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.

“African rice consumption exceeds production. Only 54 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s rice consumption is supplied locally,” said Agra programme 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. The rice consumption rate is growing faster than that of any other major food staple. But rather than substantially increasing local production, demand for imports has surged.

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 a 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 regional food security, and reduce Africa’s over-reliance on rice imports from Asia.

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 its food demands, it will experience food crises as the costs continue to rise for consumers“, said Dr Namanga Ngongi, Agra’s president. “We must boost local production. We must grow our own food.“

Agra is a partnership-based organisation that works across sub-Saharan Africa to end rural poverty and hunger by increasing the productivity and sustainability of smallholder farming. 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, 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 $30 million (approx. Shs49.5 billion) in the process, according to the Ugandan National Agricultural Research Organisation (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.”

“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.

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 of the Rockefeller support) farmers were able to reap $9 million (Approx. Shs 14.9 billion) in 2005.

The meeting also addressed current efforts to tackle diseases such as Rice Yellow Mottle Virus and Rice Blast that are devastating farmers in several regions.

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. Dr Kibanda expects that new disease resistant versions of farmers’ favorite variety, known as Supa, will be available by 2009.

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.

Uganda provides a strong example of this kind of collaboration. 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.

Agra has now 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.
By Jane Ininda
Programme Officer, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra)