areas on the Imbo plain,

where it can yield an average of 6.5–7 tons per hectare, which is 1.5 tons per hectare more than the average yields of current popular local varieties. It matures 2–3 weeks earlier, providing grain and food earlier in the season and leaving more time to grow other crops. Another pending variety is IR79511.

tested IR77713 and IR79511 and they have ranked both varieties higher in terms of grain quality (unmilled, milled, and cooked rice) than the current varieties.

IRRI continues to develop more high-yielding, high-quality rice varieties suited to Burundi, such as varieties with better tolerance of cold temperatures, salinity, and iron toxicity and resistance to blast and sheath rot.

Rice production training for womenIn 2010, 398 ex-combatant women were trained in a joint IRRI-CARE project in all aspects of rice production. (See Women of war turn to rice in Burundi on page 28.)

Tackling blastBlast is the most serious disease that affects rice production in Burundi. A total of 29 rice lines, each containing one

tested in two hot spots in the country. Results showed that nine genes had resistance to local strains of leaf and neck blast. Breeding programs will now focus on these genes in an effort to improve resistance to local blast strains.

Collaboration and policyIRRI works together with nongovernment organizations and national, regional, and international stakeholders in Burundi. It also plays an active role in the national committee for rice-sector development under the Ministry of Agriculture in Burundi.

Small-scale mechanizationIRRI has trained its technicians in Burundi to use its recently acquired two-wheeled hand tractor and thresher. Now, it aims to demonstrate the use of the equipment to farmers. Using these farm machines can save time, labor, and money, which can then help lower rice prices. IRRI is talking with the Burundi government to plan for

through mechanization and also to look at alternative employment options for farm laborers.

Capacity buildingIRRI is actively encouraging and supporting the education and training of Burundian rice researchers, technicians,

courses and graduate studies (MSc and PhD). In addition, the Institute is looking at developing a Burundi Rice Knowledge Bank—a Web-based repository of best practices and information about all aspects of rice

beyond the Imbo plain to other rice-growing areas in Burundi.

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DR. JOSEPH Bigirimana,

liaison scientist, hosts

a visit of officials at an

IRRI site in Burundi.

EX-COMBATANT women in Burundi are

learning to grow rice through IRRI.

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Rice breeders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are an endangered species, according to Dr.

Moussa Sié, Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) senior scientist. “Since classical plant breeding is no longer fashionable, very few students are taking up this discipline,” he remarked. “Even the handful of rice breeders who are working in national programs today are generally above 45 years old.”

A survey, which was conducted among AfricaRice’s

observation. It showed that even a country the size of Nigeria has only two rice breeders. “Africa needs trained rice breeders—most African countries have none,” said

for a Green Revolution in Africa, pointing out the lack of national capacity in rice breeding.

Drawing attention to the desperate lack of research and extension capacity, which threatens to impede the progress in developing Africa’s rice sector, participants of the Second Africa Rice Congress, held in March 2010, urged African governments and their partners to substantially strengthen the training and retention of new staff.

The Congress also called for the revival of the successful Task Force approach, introduced by AfricaRice in the 1990s. The Task Force consists of an Africa-wide collective research for development effort on critical thematic areas in the rice sector, based on the principles of sustainability, buildup

of critical mass, and ownership by the national agricultural research systems (NARS).

The Africa Rice Breeding Task ForceIn response to this call, the Africa Rice Breeding Task Force was launched in June 2010 to regroup scarce human resources devoted to rice breeding in Africa and help build a new generation of rice breeders across the continent.

The main thrust of the Breeding Task Force is to adopt a systematic collaborative approach to rice breeding

that will build much-needed rice breeding capacity, facilitate access of African rice breeders to new materials, stimulate rice germplasm evaluation across the continent, and, in general, shorten the time needed to deploy new climate-resilient and stress-tolerant rice varieties for major production systems in SSA.

“The international agricultural research centers (IARCs) cannot do this alone nor can the NARS,” said Dr. Sié, who is the overall coordinator of this Task Force, which is supported by the joint IRRI-AfricaRice Japan-funded breeding project.

Dr. Sié described the Breeding Task Force as a partnership of rice breeders from NARS and IARCs in Africa, which will provide synergy to breeding efforts across the continent, thereby increasing impact. To enhance communication and collaboration among all the partners of the Breeding Task Force, a dedicated Web site has been developed. (See

www.africarice.org/afribreed/.)

The scope of the “force”The Breeding Task Force covers mainly the four mega-environments in SSA— the rainfed lowland, irrigated, upland, and high-elevation ecologies. The challenges in these mega-environments are many and breeders must be able to tackle these challenges through improvements in productivity, stability and adaptability and grain quality of rice.

Responsibilities for the different mega-environments have been divided


The Africa Rice Breeding Task Force responds to the call for an improved research and extension capacity on the continent through a collaborative approach to rice breeding

SOME MEMBERS of the Africa Rice Breeding Task Force team (from left to right): Ms. Bernice Bancole, laboratory technician; Mr. Abdoulaye

Sow, agronomist; Dr. Mamadou MBare Coulibaly, chair; Breeding Task

Force; Dr. Jimmy Lamo, vice-chair, Breeding Task Force, and Dr. Moussa

Sié, coordinator, Breeding Task Force.

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among AfricaRice and IRRI breeders based in Africa, who work closely with their NARS colleagues.

