Source Ghana Daily 5/9/09
By Dulue Mbachu
By Dulue Mbachu
Africa’s rice production grew 18 percent in 2008 and the continent may become a net exporter of the grain if more land is brought under cultivation, according to the Africa Rice Center.
The sharp increase in output is the result of support provided by African governments to rice farmers in the wake of the global food crisis over the past two years, the Cotonou, Benin-based center said in an e-mailed statement today. No output figures were given in the statement.
“This is a step in the right direction, but governments still need to do more in order to significantly reduce dependence on rice imports,” said Abdoulaye Seck, the director- general of the center.
Senegal, the world’s eighth-largest rice importer, and Burkina Faso, were among African countries that experienced food riots in 2008, prompting their governments to help farmers obtain improved rice varieties and inputs. In one year, output rose more than 90 percent in Senegal and more than two-fold in Burkina Faso.
Other rice-producing countries that recorded double-digit growth within one year include Mali, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Nigeria, which “alone takes up 5.6 percent of globally traded rice,” according to the center. All of the countries used the NERICA variety of rice, developed by the rice center, which thrives in drier and harsher environments, according to the statement.
The sharp increase in output is the result of support provided by African governments to rice farmers in the wake of the global food crisis over the past two years, the Cotonou, Benin-based center said in an e-mailed statement today. No output figures were given in the statement.
“This is a step in the right direction, but governments still need to do more in order to significantly reduce dependence on rice imports,” said Abdoulaye Seck, the director- general of the center.
Senegal, the world’s eighth-largest rice importer, and Burkina Faso, were among African countries that experienced food riots in 2008, prompting their governments to help farmers obtain improved rice varieties and inputs. In one year, output rose more than 90 percent in Senegal and more than two-fold in Burkina Faso.
Other rice-producing countries that recorded double-digit growth within one year include Mali, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Nigeria, which “alone takes up 5.6 percent of globally traded rice,” according to the center. All of the countries used the NERICA variety of rice, developed by the rice center, which thrives in drier and harsher environments, according to the statement.
Net Exporter
By bringing an additional 15 percent of current rice land into cultivation, Africa may become a net exporter of rice, supplying more than 5 million metric tons to the global market, the Africa Rice Center projects.
The center is an inter-governmental association of 23 African countries that produce rice, supporting research and policy dialogue on issues concerning the cereal that is a staple in the world’s poorest continent.
Africa’s paddy rice output rose by 16 percent from 22 million tons in 2007 to 25.5 million tons in 2008, the Food and Agriculture Organization said on its Web site. The United Nations agency forecasts that the continent’s 2009 paddy rice output will be 25.6 million tons.
Rice for November delivery traded at $13.975 per 100 pounds on the Chicago Board of Trade today and has gained 2 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dulue Mbachu in Lagos at dmbachu@bloomberg.net.
Accra — Africa has awakened to its rice production potentials, and may become a net exporter of the product, if she sustained her level of output and put more arable lands under cultivation, according to the Africa Rice Center.
Ghana and other rice-producing countries such as Mali, Benin, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Nigeria recorded double-digit growths within the last year.
The increase in output follows the implementation of key policy measures by these countries to support the rice sector, following the shock increase in food prices, which sparked food riots in several African cities early last year.
In the heat of the worst rice crisis in recent times, many African governments prioritised local rice production, and are striving to create conditions that would enable farmers to begin to use Africa's largely untapped land and water resources to produce affordable rice.
The government of Ghana, after this period, revamped its rice production under the Aveyime Rice Project, which has already harvested about 3,500 metric tonnes of rice from its first 100 acres.
A total of 3,177 acres are expected to be irrigated and cultivated within three years.
According to the report, Senegal, the world's eighth largest rice importer, also increased its rice production by 90 per cent in 2008, through a presidential initiative that put in place a distribution system that ensured rice farmers could easily and readily access subsidized farm inputs such as certified seeds and fertilizer.
By bringing an additional 15 per cent of current rice land into cultivation, Africa may become a net exporter of rice, supplying more than 5 million metric tonnes to the global market, the Africa Rice Center projects.
"Rather than being a threat, the increasing rice price is a unique historical opportunity and incentive to use Africa's latent potential for rice production, and break away from decades of policy bias against agriculture, which accounts for 35 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's GDP, and 75 per cent of the continent's employment," Dr. Seck says.
The Africa Rice Center is an intergovernmental association of 23 rice-producing African countries, which facilitates more effective policy dialogue in the continent, through its Council of Ministers. It is also one of the 15 international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
The center produces a variety of rice technologies, helps member countries accelerate adoption of new technologies, and strengthen rice seed production and distribution systems, in order to boost production.
To effectively take advantage of opportunities presented by the global rice market, the center is urging African countries to invest strongly in the agricultural sectors, especially in research and extension, which are responsible for development and delivery of new technologies.
The Africa Rice Center is also urging governments to better manage and exploit natural water resources to increase the productivity of rice.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Africa uses only four per cent of its renewable water resources. Irrigation would increase rice yields three or four times more of what is currently achieved by relying on rainfall alone.
"Targeted input subsidies to defray the costs of new and improved technologies, are also necessary for ensuring the continent achieves its rice production potential. Africa's current rice yields are less than one third of what could be produced, if technologies and innovations were properly applied," the report noted.
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