The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is a CGIAR research center focusing on boosting rice production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where rice demand is growing rapidly and is crucial for food security. The center aims to increase the self-sufficiency ratio of rice in the region to nearly 90% by 2020 through a strategic plan, while also addressing economic opportunities for women and youth in the rice sector. Over the past 30 years, AfricaRice has released more than 200 improved rice varieties and developed various technologies to enhance rice production and processing, significantly impacting local economies and poverty alleviation.

1. Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)
A CGIAR research center and
pan-African association of member countries

2. Importance of rice in SSA
Fastest growing food staple:
Demand growing at > 6% per year – faster than any other food staple
Strategic for food security:
Most important energy source in W Africa & Madagascar and 2nd most important in
Africa
Impact on economies:
Local production covers about 60% of demand (imports per year at >US$ 5 billion)
Important for women:
Main labor force in SSA’s rainfed ecologies (sowing to processing & marketing)
Viable career for youth:
The rice sector can employ many of the 17 million young people who enter SSA’s
job market.
Huge potential:
Africa has resources to produce enough quality rice to feed itself and to export

3. Rice trends in SSA
Indicator 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Production
(million t)
8,357 10,497 11,655 12,829 12,195 12,489 13,158 14,464
Consumption
(million t)
16,978 17,758 19,644 21,456 22,786 24,438 25,529 26,098
Imports
(million t)
8,446 7,291 8,196 9,136 11,942 11,840 12,545 12,620
Average yield
(t/ha of
milled rice)
1.04 1.22 1.33 1.40 1.38 1.35 1.35 1.35
Self-sufficiency
ratio in SSA (%)
0.50 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.55
Source: USDA data

4. 0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Milliontons
Source: USDA
• Rice imports into Africa
showed signs of stabilization
at about 8 million tons before
2010
• But resurgence of high rice
imports since 2011
Imports

5. • AfricaRice and partners have developed
a strategic plan (2011-2020) to boost
rice production in SSA
• This plan was approved by AfricaRice
Council of Ministers in 2011.
• The Strategic Plan is being implemented
with many partners across the research
to development continuum.
• Vision: increase rice self-sufficiency
ratio to almost 90% in 2020 leading to a
reduction in imports of about 5 million t
per year
AfricaRice 2011-2020 Strategic Plan

6. Brief history of AfricaRice
• 1970: Created as West Africa Rice Development Association
(WARDA/ADRAO) by 11 African countries
• 1987: HQ established in M’bé, near Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire
• 2004: HQ temporarily relocated to Cotonou, Benin, due to Ivorian crisis
• 2009: Name changed to “Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)” by Council of
Ministers
• 2013: Total of 25 member countries across Africa
• Mar 2015: Board decides to return HQ to Côte d’Ivoire in phases
• Sep 2015: Management & support services begin operations from new
HQ building in Abidjan (offered by Ivorian Gov.)
• July-Sep 2016: 1st wave of scientists to return to M’bé
• 2017: 2nd and final wave of scientists to return to M’bé

7. Vision and priorities
• Vision
– A pan-African center of excellence for rice research,
development and capacity strengthening
• Priorities
– Strengthening partnerships
– Developing capacity of rice value chain actors, including youth and
women
– Adopting innovation platform (IP) approaches in rice value chain
– Improving access of rice producers to markets
– Integrating rice science in the policy agenda of countries
– Increasing investments in research for development of the rice
sector

8. Key role
• Produces international public goods (knowledge,
technologies and policy advice) relating to rice for Africa
• Provides technical support and advises member States on
critical rice production and marketing issues
• Builds capacity through rice task forces
• Concentrates R&D efforts in rice hubs set up across Africa
• Mobilizes global knowledge through Global Rice Science
Partnership
• Promotes uptake of research products through links with
development activities
• Holds largest rice collection in Africa (more than 19,620
accessions)

9. Organogram

10. Locations
BENIN
NIGERIA
COTE
D’IVOIRE
TANZANIA
SENEGAL
SENEGAL
MADAGASCAR
LIBERIA &
SIERRA
LEONE

11. Mechanisms adopted by AfricaRice
Global Rice Science Partnership
Thematic task forces
Rice sector development hubs

12. Multi & Bilateral
Donors
Policy makers
Govt/Public
Extension
NGOs
Farmer
associations
Task Forces Rice Sector
Development Hubs
Dev. partners
Policy
Gender
Processing &
Value Addition
Leveragingglobalrice
knowledge
Consumers
Retailers
Wholesalers
Millers
Processors
Creditors
Farmers
Seed producers
Input suppliers
Mechanization
Agronomy
Breeding

13. Scalable innovations along the rice value chain

14. Achievement highlights: varieties
> 200 improved rice varieties released in last 30 years in Africa:
• High-performing and climate-smart ‘ARICA’ varieties
– ARICA 1 to ARICA 5: About 15-30% higher yield than NERICAs
– ARICA 6 to ARICA 11: Stress-tolerant (iron toxicity, cold, salinity) high-yielding
• Popular ‘NERICA’ varieties
• Area under upland NERICAs : 1.4 million ha in 2013.
• NERICA adoption has lifted about 8 million people out of poverty in 16 countries
• High-yielding ‘Sahel’ varieties for irrigated ecologies
• In Senegal, average yield increased by 872 kg per ha and incomes by $227 per
cropping season. Present value of net benefits of Sahel adoption $ 24.6 million
• Hybrids
• More than 50 hybrids developed by AfricaRice show 15-20% yield advantage
compared with inbred check. Two hybrids selected for release in Senegal in
2016. New set of hybrids being tested in several countries..