The main thrust of the Breeding Task Force consists of a 3-phase evaluation of rice breeding lines from IARCs and NARS, starting from the regional trial, then national trials, and participatory varietal selection trials (a rice garden followed by 2 years of mother/baby trials). These trials are done in multiple locations in different countries (please see the map of Africa Rice Breeding Task Force trial sites).

The International Network for the Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER)-Africa plays a key role in the multiplication and distribution of new seed for in-country hotspot testing and participatory varietal testing trials and genotype-environment analyses.

Takashi Kumashiro, regional theme leader of GRiSP Themes 11 and 22 and leader of the AfricaRice Program on Genetic Diversity and Improvement, explained that one of the unique features of such an approach is that the breeding lines that enter the Task Force are provided by not one but many institutes such as NARS in Africa as well as IRRI, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and AfricaRice.

For example, in 2011, the breeding lines nominated for the lowland regional trial consisted of 13% lines from the NARS, 34% from AfricaRice, 14% from IRRI, and 39% from CIAT.

The Task Force thus enables the evaluation of many breeding lines with prior data on performance from different sources under different biophysical and socioeconomic

1 Theme 1: Harnessing genetic diversity to chart new productivity, quality, and health horizons.2 Theme 2: Accelerating the development, delivery, and adoption of improved rice varieties.

Multistage Regional Trial Network

Africa Rice Breeding Task Force

Lines developed by ongoing AfricaRice Projects STRASA, GSR, GCP, Japan Rice

Breeding, etc.

Varieties dveloped by NARES, IRRI, CIAT

BreedingTask Force

500 lines/year

100 lines/year

50 lines/year

5 nominatedlines/year

Regional trials

National trials

Recommendation to target countries

Multilocation trial

Multilocation trial

Baby trial

Baby trial

Rice garden

are expected to enhance the quality of evaluation.

This will result in increased credibility on recommended varieties as well as credibility of data accumulated. “We expect that this will shorten the time lag between the completion of breeding

varietal release,” Dr. Kumashiro stated.

Training programs for breeding, experimental design, and germplasm database management have been organized to upgrade the skills of rice researchers, including a training course held at IRRI in October 2010 for rice breeders from various Asian and African countries as well as a training workshop organized by AfricaRice in December 2010 to introduce the principles and new concepts of the experimental planning for plant breeding.

The Task Force will also support MSc and PhD students, and link up with Global Rice Science Scholarships (GRiSS) and other types of scholarships.

Spotting the champions The key to the success of the Africa Rice Breeding Task Force will be timely and quality data collection, management, and interpretation for sound decisions on moving germplasm forward in the various trials, according to Dr. Kumashiro. “If that is done well, smart G × E (genotype by environment) analyses will enable us to select promising breeding lines to proceed to the next phase, that is, spot potential

Hopefully, these “Olympic champions” will help remove some barriers toward improved quality and quantity of rice production on the continent and put Africa on the map of potential sources of rice food security in the world.

conditions. “This feature is a bit like the Olympic Games,” Dr. Kumashiro said.

The second unique feature is that the breeding lines will be cultivated at many sites and exposed to not just a few but many breeders from different institutes. The multiyear and multilocation trials

Map of Africa Rice Breeding Task Force trial sites.

High elevation

Irrigated lowland

Rainfed lowland

Rainfed lowland and upland

Upland

kilometers

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Burundi is a small landlocked country in Central Africa. Long-

country broke out into a civil war

day.1

world.

Women of war

were also recruited to take up arms

3

resources to rebuild businesses or

outcasts.

4

reintegration programs.

Replacing bullets with skills

socially.

provided vocational

Country snapshot

food production.

Women of war turnby Sophie Clayton and Alaric Francis Santiaguel

Ex-combatant women in Burundi try a second chance for a peaceful life by turning to rice farming

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In their own words

“With IRRI’s assistance, I

produce rice myself and I

can eat rice with my children

whenever I need it.”

Ms. Elisabeth Nibigira

n to rice in Burundi

us produce rice for family consumption.

used small quantities because we could

I now feel reintegrated into society. I

produce rice myself and I can eat rice

Participatory science

to perform well in different growing

to be released soon as an outcome of

use to produce more seeds.

The future

it also seeks funding to include more

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“When you educate a girl, you educate a nation.” Nowhere is this saying more

true than in the farming sector in Africa, according to Peinda Cissé, chair of a 35,000-strong farming women’s group in Senegal.

Mrs. Cissé has been a vital conduit for moving agricultural research from scientists to farmers. She has spearheaded the production of foundation seed of improved rice varieties in Senegal, imparting to her group the knowledge she gained from researchers to ensure high yields and high-quality grain.

Praising women farmers, such as Mrs. Cissé, Rita Agboh-Noameshie, the focal person for gender research at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), said that research has shown that, when women generate income through farming, processing, and marketing their goods,

their families and communities as well. “We have seen that women’s incomes

are the most important determinant of

children’s development and thus of future generations,” Dr. Agboh-Noameshie explained. “Therefore, targeting women in agricultural technology dissemination can have a greater impact on poverty than targeting men.”

African women in farmingMore than in Asia, women in Africa play a central role in farming as they serve as pillars of the region’s agriculture. Almost eight out of ten farmers that produce staple food in Africa are women, which means that women virtually feed the region. The high rate of male migration from villages to cities has left many women to play a bigger role in farming.

contribution, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations noted that rural women have less access than men to land, credit, labor-saving technologies, and resources such as fertilizer and improved seeds.

“In addition, when a farm enterprise that is managed by women shows signs

over by men,” Mrs. Cissé observed.

