African farmers gaining access to disease-resistant, 'upland'
rice varieties
Meeting of rice breeders from 10 African countries sets
forth strategy to boost rice production in face of rising food prices and import
crunch
As concern builds around the impact of
rising food prices and new restrictions on rice exports from Asian countries hit
by adverse climate conditions, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA) announced that African rice breeders have made critical steps
towards ensuring self-sufficiency and boosting African rice production. The
successful development and release of stress-tolerant upland and lowland
irrigated rice varieties has begun to significantly increase rice production in
some countries, including Uganda. At the same time, there is the need for strong
government support of rice breeding and seed distribution programs to maximize
gains.
“African rice consumption exceeds production. Only 54 percent of
sub-Saharan Africa rice consumption is supplied locally,” said AGRA program
officer Jane Ininda at the Kampala meeting. “Farmers need new high-yielding,
locally adapted varieties to raise rice yield and turn around Africa's food
crisis situation. Governments should develop policies that speed up the breeding
and distribution of new varieties. There is need for urgent action here.”
The demand for rice in sub-Saharan Africa is double the rate of population
growth and consumption is growing faster than that of any other major food
staple. But rather than substantially increasing local production, demand for
imports has surged. In Mali, for example, rice imports doubled over a four-year
period, increasing from 51,969 tones in 2000 to 105,390 tones in 2004.
The announcement was made at the inaugural meeting of the Rice Breeders
Network, a consortium of eminent rice breeders, researchers, and seed companies
from more than 10 African countries. Recent advances are largely result of
funding from the Nairobi-based AGRA, which also announced ambitious plans to
support the development and release of new rice varieties in Mozambique, Kenya,
Uganda, Mali, Nigeria and Malawi that will ultimately boost local production,
improve regional food security, and reduce Africa’s over-reliance on rice
imports from Asia. In addition to these countries, network participants hailed
from Benin, Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania.
Recent successes and future efforts focus on breeding locally adapted
varieties of “Nerica” rice, which is a resilient, high-yielding cross of an
African and Asian rice species. Breeders of Nerica rice won the World Food Prize
in 2004. As an “upland” rice, Nerica is not restricted to growing in
paddies, thus enabling African farmers to grow rice in places that no one before
thought possible. But to make use of Nericas, farmers need locally adapted
varieties that are early maturing, disease resistant, have the aroma and taste
that local communities prefer, and have “spikes” that protect the rice from
hungry birds.
“As long as Africa depends on imports for meeting our food demands, we will
experience food crises as the costs continue to rise for consumers, said Dr.
Ngongi Namanga, AGRA’s President. “We must boost local production. We must
grow our own food.”
AGRA is a partnership-based organization that works across sub-Saharan Africa
to end rural poverty and hunger by increasing the productivity and
sustainability of smallholder farming. AGRA is funding the Rice Breeders Network
meeting and many of the new breeding efforts. Its support of the Rice Breeders
Network is part of a comprehensive approach that embraces everything from the
development and distribution of high-quality seeds, to improving soil health and
agricultural education, and developing markets and infrastructure for
agriculture.
The Rice Breeders Network hosted their first meeting in Uganda, which has
scored recent successes in developing upland varieties and getting them into the
hands of farmers. In March 2004, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni launched the
Upland Rice Project with support from United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Since then, rice farming in Uganda has grown from 4,000 farmers in 2004 to over
35,000 in 2007 and the acreage for rice growing areas has increased
dramatically. In addition, Uganda has reduced its rice importation from 60,000
metric tons (MT) in 2005 to 35,000 MT in 2007, saving Ugandans roughly $USD 30
million in the process, according to the Ugandan National Agricultural Research
Organization (NARO).
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Dennis Kyetere, head of NARO, said “African
agriculture has always depended on Mother Nature. As a result, we have
experienced 40 years of declining production and an increase in rural poverty.
More than 200 million people are malnourished. This is not a bible that we
should continue quoting in our prayers.”
“Our dependence on Asian rice imports is putting us more at risk. We must
make new varieties available and give farmers access to them,” he added.
The meeting highlighted current efforts to develop and release improved
disease-resistant rice varieties and to overcome the barriers that prevent new
varieties from reaching farmers and improving food security. The delayed release
of new varieties slows commercialization and denies farmers access to new
improved varieties. This problem further aggravates food insecurity and poverty
among small-scale farm households, according to AGRA.
In Uganda and Tanzania, new NERICA varieties were released to farmers in late
2007 and as a result there has been increased production and consumption on the
farm level. From the earlier releases of three upland rice varieties in Uganda
in 2002 courtesy the Rockefeller support, farmers were able to reap US$9 million
in 2005.
The meeting also addressed current efforts to tackle diseases such as Rice
Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV) and Rice Blast that are devastating farmers in
several regions, most recently in Kenya where rice farmers are counting their
losses after this season’s crop was attacked by blast. Some have lost up to
half of this season’s crop.
Meanwhile, Tanzania breeder Dr. Nkonki Kibanda reported that the country’s
Department of Agricultural Services has identified local varieties resistant to
Rice Yellow Mottle Virus, which can decimate 90 percent of rice yield. Kibanda
expects that new disease resistant versions of farmers’ favorite variety,
known as Supa, will be available by 2009.
Linking Breeders to Private Sector
However, the development of new varieties is only a first step. A second
major challenge is multiplying large quantities of the new varieties and getting
them to farmers. This requires that public breeding institutes work far more
closely with small private seed companies, helping to build an African private
seed sector that is responsive to the needs of small-holder farmers.
According to Ininda, Uganda provides a strong example of this kind of
collaboration. “The activities of companies like FICA, Naseco and Victoria
Seeds, working with public breeders, have been a major part of the success story
of the Nerica rice varieties in Uganda,” she said. Seed companies have seen
annual sales grow from zero to 3,500 metric tons in the past six years.
In the past, seed distribution was mostly carried out by national governments
with very limited financial resources. For their part, multinational seed
companies have had little to no interest in fostering the sale of African crops
to smallholder farmers, as the profit margin would be too small. To fill this
gap in seed distribution systems, AGRA has begun facilitating growth in
Africa’s private sector by providing loans and technical assistance to small-
and mid-size seed companies, allowing farmers to access locally adapted, higher
quality seed.
“In addition to Uganda, national seed industries are also taking root in
Mali and Mozambique,” said George Bigirwa, the program officer for AGRA’s
African seed production initiative. “For the private seed sector to grow and
effectively serve smallholder farmers, policymakers need to give these African
start-ups the freedom to operate and to access publicly bred varieties without
restriction. Where this is happening, farmers are gaining access to
high-yielding new varieties.”
The Rice Breeders Network, comprised of public and private sectors, is moving
together to tackle these issues.
“We would like other governments to support private sector entities,”
said Bigirwa. “This public-private approach has worked in Uganda, and, as a
result, five new rice varieties have been available to farmers since 2002. Kenya
is quickly moving in this direction as well. We need other governments to move
forward and take the next step.”
More information:
 About the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help
millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of
poverty and hunger. AGRA programs develop practical solutions to significantly
boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the
environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key
aspects of the African agricultural “value chain”—from seeds, soil health,
and water to markets and agricultural education.
AGRA’s Board is chaired by Kofi A. Annan, the former Secretary-General of
the United Nations. AGRA’s President is Dr. A. Namanga Ngongi, former Deputy
Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. With initial
support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, AGRA maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana.
Contact: Stella Kihara
skihara@agra-alliance.org
Alliance for a Green Revolution in
Africa (AGRA)
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