Cotonou, Benin
May 23, 2008
On eve of the Fourth Tokyo
International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV),
experts warn that current dependence on rice imports is ‘recipe
for disaster’ for Africa; production still lags far behind
consumption
As African governments and tens of millions of poor African
consumers faced a dangerous rice crisis in 2007, new rice
varieties adapted to African conditions helped achieve a 6
percent increase in the continent’s output. Though this
represents a major advance, it is still far short of meeting
demand, according to a report released today in advance of a key
international conference in Japan on Africa’s development.
The new rice varieties, which are suited to drylands, were
distributed and sown on more than 200,000 hectares during the
last five years in several African countries, notably Guinea,
Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Uganda, according to the Africa Rice
Center report.
The results of the New Rice for Africa (NERICA®) Project, which
is funded by the African Development Bank, the Japanese
government, and the United Nations Development Programme, will
be discussed next week at the Fourth Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in Yokohama, where
world leaders and development experts are meeting for three
days, starting May 28, to talk about pressing development issues
in Africa.
The gains from the new rice varieties came against a worrisome
backdrop of rapidly increasing consumption of rice in Africa,
which imports 40 percent of its rice. Africa Rice Trends, a
report released earlier this year by the Africa Rice Center,
notes that rice production in West Africa – the continent’s main
rice belt – increased 5.1 percent annually from 2001 to 2005,
while consumption increased 6.5 percent annually during the same
period. Africa imports more than one-third of the rice traded in
the world. In 2006, when prices were much lower, the region’s
rice imports cost US$2 billion.
“Relying so much on rice from other countries is a recipe for
disaster for this continent,’’ said Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck,
Director General of the Africa
Rice Center, one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). “Unless
government leaders take strong action now, the economic recovery
experienced in so many parts of Africa will evaporate. We need
short- and long-term solutions that boost domestic rice
production.” The Center’s African Rice Initiative is managing
the $35 million, five-year project, which started in 2005.
In less than three years, the project has shown tangible impact
in seven countries – Benin, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali,
Nigeria and Sierra Leone. According to the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Guinea achieved a
record harvest of 1.4 million tonnes in 2007 – 5 percent higher
than in 2006 and the highest in its history, largely because of
the government’s massive support for NERICA® dissemination.
Domestic rice production now covers about 70 percent of
consumption.
In Nigeria, the government announced that the country’s rice
imports had declined from 2 million tonnes in 2003/04 to less
than 1 million tonnes in 2005/06. And officials in Uganda
reported that the country had reduced its rice importation from
60,000 tonnes in 2005 to 35,000 tonnes in 2007, saving Ugandans
roughly $30 million. The initiative has helped disseminate
improved rice varieties in about 30 African countries, including
post-conflict countries.
Overall, since 2005, the project has produced more than 10,000
tonnes of improved rice seed. Experts from the Africa Rice
Center estimate that 1 tonne of that seed is enough to plant 20
hectares of land. The project has trained 6,500 farmers, more
than half of them women, to produce high-quality seed. In
addition, the initiative has helped train 1,225 technicians.
At the TICAD meeting, Africa Rice Center experts will discuss
the importance of boosting the continent’s agricultural
production to increase food self-sufficiency and reduce reliance
on imported food staples and food aid. Researchers said that
while people around the world have been feeling the impact of
the soaring prices of key staples like rice and maize, no one
has been hurt more than Africans.
Over the last several months, food riots have broken out in
several rice-importing countries in Africa. According to the
Africa Rice Center, the best option for Africa is to combine
emergency responses in the short term with measures that favor
sustainable expansion of the continent’s rice supply in the
longer term.
Short-term measures include reduction of customs duties and
taxes on imported rice and setting up mechanisms to avoid
speculation in rice markets. At the same time, governments must
avoid undermining incentives for domestic rice production. In
the medium- and long-term, taxes on all critical inputs,
cost-saving agricultural machinery and equipment as well as
post-harvest technologies need to be reduced.
Governments should also facilitate access to financial services
and credit for stakeholders in the domestic rice sector;
increase investment in water-control technologies; expand rice
areas under irrigation; increase investment in regional research
capacity to support the development of rice varieties resistant
to major pests and diseases and sufficiently robust to withstand
drought and climate change-induced shocks; and boost investment
in rural infrastructure to enhance rice farmers’ access to
markets and capacity to respond to market signals.
Already, concerns about food import dependency in the region
have led to a mobilization of resources for the rice sector in
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and several
other countries, which are planning to step up their domestic
production by scaling up the use of improved technologies.
Africa has proven capable of significantly increasing rice
production before. From 1985 to 2005, production in West Africa
more than doubled, from 2.76 million tonnes to 5.75 million.
“We’re convinced that the future for rice farming lies in
Africa,” Dr. Seck said. “This continent has more potential than
any other area of the world because of its land and water
resources. Our studies have found that local rice production
under irrigated conditions can be as competitive as in Asia and
much cheaper than in the USA.”
Prior to the meeting in Japan, the Chair of the Council of
Ministers that has oversight responsibility for the Africa Rice
Center signed a declaration commending Japan’s long-term
investment in science and technology toward sustainable
development in Africa. In particular, the Council noted not only
the current investment in high-yielding rice varieties, but also
said that Japan has sent hundreds of agricultural scientists to
Africa over the last few decades and contributed a total of $593
million to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR) since its inception in 1971.
The CGIAR, established in 1971, is a strategic partnership of
countries, international and regional organizations and private
foundations supporting the work of 15 international Centers. In
collaboration with national agricultural research systems, civil
society and the private sector, the CGIAR fosters sustainable
agricultural growth through high-quality science aimed at
benefiting the poor through stronger food security, better human
nutrition and health, higher incomes and improved management of
natural resources. For more information, please visit
www.cgiar.org.
The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) is an autonomous
inter-governmental research association of African member
states. It is also one of the 15 international agricultural
research Centers supported by the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). For more
information, please visit
www.warda.org. |
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