A study on gender inequity in irrigated rice systems by AfricaRice and its partners showed that women in the Senegal River Valley lack access to critical resources, such as land, training, credit, and machinery. More than 70% of the women surveyed did not know how to access land for personal use and 88% did not receive any training in rice production.

Similarly, a gender-mainstreaming analysis carried out as part of a project on inland valley-based rice and vegetable value chains in Benin and Mali showed that male farmers have more control over resources and access to training opportunities than women.

Listening to women farmersIn sub-Saharan African, rice is primarily a women’s crop in rainfed upland and lowland ecologies. For example, a majority of West and Central Africa’s 20 million upland rice farmers who grow rice are women.

Women provide the bulk of the labor in rice cultivation—sowing, weeding, bird scaring, harvesting, processing,

As more men seek greener pastures in the city, the women are left to farm and feed not just their families but the whole region

the pillars of Africa’s agricultur


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re

and marketing. Similarly, in East African countries such as Tanzania and Uganda, women play a major role in their respective country’s rice production.

Recognizing their importance, since the 1990s, AfricaRice has been focusing on the needs of this group of farmers that had been generally neglected by agricultural research until then. Women farmers are invited to be part of participatory varietal selection (PVS) activities and their views are especially sought regarding new genetic materials.

The PVS approach was adopted to identify NERICA varieties that are best suited to farmers, particularly women

West African woman farmer who has been featured in several publications and videos on NERICA. (See http://snipurl.com/farmer-bintu.)

PVS exercises revealed that women and men rank plant traits differently,

instance, women particularly preferred tall plant height because it takes the backache out of harvesting, especially when they carry their babies with them.

They also preferred traits that indicate weed competitiveness, since they are mostly involved in sowing and weeding. Processing and cooking qualities were also of more interest to women than to men. The women liked the early maturity of the upland NERICA varieties, as this shortens the lean or hungry season before harvest, when women struggle to feed their families.

Recent impact studies in Benin have shown that the adoption of NERICA varieties reduces the household’s likelihood of being poor by 10%, with a higher reduction for female-headed households (14%) than for male-headed households (6%).

Empowering women farmersTo improve rural women’s access to learning, several thousand women farmers have been trained in rice cultivation, seed production, and postharvest techniques, particularly by the African Rice Initiative, with support from the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Common Fund for Commodities, the European Union (EU), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Rural women across Africa have

about improved rice farming and postharvest techniques through innovative farmer-to-farmer training videos that have helped them improve the quality of their rice, increase their income, and gain empowerment.

In close association with the West and Central African Women Rice Farmer Group Association, AfricaRice is laying the foundation of a grass-roots seed enterprise in Benin, Togo, and Senegal. The project, funded by the New Field

Foundation, EU, and IFAD, aims to link smallholder women farmers to

opening up opportunities for them to become successful businesswomen in producing and marketing seeds.

Global support for womenWith increasing focus on gender mainstreaming, the recently launched Global Rice Science Partnership gives attention to how gender will be tackled in all its research activities.

African countries have also realized the importance of including women-oriented strategies. The National Rice Development Strategies that have been developed in several African countries with the help of AfricaRice and the Coalition for African Rice Development have highlighted this need.

As Liberia’s Agriculture Minister Florence Chenoweth put it, “Helping female farmers is a good investment in the country’s future. We know that, when we support women, more food and money go into feeding children at home.”

WOMEN FARMERS in Glazoue, Benin, learn how to produce quality seeds as part of a community-based seed enterprise.

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The hills of Rwanda are once again alive with the sound of farmers singing as they harvest their crops. Rwanda, known

as “The Land of a Thousand Hills,” is the most densely populated country in Africa and nearly 90% of the population depends on subsistence agriculture.

As the country moves on from the horrors of the 1994 genocide, it tries to build a new future for itself based on peace and sustainable growth. But, this

destroyed most of the seeds, crops, and

countryside or were killed in the strife. With them, knowledge about local crop varieties also disappeared.

The rise of rice

the improvement of rice production as

poverty and malnutrition. Domestic rice consumption has risen substantially and the country currently imports about 30% of the rice it consumes. Thus, the need for the country to improve its rice productivity is urgent.

The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) has been helping rehabilitate Rwanda’s rice sector by working closely with the national program in distributing


appropriate rice varieties and training national research staff. In order to build new seed supply systems that farmers can rely upon, the AfricaRice has recommended a comprehensive strategy to rebuild the country’s rice seed sector.

In addition, AfricaRice and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are carrying out several important joint projects with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through

the recent advances in rice science, targeted training of researchers and seed producers, and the exchange of elite germplasm.

Rebuilding Africa

countries across Africa (Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda) rebuild their national rice sector by restoring rice agrobiodiversity and strengthening human and institutional capacities.

These efforts have been made in partnership with national research

systems, nongovernmental agencies, and farmer organizations with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Belgian Development Cooperation, Canadian International Development Agency, GTZ, IFAD, the Japanese government, Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency, United Kingdom Department for International Development, and United Nations Development Programme.

When necessary, AfricaRice has provided infusions of seed of improved varieties, such as WITA and NERICA varieties, and helped restore lost germplasm collections. For instance, in Sierra Leone and Liberia, which have suffered years of civil war, over 5,000 rice varieties were restored to the national programs between 1994 and 2002.

Sierra LeoneWith 70% of its population living below the poverty line, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranked 180th out of 182 nations in the Human

Rice for peaceWar-torn African nations turn back to rice to rebuild lives and

regain peace

A POURING rainstorm does not stop Project participants of the Japan-funded Emergency Rice Project in Sierra Leone from posing with AfricaRice Deputy Director General for Research, Dr. Marco Wopereis, IRRI Deputy Director General for Research, Dr. Achim Dobermann, and African Rice Coordinator from AfricaRice, Dr. Inoussa Akintayo.

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Development Index. Rice is a strategic crop for Sierra Leone, where about 120 kilograms per capita of rice are consumed annually compared with 80 kilograms in Asia. Domestic production meets only 70% of the country’s requirements.

The AfricaRice intervention in Sierra Leone after the war was mainly carried out through the AfDB-funded NERICA rice dissemination project in partnership with the national agricultural research system. As part of this project, 42 NERICA varieties were tested between 2005 and 2008, from which 10 were selected and seven adopted by farmers for cultivation.

About 415 farmer groups representing 65,500 farmers (including over 21,000 women) were involved in the testing program. More than 140 tons of foundation seeds and 3,880 tons of farmers’ seeds were produced. Yield rose from 0.6 ton per hectare in 2005 to 1.8 tons per hectare in 2008.

LiberiaAfricaRice has also been actively helping Liberia, where rice is the staple food and problems in supply have caused deadly riots and civil strife in the past. The

country is still trying to recover from more than a decade of civil war. Despite its natural wealth in gems, rubber, and timber, Liberia remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

Liberia produces only about 40% of the rice it needs to feed its population, relying on imports to cover the rest. With support from UNDP, AfricaRice, through its African Rice Initiative (ARI), is rebuilding the capacity of smallholder

AfricaRice is also training technicians and farmers on seed production within the framework of the Millennium Village Project.

Through this collaborative project, the ARI is providing technical assistance and guidance across the rice value chain from seed production to harvest and postharvest processing in partnership with the national agricultural research and extension system.

AfricaRice has recently provided about 60 tons of foundation seeds to the national seed bank. The linkages forged by AfricaRice with international development agencies have led to stronger capacity of farmers for seed production and increased rice cultivation.

the development of a national seed policy

a seed strategy, which will include a national seed service and national variety release agency for rice in Liberia.

UgandaAfricaRice technologies, such as NERICA varieties accompanied with

rice training videos, have played a key role in helping displaced farmers in northern Uganda. After more than 20 years, about 1.5 million refugees are gradually returning to their original lands. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations NERICA project is helping the farmers by introducing rice-based farming systems to increase food security and reduce poverty in Uganda.

A rice initiativeIn 2008, the food crisis caused by soaring prices of rice sparked violent riots in several West African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Senegal, etc.), illustrating the continent’s vulnerability to international rice market shocks.

The Emergency Rice Initiative launched by AfricaRice in the wake of the food crisis in 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, with support from Japan, has been able to help more than 58,000 vulnerable farmers get access to quality seed and, at the same time, reinforce or rebuild seed systems.

Similarly, the United States Agency for International Development-supported Famine Prevention Fund Project launched in partnership with IFDC, the Catholic Relief Services, and national programs, in response to the food crisis, is seeking to help about 10,000 farm families in each of the four project countries (Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal) to have better access to improved seed, fertilizer, and knowledge on rice production practices.

Hopefully, such concerted efforts to stimulate agricultural growth and reduce

reduce vulnerability among resource-poor people in Africa.

SIERRA LEONE is one of the seven pilot countries of the African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded NERICA project carried out by the African Rice Initia-tive (ARI). Dr. Inoussa Akintayo, Regional ARI Coordinator (front left), and Ms. Chileshe Paxina, AfDB representative (right) with project participants.

IN RESPONSE to Liberia’s request, the African Rice Initiative provided about 60 tons of NERICA-foundation seeds to the national seed bank for multiplication and distribution to farmers.

AfricaRice has trained extension workers and farmers in Liberia as part of the Millennium Village Project with support from the United Nations Development Programme.

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In view of the severe lack of capacity in rice production, which is throttling the development of Africa’s

rice sector, participants at the Africa Rice Congress 2010 held in Bamako, Mali, in March 2010 called for a "Marshal Plan" to overcome this weakness.

The Congress brought together nearly 450 participants from 54 countries, particularly from Africa. The participants included rice farmers; seed producers; processors; input dealers; manufacturers of agricultural machinery; national rice research and extension systems; representatives from agricultural ministries, international and advanced research institutes, nongovernment organizations, and the donor community; and other development partners.

The participants took this opportunity to deliberate on strategies

in Africa, develop competitive and equitable rice value chains, reduce imports, and enhance regional trade. They enthusiastically supported the newly proposed Global Rice Science Partnership, an initiative of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to harmonize national and international rice research agendas worldwide for increased impact in Africa.


Interestingly, the Congress highlighted that rice has become a strategic commodity that can potentially fuel economic growth and reduce hunger and poverty across the continent. Rice consumption in Africa is growing at 6–7% per year. To meet this demand, Africa imports close to 10 million tons each year, which is equivalent to one-third of the rice traded in the world market, and this costs US$4 billion in foreign exchange.

“Our studies show that the continent

and favorable growth environments to close the gap between Africa’s rice consumption and production, and that local rice production can be competitive vis-à-vis imported rice,” said Papa Abdoulaye Seck, AfricaRice director general.

He underlined that the capacity of national programs has to be strengthened

with support from regional and international organizations. “There has to be increased technological innovations supported by an appropriate policy environment,” he added.