15. Some mega varieties
Variety name Ecology Yield (t/ha) Aroma
ARICA 1 Lowland 6.0
ARICA 3 Lowland 7.8
ARICA 5 Upland 3.8
NERICA 1 Upland 4.5
NERICA 4 Upland 4.5
NERICA 6 Upland 4.5
NERICA L-19 Lowland 6.0
NERICA L-20 Lowland 6.0
ORYLUX 1 Irrigated 8.0 Aromatic
ORYLUX 3 Irrigated 6.3 Aromatic
ORYLUX 6 Irrigated 6.5 Aromatic

16. Good agricultural practices (GAP)
basket development
Intervention Typical farmers’
practice and problems
GAP component Requirement
for research?
Variety choice Old modern varieties New varieties Yes
Land
preparation
Not bunded, not well
leveled
Bunding & leveling No
Sowing Random transplanting
& delayed sowing
Transplanting at optimum
density, time
Yes
Weeding Single herbicide & two
hand-weedings
Single herbicide &
weeding with mechanical
weeder
No
Fertilizer
application
Very variable Site-specific nutrient
management
Yes
Water
management
Permanent standing
water
Timing of drainage before
harvesting
No

17. Crop management decision support tool:
RiceAdvice
• Allows rice farmers to apply mineral fertilizer more
efficiently to optimize production and profits and
reduce waste
• Helps rice farmers identify the best option for
fertilizers to be purchased, based on nutrient
requirement and fertilizer prices
• Farmers can increase rice yield by about 20%
and increase their profit margin by about $200
per hectare per season

18. Improved land & water management
Smart-valleys approach
• A low-cost, participatory and sustainable
approach to develop inland valleys for
rice-based systems
• Major advantages: increased water
retention in farmers’ fields, less risk of
fertilizer losses due to flooding and
increased rice yields
• In Togo and Benin, average rice yields
of farmers using Smart-valleys approach
more than doubled from 1.5–2 to 3.5–
4.5 t/ha
• Impact studies indicate the potential
adoption rate is 67%

19. Mechanization
• Motorized weeders
• Threshers
• Combine harvesters

20. Improved rice processing - GEM rice parboiler
• An improved rice parboiling system called GEM, combined with
training and innovation platform approach: improving the livelihood of
more than a 1000 rural women in Benin
• It is energy-efficient, shortens processing time, reduces drudgery, and
does not expose the women parboilers to heat burns
• With GEM, average monthly quantity of parboiled rice produced as
well as the average monthly income from this activity more than
doubled
Milling machine

21. Decision support: weed management
• Total rice production
losses attributable to
weeds in SSA estimated
at US$ 1.5 billion
• Tool for identifying major
rice weeds of Africa
• Valuable resource for
professionals involved in
research, training and
management of rice
weeds in SSA

22. From production focus to value chain focus
Pioneering work on
experimental auctions and
value chain development in
Senegal
Packaging, branding and labeling
of locally produced rice for urban
and niche markets to enhance
consumer attractiveness to locally
produced rice in Glazou IP Parboiled rice “Riz Saveur” in Glazoue IP

23. Private sector: partners for scaling up
• Bringing together small-to-medium (SMEs) seed
enterprises and scientists
• Collaborating with private sector on certified rice seed
production
• FASO KABA in Mali,
• NASECO Seed Company in partnership with
NARO in Uganda;
• NAFASO in Burkina Faso
• ASI thresher manufacturing in partnership with
private sector/SME blacksmiths in Nigeria, Cote
d’Ivoire, Senegal

25. Youth entrepreneurship in rice value chain:
conceptual framework
• Competence and skills
for youths and women in
agribusiness enhanced
• Significant return on
investment when
improved rice
technologies, innovations
and services are combined
• Coaching & mentoring
youth and women to take
lead role in modernizing
the rice sector
Quality rice seed
AWM
SMART-valleys
Weeders
RiceAdvice ASI Thresher
GEM rice
Parboiler Packaging
Branding

26. AfricaRice reviving rice sector in West Africa
under World Bank facilitated WAAPP
Sierra Leone
• Training of national research staff (seed production, data analysis, IP approach, breeding
techniques) - highly appreciated by WAAPP missions
• 5-year (2013-2017) rice research strategic plan for Rokupr research station established
• Rice value chain database developed; plan to upgrade the value chain developed
• Several scalable technologies. incl. improved varieties, ASI thresher, mechanical
weeders and GEM parboiler
• Six upland NERICAs and ROK 34 (Pa Kiamp) released
• Post-Ebola crisis response: 22 t of upland NERICA 4 seed distributed and about 1000 t
of lowland NERICA L19 seed rice to over 20,000 smallholder farmers

27. Discussions with World Bank representative
in Liberia on the milled samples of rice
varieties
AfricaRice WAAPP-Liberia project
coordinator showing to Liberian President the
locally produced aromatic rice (she bought all
the rice that was exhibited!)
AfricaRice reviving rice sector in West
Africa under World Bank facilitated WAAPP
Liberia
• Aromatic rice produced, processed and
packaged in Liberia ready for market
• National scientists and extension staff
trained in breeding, land & water
management technologies, seed production
and data management
• Scholarships awarded to post-graduate
students on rice breeding
• Improved rice seed made available to
farmers to jump-start agriculture after Ebola
crisis

28. AfricaRice has a joint initiative with CORAF/WECARD to
produce breeder seed of improved varieties and conduct multi-
environment trials under the Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task
Force.
.
Supporting countries in rice breeder seed production

29. Thank you