By Ryan Dicovitsky
17 September 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Amidst rising food prices and drought throughout Africa, the Africa Rice Center, formerly known as West African Rice Development Association, has been a major player helping to alleviate poverty and increase crop yields. In its 27th Ordinary Session in Lomé, Togo, which concluded last week, the organization committed itself to further research on rice and agriculture.
Formed in 1971 and led by a Council of Ministers, the intergovernmental Africa Rice Center has become a force in African agricultural research in recent years. Six nations have joined the Center since 2006, bringing the current membership count to 23 nations. Even those nations that are not official members are benefiting from the Center’s work.
Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Africa Rice Center’s Director General, told MediaGlobal that the increase in membership “is related to the success of the Center—i.e. increased adoption of improved technologies, including [rice] varieties and crop management practices adapted to African conditions and policy recommendations—as well as high-level advocacy through its Council of Ministers.” Seck continued, it is “also due to the realization in African countries of the strategic importance of rice.”
In Africa, environmental impacts on crop seasons and food supply often pack a devastating one-two punch. The global economic and financial crisis combined with soaring food prices have further affected subsistence farmers throughout the continent. To help, Africa Rice Center plans on continued expansion and research to perfect rice strands so that they yield the most crops.
The Center’s Deputy Director General for Research, Dr. Marco Wopereis, told MediaGlobal, “[Our] projects work on developing rice varieties better resistant to abiotic (environmental stress) and biotic (disease, insect pests, weeds) stress.” The Center uses a combination of selection, breeding and cross-breeding, and testing methods to develop these hybrid rice varieties, which, according to Wopereis, “have been adopted by farmers in at least 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.”
In order to improve agricultural practices and standards and alleviate hunger by improving the work of farmers, Africa Rice Center is actively committing resources to infrastructure, education, and policy assessment. The Center has produced and disseminated educational videos for farmers in more than 30 languages.
The Center has also taken steps to help improve the economic standing and welfare of women in Africa. Wopereis cited a program in which special seeds for uphill farming have been distributed to women, making it easier for them to grow food in even the most difficult terrain.
“The recent food crisis has also been a wake-up call for African governments to increasingly support the domestic rice production and provide support to rice research,” said Seck. In his view, relying on rice supplies from outside the continent is particularly risky and could lead to instability. He cited risk factors such as “soaring and highly volatile rice prices” amid “declining global stocks” of rice, as well as the possibility of traditional rice-producing countries having to begin importing rice.
During last week’s Ordinary Session, the Center proposed a “mega-program” on rice, which could alleviate hunger and poverty while also being a source of economic production. It would include rice improvement, research, and policy coordination with countries and research facilities, resulting in what Seck called a “a global rice science partnership.”
The Africa Rice Center will continue to discuss reforms and expand its research to help those who need the most agricultural assistance.