The Africa Rice Congress 2010, with a theme “Innovation and partnerships to realize Africa’s rice potential,” was organized by AfricaRice in collaboration with the national program—the Institut d’économie rurale (IER)—under the aegis of the Malian government.

Under the main theme, the topics included rice genetic diversity and

developing competitive rice value chains; new alliances and tools for rural learning and innovations and policy implications; integrated management of pests, diseases, and weeds in rice-based systems; and rice physiology and modeling.

A major part of the Congress was a forum on “Investing in Africa’s rice sector: opportunities and challenges,” in which ways to increase investments in the rice sector in Africa particularly through innovative public-private partnerships were explored. Issues such as the need to increase investments for increasing the area under irrigation, improving rural infrastructure, and introducing agricultural mechanization were raised. The forum featured exhibitions of machinery, inputs, and rice products.

Africa seeks "Marshall Plan"* for capacity building

African states work together to unlock the region’s potential to increase rice production

RICE HAS become a strategic commodity in Africa.

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* Africa's "Marshall Plan" was largely inspired by the Europe Recovery Program, which was used to re-build Europe after the devastation caused by World War II.

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During the opening ceremony, on behalf of Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Touré, Prime Minister Modibo Sidibé presented distinguished service awards to Drs. Jacques Diouf, Eugene Terry, and Kanayo Nwanze for their outstanding contributions to rice research and development in Africa during their respective terms as director general of AfricaRice.

Dr. Getachew Engida, AfricaRice Board chair, presented a plaque of appreciation to President Touré for his government’s tremendous efforts to raise rice productivity through the Presidential Initiative on Rice in Mali, which has led to a 50% increase in rice production in the country. Awards for the best presentation per theme, the best poster, and the Most Promising Young Scientist were also presented.

At the end of the Congress, the following key recommendations were made to boost Africa’s rice sector:

Investments in Africa’s rice sector1. Africa’s rice farmers need to be

implementation of policies that modernize rice farming, lessen the burden on women, and turn it into a viable agribusiness, attractive to young people.

2. National and foreign investments are needed to unlock Africa’s tremendous rice potential, while ensuring that this leads to win-win situations for all of Africa’s rice farmers and consumers.

Rice Today July-September 201020

production systems are necessary to meet the demand of Africa’s population.

4. National seed regulatory bodies need to be established and/or strengthened to map and meet rice seed demand for target ecosystems and consumer preferences. They should ensure

link public- and private-sector seed producers, and establish functional and decentralized seed control systems.

5. Small-scale enterprises will need support to help them create and sustain a viable seed business. Private medium- and large-size seed companies should play an increasingly important role in high-input systems, especially for hybrid rice seed.

6. Regional economic communities should be strengthened to contribute to harmonizing seed legislation, and import tariffs, and regulating rice imports, in line with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme framework.

7. National governments should lead in promoting public-private partnerships across the rice value chain for adequate production, storage, processing, and distribution infrastructure to produce quality rice for the African market.

8. A global effort to develop targeted

technological options to help African farmers to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change is needed.

Investments in capacity building9. A "Marshal Plan" by African

governments and their development partners is needed to substantially strengthen the training and retention of new staff, while updating agricultural curricula in vocational training schools and universities and

in the rice value chain. Conducive working environments are required to retain an effective level of capacity in agriculture.

10. The Congress initiated the task force concept, a collective research-for-development effort on critical thematic areas in the rice sector, based on the principles of sustainability, buildup of critical mass, and ownership by national

asked to facilitate and animate these task forces.

11. The Congress endorsed the emergence of a Global Rice Science Partnership, an initiative of AfricaRice, IRRI, and CIAT, as part of the revamped Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, to pool resources, build capacity, and align national and international research agendas,

CONGRESS PARTICIPANTS visit the Office du Niger irrigation rice project in Mali.

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On the Danyi plateau in Togo, villagers still bless newly-wed couples by sprinkling rice grains over their heads. They

use indigenous African rice, which was domesticated about 3,500 years ago in West Africa. The villagers also continue to appease the souls of their ancestors by offering them this rice.

African rice is not only an integral part of the culture but also the preferred food. “Once you taste our rice, you will never like any other rice and it stays in your stomach unlike the modern varieties,” the women say. The elderly villagers mourn, however, that their children and grandchildren are no longer interested in growing this rice.

According to some historians,

African rice sustained the great empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in West and Central Africa during the 11th to 16th century. Today, however, this type of rice is becoming extinct as it is grown only in pockets of West Africa. In some areas,

belonging to this species are still found.

is Oryza glaberrima, is unique to Africa. About 450 years ago, the Asian species, O. sativa, was introduced to Africa from Asia and quickly became popular because of its high yield potential.

Over the years, African rice has been replaced in the region by Asian rice because it is prone to lodging (plants fall over) and shattering (the panicle scatters seed at maturity). For years, it has also

been neglected by research.

by Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) scientists and their partners during the Africa Rice Congress held last 22-26 March 2010 in Bamako, Mali, have sparked renewed interest in this species.

A few African farmers, such as the villagers in the Danyi plateau, have continued to grow African rice because of its adaptability and its ceremonial and cultural value. These farmers inspired AfricaRice scientists to investigate the species and tap into its rich reservoir of genes for resistance to several stresses, including weeds.

For example, studies have shown that one of the O. glaberrima varieties, CG 14, is weed competitive and has


TODAY, INDIGENOUS African rice is grown only by a few farmers in isolated areas of West Africa.

