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Rice has become an indispensable cereal in Africa. The new variety of rice, called NERICA (New Rice for Africa), is the result of a cross between an African rice and an Asian rice, and acclimatises well to poor soil and drought, while it is richer in proteins than the rice which has been eaten up to then. The Japanese want to cultivate this crop throughout Africa in the fight against poverty. Mr Jones Monty, the executive secretary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, explained at the World Summit in Johannesburg: «Nerica is the result of ten years of research. It was developed by crossing specimens of African and Asian varieties of rice to improve the yield with a limited amount of input, and so improve the lot of farmers. It is resistant to diseases and insect damage, has higher yields and a reduced growing cycle.»

The Chinese failed in their attempt to establish rice growing in Gabon. Annoyed at having to use a great amount of foreign currency to import rice, the Gabonese authorities had asked China for help. The industrial and breeders company of Boumango, with the help of a Chinese technical mission, developed 500 hectares of rice paddy fields.

Production had reached 160 metric tons in 1996, then 166 tons in 1997. However, after the departure of the Chinese, the project was not continued, as follow-up could not be properly guaranteed. In spite of that, Gabon consumes more and more rice, so that it imported 50,000 tons in 2001, at a cost of 15.03 billion CFA francs (1 EUR = 656 CFA francs.

Michèle Mba, mother of a family, stressed that «We eat rice nearly every day, because the price of other food stuffs has increased greatly. For numerous families it is cheaper».

Many importers of rice have seen the light, as a result of bad government agricultural policy. Rice is the most commonly eaten cereal, because it is cheaper for small households, coming pricewise after cassava, cooking bananas, yams and taro which are often used with national dishes.

«If we were to succeed in cultivating rice as the Chinese cooperative mission had tried a few years ago, its price would have gone down. But what would be the reaction of the importing companies in which some members of the government are shareholders?» asks Youssouf Mohamed a retailer of rice in Libreville’s main market.

Creating conditions for food self-sufficiency

Since the sixties, the demand for rice in western and central Africa has increased annually by 5% This was because of population increase, rural exodus and the need for easily prepared food. African rice (Aryza Glaberrima) cultivated for more than 3,500 years, is adapted to local conditions, but the yield is poor. Asiatic rice (Orza sativa) introduced into Africa about 450 years ago, produces higher yields but is less tolerant of pests, diseases and other local problems. KanayoMwanze, the director general of the Association for the Development of Rice-growing in West Africa (WARDA), comments: «In 1991, WARDA initiated an ambitious program to develop new varieties of rice, by using modern biotechnology and the conventional method of hybridisation of different species to overcome the problem of hybrid sterility».

Since then, WARDA has adopted a community system of seed production developed in Senegal and is based on a good selection of panicles in the harvesting of grain and methods of preparation, storage and handling. According to this system, parent grains of rice are distributed to selected growers so that they can produce basic seed, which is then sold to other growers who will produce grain of acceptable standard and will eventually be sold to growers at large. (A.L)

The new Nerica rice, described by the Japanese as «the hope of assuring a food supply in Africa», has already transformed the lives of many farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. It was jointly introduced at the Johannesburg Summit by the Japanese government, the United Nations Programme for Development (UNDP) and the Association for the Development of Rice Production in West Africa.

Yoriko Kawaguchi, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed that «Nerica rice is a short-term strategy, which, with aid from the Japanese government, has made Guinea the fifth largest rice producer in Africa». The striking accounts of two Nerica growers from Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, supported the hypothesis according to which Nerica, which is weed-resistant and has a shorter growth cycle, is characterised by high yields (50% higher without fertilizers and 200% higher with fertilizers).

Leyba Camara, a grower of Nerica in Guinea, says: «Thanks to appropriate technology, I have been able to double my production. This has meant a marked improvement of my lifestyle and I have been able to send my children to school. Moreover I have acquired management techniques. Now we have been able to provide a hydraulic pump for the village out of the proceeds of sales. Also we have provided a television and radio listening room for the community. Since then other areas have followed our example, and we are going to found a cooperative to deal collectively with our harvests. A part of the crop meets the needs of the family and the remainder, the greater part, is sold.»

The new rice, now used by 35%-40% of farmers in West Africa inherits the good traits of each of the African and Japanese «parents». In 1997, with help from Japan and the UNDP, an accelerated program to develop the strains of a new family of rice was initiated. Several are ready to be distributed.

There is a mixture of between 60 and 100 varieties of rice cultivated by rice growers. To propagate Nerica throughout Africa, the African Rice Initiative (ARI) was set up on 27 March by Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister, Mr Pascal Affi N’Guessan. ARI‘s aim for the coming five years, is to develop a cultivated area of 210,000 hectares in West and Central Africa, and to produce 744,000 tons of rice a year. According to a feasibility study, the farmers who adopt the scheme will reserve 15 to 20% of their land for the production of Nerica. This will involve 1.7 million African farmers.

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ISSUE/EDITION Nr 443 - 01/11/2002