Cotonou, Benin
April 22, 2008
Humanity is today facing an acute
rice crisis that, no doubt, is a serious threat to social peace
keeping. This is not a surprise to me at all, because when I
consider the knowledge capital accumulated by man, it is hard
and even impossible not to foresee such phenomena. Africa Rice
Center (WARDA) has for at least 02 years predicted a rice crisis
in Africa as of 2008. The last whistle blowing dates back from
the Council of Ministers of Member States held in Abuja in
September 2007. During that important meeting, WARDA Director
General had made a presentation entitled “Rice crisis in Africa,
myth or reality”? It clearly emphasized that our continent was
heading to real supply difficulties. In fact Africa accounts for
10 to 13 per cent of world population but consumes 32 per cent
of world imports with a consumption growth rate of about 4.5 per
cent per annum. Coupled with this are world stocks, which are at
their lowest level since 25 years, with at least 2 months
reserve including the half that is based in China. It must also
be emphasized that econometric models had also estimated that
2008 prices would at least be double of 2002 prices. Finally
supply is steadily shrinking. For example, a leading producer
like China lost 4 million hectares over 10 years and could look
for 10 per cent of its requirements on the international
markets, that is, 35 per cent of the quantities that are traded.
This is in fact the equivalent of current Africa share.
Many initiatives have been taken by most African Governments.
But we are bound to note and emphasize that just like in other
parts of the world, nothing could stop the phenomenon.
The rice crisis is structural; it is likely to be long and hard,
because Asia is less and less capable of feeding the world. An
analysis of the 10 last years shows that world consumption is
increasing on average by 1 per cent per annum and productivity
by 0.5 per cent. The crisis therefore might be the cumulated
effect of the gaps recorded each year.
I am convinced that Africa holds the future for rice farming.
Because this continent, unlike Asia, has a great untapped
potential, which is benchmarked by its large land distribution
and its barely used water resources (Zambia, DRC, Sierra Leone,
Mali, Senegal, etc.). For illustration, in sub-Saharan Africa,
there are 130 million hectares of lowlands including the 3.9
million only under cultivation. Meanwhile in Asia, the challenge
is not about increasing rice areas but rather about maintaining
them. The competitiveness of local rice production in
sub-Saharan Africa is now a fact. This can be demonstrated by
comparing yields achieved in Thailand and Vietnam with yields
recorded in Senegal, Mali and Niger. Stereotypes regarding our
cost and quality competitiveness are rather wishful thinking and
beside the points.
Africa needs to turn things around by overriding the emergency
management logic to favor a genuine rationalization of its
thought on the future and by taking concrete recovery steps.
Viewed in this way, this crisis is rather an opportunity to
think out of the box and act differently to feed ourselves on an
indigenous and sustainable basis. Only one issue is therefore at
stake: what are the problems and what should be done?
On the short term, the measures taken by a number of African
Governments regarding tax reduction and a number of mechanisms
targeting fairness on the markets are consistent. They must
however be more pro-poor focused. They must also initiate
thinking immediately on medium and long term actions, because
the equations will come up more strongly in terms of resource
availability than resource accessibility.
Along these lines the following points can be made:
1. Significantly increase
the share of high yielding irrigated rice farming in
production. Today irrigated areas in Africa accounts for
less than 10 per cent compared to more than 50 per cent in
Asia. Irrigated rice farming helps to both achieve very high
yields (3 to 4 times higher than rainfed) and to conduct
double cropping.
2. Promote the use of varieties like NERICA (a variety
developed by WARDA through a crossing between the African
rice and the Asian rice). NERICA helps to markedly increase
yields in a number of ecosystems, to achieve a shorter cycle
(less than 50 days compared to traditional varieties) and a
protein value which is higher by 25 per cent compared to
imported rice. Today there are 18 NERICA varieties developed
for upland and 60 for lowland, which have been released in
20 African countries. Streamlining and fast tracking the
procedures for releasing these varieties through the use of
the participatory methods proposed by WARDA should be
approved by all African countries to reduce the adoption
process by several numbers of years.
3. Increase access to improved seed: Seed availability is
one of the major constraints of a successful use of improved
varieties like NERICA. To overcome such a problem the
following measures, among others, are necessary: (i) Enact
standard laws for seeds and define efficient seed control
and certification mechanisms, and ensure their
implementation. (ii) Establish a seed legislation system to
support private sector involvement in seed supply and trade.
(iii) Support national agricultural research systems (NARS)
in breeder’s seed and foundation seed production.
4. Improve cropping practices: WARDA and its partners have
highlighted the possibility of increasing yields in farmer
operational condition through an integrated management of
the rice season by proposing alternatives ranging from land
preparation to harvest. Yield gains from one to two tonnes
per hectare have been made in irrigated systems and
lowlands, without any significant increase in production
costs; the improvements specifically focus on fertility
management and weed control.
5. Reduce harvest and post-harvest losses: Harvest and
post-harvest losses (in quantity and quality) accounts for
15 to 50 per cent of the market value of production. Making
performing equipment available to operators and training
them is therefore the only way to reduce losses and to
improve quality together with links with the various
operators in the rice value chain.
6. Support research and extension systems and their links:
Establishing a rice operator platform, a national rice
program support fund and adequately funding rice research
and extensions systems appear to me as the major thrusts to
be considered.
7. Mass Support to rice sector operators: There is a
deregulation in international trade. Until a recent year,
the 11 000 North American rice farmers received subsidies
valued at US$ 1.4 billion per year. Meanwhile the 7 million
African rice farmers keep on battling it out with a
liberalized market without any subsidy and with limited
access to credit, input and market information.
It is in fact obvious that rural African operators like all
their counterparts around the world need a substantial
support.
8. Improve our infrastructure to reduce the high cost of
inputs: Prices of fertilizer in Africa are generally 2 to 6
times higher than prices in Asia, Europe and North America
which are specifically tied to high transportation charges.
We therefore have objective limitations for a smart
intensification to boost African rice productivity.
Conclusion
Africa must understand that it must ensure a rice supply that is
sufficient in quantity, satisfactory in quality, rewarding for
producers and bearable by the budget of the poorest consumers.
It is at this cost and this cost alone that it can escape
“hostage taking” by world prices. There is no secret; a
competitive and sustainable agriculture is achieved by a
combination of 03 smart factors: Performing technologies, basic
infrastructure and an enabling environment. Yes it is possible
to turn the trends around but on the medium term.
Dr. Papa A. Seck
Agricultural Policy and Strategies Specialist
Director General
Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
Source & comments:
http://africarice.blogspot.com/2008/04/africa-holds-future-for-world-rice.html
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