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good resistance to iron toxicity, drought, nematodes, waterlogging, and major African rice diseases and pests. It seems to adapt to acid soil with low phosphorus availability.

“Such multiple resistance to indigenous constraints is a highly desirable character for rice cultivated in the rainfed ecology in West Africa by resource-poor farmers, who cannot afford to adopt intensive agronomic measures against such constraints,” said Dr. Moussa Sié, senior rice breeder and coordinator of the Rice Breeding Task Force of AfricaRice.

That is why AfricaRice scientist Dr. Monty Jones and his team selected CG 14 when they decided to cross O. glaberrima with O. sativa in the 1990s to develop productive rice varieties that can adapt to African conditions. They succeeded in breaking the natural barrier

to cross. This was the genesis of the New Rice for Africa (NERICA). The best NERICA varieties combine the stress tolerance of O. glaberrima with the high yield potential of O. sativa.

“However, there are still gaps between the NERICA varieties and O. glaberrima in relation to resistance to some local constraints,” Dr. Koichi Futakuchi, AfricaRice ecophysiologist, observes.

AfricaRice therefore started to systematically characterize its entire O. glaberrima collection of 2,500 samples in 2009. A special effort is being made to screen for major diseases and environmental stresses such as acidity, iron toxicity, cold, and salinity.

Explaining this comprehensive effort, Dr. Kayode Sanni, coordinator of the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice for Africa (INGER-Africa), says that until now only a few accessions of O. glaberrima have been used in the breeding programs.

“By characterizing our O. glaberrima collection in our genebank,

O. glaberrima lines with better traits than the current parental lines of NERICA,” Dr. Sanni says.

AfricaRice is also changing the breeding concept as well as breeding

varieties. “The new concept for O.

more O. glaberrima genes in the genome than the current NERICA varieties, which were developed from backcrossing to an O. sativa parent. “We are using

with O. glaberrima and O. barthii and no backcrossing has been done with the O. sativa parent,” he explains. “The

soon.” To better exploit the assets of O.

glaberrima without being hampered by the sterility problems of hybridization with another species, AfricaRice scientists have begun working on the

O. glaberrimaand are taking steps to develop plants that are less prone to lodging and shattering.

Since O. glaberrima had been considered to have generally low yield

O. sativa, which has high yield potential, was a major method in using this species. However, AfricaRice breeders now think that O. glaberrima can potentially yield

for rainfed rice ecosystems in Africa. Initial results from crossing different

types of O. glaberrima also show that completely different sets of genes are responsible for tolerance of submergence, rice yellow mottle virus, and phosphorus

O. sativa.

Some new products will likely be derived using molecular breeding approaches, through collaborative efforts with the International Rice Research Institute and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. AfricaRice scientists are already using this approach to introduce resistance to disease and other stresses into some of Africa’s most popular rice varieties.

With Cornell University in the U.S., a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip is being developed based on core collections of O. glaberrimaand O. barthiianalyze African germplasm and screen

traits.“We have new products in the

pipeline for Africa’s rice farmers, particularly those who want to continue to grow African rice–like those of the Danyi plateau,” says Dr. Sié.

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AfricaRice upland rice breeder Dr. Mandé Semon looks at the new rice lines developed from Oryza glaberrima.

Central and Western Africa.

glaberrima and O. sativa is to combine the adaptability of O. glaberrima to local environments with the optimal conjunction of the best traits of the two species in relation to yielding ability,” says Dr. Futakuchi.

Studies made by Dr. Futakuchi and his colleagues show that the O. glaberrima parent of the upland NERICA varieties, CG 14, even produced more panicles than the “panicle-number type” high-yielding O. sativa varieties, although its individual panicle was smaller. The introduction of such an extraordinary trait may favor yielding ability.

Such studies increasingly recognize the “need to exploit the treasure trove that is in African rice germplasm,” as AfricaRice upland rice breeder Dr. Mandé Semon puts it.

Dr. Semon is leading the effort to

Bamako

Danyiplateau

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For Glégnon Codjo, a smallholder rice farmer in Benin, climate change is not a matter of debate. It is fast eroding his source

of livelihood. “Our seasons have gone crazy: either the rains don’t come when our crops need them or there is so much rain that our crops rot,” he laments. “I thought God was angry with us. But now, I am told that all this is happening because of climate change.”

Like Glégnon, millions of smallholder farmers in Africa are increasingly grappling with the changing climate around them. Scientists predict that climate change will make extreme

droughts that can erode soil and lead to crop failure—more common.

When combined with the natural vulnerability and poor adaptive capacity in Africa, these impacts on agriculture could have devastating consequences for food security, poverty, and social welfare. Therefore, climate change is likely to have a far greater impact here

than in other parts of the world.Scientists, governments, and

donors need to take urgent measures to improve the resilience of rural African communities to enable them to better adapt to climate change.

Rice is increasingly becoming important in Africa—both as a food and cash crop—and increased rice production will be crucial to achieving the necessary adaptation. Rice production in the region, however, is affected by such stresses as drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures, all of which are expected to worsen with climate change. To adapt successfully to climate change, farmers need rice technologies with greater tolerance of these stresses.

Since these stresses have always

production, the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) has been developing for several years now rice varieties adapted

farming techniques to help poor farmers better manage their use of the

increasingly scarce water and fragile soil in Africa. Their efforts are now paying rich dividends.

The African cultivated rice species Oryza glaberrima is a rich reservoirof useful genes for resistance to major stresses. This discovery led AfricaRice scientists to cross the African rice species with the higher-yielding Asian O. sativa, which resulted in the birth of a generation of new rice varieties, called NERICA®. The NERICA varieties are promising for rainfed systems in Africa. Farmers like these varieties because they mature early and thus often escape drought.

Using both conventional breeding and biotechnology, AfricaRice scientists continue to develop rice varieties that are even hardier than NERICA by maximizing the diversity of the African rice germplasm pool consisting of O. glaberrima, its wild relatives (O. barthiiand O. longistaminata), and O. sativalandraces. These offer a massive potential for use as sources for resistances to major stresses in rice.

Africa develops climate change-resilient rice technologies

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molecular biology techniques, help speed up the development of new stress-tolerant rice varieties as they enable AfricaRice breeders and their partners to more

that control stress tolerance. Because of this, the scientists can then successfully transfer the desirable traits from the African rice gene pool into popular varieties.

This work is closely allied with the farmer participatory approach, which is highly effective in ensuring that rice improvement also takes into account farmers’ valuable local knowledge. It is crucial for these new varieties to suit local needs and preferences.

“Thus, climate-resilient rice varieties resulting from this work have

are in the making,” said Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, AfricaRice coordinator for the IRRI-AfricaRice joint project on “Stress-tolerant rice for poor farmers in Africa and South Asia (STRASA).”

The STRASA project, which involves 14 African countries and three South Asian countries, is funded by

bbbybbbbybb

and drying later on can save water with little or no yield loss in a Sahelian environment, provided weeds are controlled.

AfricaRice is closely involved in a multipartnership project on “Developing rice and sorghum crop adaptation strategies for climate change in vulnerable environments in Africa” (RISOCAS), which is led by the University of Hohenheim. This endeavor is carried out in partnership with the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) for crop modeling. It aims to deliver coping strategies for crops to adapt to changing climatic conditions, along with tools and methods that will enable stakeholders to develop such strategies further, or to apply them to other crops or environments.

As part of a new project to be launched in 2010, AfricaRice will initiate a study on the relationship between rice diseases and climate change. Two of the major rice diseases affecting the region are rice blast and bacterial blight.

especially temperature and humidity. Funded by Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, the project will be carried out in Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania in collaboration with German universities and IRRI.

“We are also planning to get climatologists and geographic information systems (GIS) experts more involved in environmental characterization,” explained Dr. Paul Kiepe, the focal person in charge of climate change–related research at AfricaRice. “More precise predictions of future climate patterns are needed in this research that aims to develop climate-resilient, rice-based technologies.”

improve technologies for resource-poor farmers in Africa that are suitable and effective in reducing the negative effects of climate change on rice production and marketing.

the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). It aims to accelerate the development and delivery of improved

stresses—drought, submergence, salinity, iron toxicity, and low temperature. Thanks to this project, new stress-tolerant rice varieties are now being evaluated

participatory varietal selection approach. However, integrated crop and soil

fertility management strategies still need to be developed and disseminated to realize the full potential of climate-resilient varieties of rice and also to stabilize yields and reduce environmental degradation arising from climate change in rice ecosystems.

AfricaRice has developed an integrated crop management (ICM) approach for irrigated and rainfed

across the continent. A study by AfricaRice demonstrates

that a paddy irrigation regime that starts

and then changes to alternate wetting

(Left) AfricaRice investigates the climate-resilient traits of the indigenous African rice, Oryza glaberrima. (Right) Most of the rice farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are women. Through participatory approaches, they have become very much involved in AfricaRice’s research on stress-tolerant rice.

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News

Rice varieties released in Tanzania


Tanzanian farmers can now boost rice production by adopting two IRRI-bred high-yielding

rice varieties, Komboka (IR05N 221; photo below) and Tai (IR03A 262). The new varieties are highly preferred by farmers for their long, slender, and translucent grains and soft texture for cooking. Both varieties can be grown twice a year.

A new generation of high-performing rice varieties, branded as ARICA (Advanced

Rice Varieties for Africa), has been launched by the Africa Rice Breeding Task Force. Five ARICA varieties (three lowland varieties and two upland varieties) outyielded the most popular check varieties in the trials. The three lowland varieties have a yield advantage of 30–50% over NERICA-L19 while the two upland varieties can yield 15% more than NERICA 4.

“Unlike the NERICA varieties, the ARICAs are not restricted to

Wopereis, deputy director general at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). “Any line that shows promise, regardless of its origin can become an ARICA variety as long as the data

promising opportunities to Africa’s

to the lives of Africa’s rice farmers, who do not have access to new

their growing environment and

AfricaRice director general. The Breeding Task Force,

which was set up in 2010, comprises international and national rice breeders from 30 African countries and operates as part of the Japan-funded project, Developing the Next Generation of New Rice Varieties for Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

Africa gets rice varieties with higher yields

It has adopted a systematic and multi-environment testing approach

In addition to rice breeders, farmers, members of national variety release

participate in the evaluation. The breeding lines that enter the Task Force are provided by many institutes that are part of the Global Rice

“This will contribute to faster,

targeted releases of new climate-resilient and stress-tolerant rice varieties for major production

, Africa Rice Breeding Task Force

breeder who developed the lowland NERICAs for which he received the Japan International Koshihikari Rice

He added that the Task Force helps strengthen breeding capacity and ensures that national breeders can use the materials from the Task Force not just to evaluate, but also to develop or improve their own

their consumers’ preferences and ecologies.

ARICA, a new generation of

high-performing rice varieties.

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News

The average rice yield in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) expanded by about 30% from 2007 to

2012, and it is increasing faster than the global average according to an analysis by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice).

From 1961 to 2007, the average rice yield in SSA increased by about 11 kg per hectare per year. And, it rose by a spectacular average of 108 kg per hectare per year from 2007 to 2012,

African countries in 2011 and 2012.AfricaRice revealed that the

paddy rice production growth rate in SSA shot up from 3.2% per year from 2000 to 2007 to 8.4% per year from 2007 to 2012.

“This is very encouraging news,” said AfricaRice Director General Papa Seck. “The surge in SSA’s rice production and yield is a result of key investments made by farmers, governments, the private sector, the research community, and donors to develop Africa’s rice sector.”

Dr. Seck underlined that it is crucial to maintain this trend, because rice consumption in SSA continues to increase at 5% annually.

AfricaRice Deputy Director General Marco Wopereis explained that such growth rates are compa-rable with cereal yield growth rates after World War II in the United Kingdom and the U.S.

“Currently, 71% of the increase in paddy rice production in SSA can be explained by yield increases and 29% by area expansion, whereas, before the rice crisis, only 24% of the production increase could be

Hfarmers' decisions on whether to use improved rice varieties

(IRVs), according to a study of rice farmers in Nigeria.

"Wealthier households are more likely to adopt IRVs than their poorer counterparts," said Aliou Diagne, AfricaRice economist. "The richest

-

Average rice yield in sub-Saharan Africa jumps 30%

76% to increases in harvested area,” Dr. Wopereis said.

“This is evidence of increased use of technological innovation, such as improved varieties and improved crop management in general,” he added.

Rice yield worldwide—driven by the Green Revolution in Asia—increased by 52 kg per ha per year from 1960 to 2010.

Source: http://africarice.wordpress.com

Nigeria: Rich farmers more likely to adopt improved rice varieties

sources and may be more able to take risks. Similarly, expensive technolo-gies are available only to—and thus adopted by—the richest farmers."

The adoption of IRVs has had

household income and on Nigerian rice production, Dr. Diagne said.

But, he added that boosting the adoption of IRVs by farmers,

regardless of wealth, will require improving their awareness of IRV

access to credit, seeds, and farmer

Source: www.scidev.net


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LOCAL RICE market in Mopti, Mali.

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News

A financial boost for C4 rice

The pursuit to rein in hunger with the development of a

and is now rolling into its second phase.

The project seeks to create "C4

in up to 50% higher production while using less water and nutrients.

The Bill & Melinda Gates

and IRRI have put $14 million 4 rice over the next 3

the Prime Minister was calling for at the Hunger Summit at

of State for International Development.

4

required for functional C4

introduced 10 out of the 13 genes needed for C4 rice.

In this second phase of the

C4

more on C4 on page 14). ■

THE WEED identification tool is also accessible as an app on a tablet.


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"Weeds are perhaps the most important

constraint in rice production."

Dr. Jonne Rodenburg, AfricaRice weed scientist

A new interactive tool can now

weed species of lowland rice in East and West Africa.

a comprehensive

or as an app on smartphones and

“Weeds are perhaps the most important constraint

resource for all

and management of rice weeds in

weed scientist.

Identifying rice weeds in Africa

internationale en recherche

is carried out in partnership with national agricultural research and

The project has also developed

professional social network for sharing information

rice in Africa.

developed to help disseminate knowledge and exchange information

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scientist from CIRAD and leader of

“The target users are weed

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Two newly-released varieties, IR77713 and IR79511, are expected to boost

food production and meet the rapidly growing demand for rice in Burundi.

Farmers and agricultural stakeholders in Burundi chose the two rice varieties (IR77713 and IR79511) bred by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) over the country’s locally grown varieties—V14, V18, Watt, and Rukaramu—because they produce more rice and taste and look better.

The new varieties easily gained favor because they are high-yielding and early-maturing. They yield up to 7 tons per hectare, which is 1–1.5 tons more than the locally grown varieties, and they mature 2–3 weeks earlier.

The farmers also ranked IR77713 and IR79511 highest in grain quality of unmilled, milled, and cooked rice. In addition, a sensory test revealed that farmers fi nd IRRI’s new varieties tasty.

The new varieties are suitable to be planted in lowland areas of the country (800–900 meters above sea level).

Burundi releases two new rice varieties March 2012

FARMERS chose IR77713 and IR79511 as the best looking rice varieties.


N

director general, Africa Rice Center

conduct their doctoral research under the joint supervision of AfricaRice scientists

Representing diverse agricultural disciplines, their thesis topics cover

supervisors, expressed their delight and

an international scholarship like GRiSS

Alexander Nimo Wiredu from

African PhD students receive Global Rice Science Scholarships

differences among farmers in selected countries of West Africa, among other

Underlining the desperate lack of

said, “Skills are lacking in all major

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TOP PHOTO: (Left to right) GRiSS scholars

Omar Ndaw Faye from

Senegal and Jasper

Mwesigwa Batureine

from Uganda visited

AfricaRice to discuss

their research topics.

CARLINE SANTOS from

Benin is one of the

two African women

who received a GRiSS

scholarship.

disciplines relating to rice science, from

threatens to impede the progress in

News

34

Working together for the rice farmers

and consumers of Africa!

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute

on behalf of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP)

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