Presented at the High-Level Ministerial (HLM) Conference on Rice Development in Sub-Saharan Africa 25 September 2018 Dakar, Senegal Presented by Dr Amadou Beye, Seed Specialist, Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)

1. Establishing a seed capital
at M’bé station Bouaké
Harold Roy-Macauley and Amadou Beye
25-27 September 2019, Dakar

2. Outline of Presentation
1.Importance of rice
2. Key reference data
3.AfricaRice advantages for a seed capital
4.Benefits of the Rice Seed Capital
5. Conclusion

3. 1. Importance of rice
Nutritional value
Rice is a high-energy which contains:
• Proteins (Body tissues, Source of energy and hormones)
• Fats (Source of energy, Maintains core body temperature)
• Carbohydrates – Glucids Cn(H2O)p – glucose, starch (Source of energy)
• Fibers (Management of weight, cholesterol, blood sugar)
• Minerals like Ca, P, Fe, Na, K and Vitamins (Thiamine, Riboflavin,
Niacin and Tocopherol
Rice plays an important role in health benefits and disease
prevention such as high blood pressure, cancer, skin care, dysentery,
cholesterol
Socio-cultural value
• Diets habits, Different social ceremonies as symbol of prosperity and
fertility (Wedding) and rituals served to God and devotees
(Circumcisions, Funerals)
• Biodiversity (Wild rices)

4. 2. Key reference data
• Current production: 17 Million T
• Consumption: 32 million T
• Gap: 15 Million T (47%)
• Import bill: US$ 6.0 million
• Projections for 2025:
 Gap: 27 Million Tonnes
 Import bill : US$ 10.8 billion
Increased import gap: consumption
increased by 6.2% /year while prod.
increased by 4.6%
This implies among others increased
prod. breeder and foundation seeds
Official requests:
 Resolution 30th Ordinary Session
of AfricaRice CoM (2016)
 Request of NEC (2017)
AfricaRice should support countries in constituting strategic seed reserves
This calls for the establishment of a Pan-African Rice Seed Capital
Figure 1: Diagrammatic expression of milled rice
demand versus local supply in Africa

5. Particularities of SSA:
80% of productions by
smallholder farmers

6. 60,000
45,000
8,300
113,000
83,000
20,460
13,000
350,000
16,000
8,000
1,200 5,000
800 2,500 5,818
1,000 600
93,000
600 250
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
Côte d’Ivoire Senegal Benin Madagascar Mali Uganda Sierra Leone Nigeria Cameroon Chad
2015 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2010 2010 2010 2010
Annual needs (Tons) Seeds produced (Tons)
Figure 2: Seed needs and productions (NRDS, 2016)
National Rice Development Strategy

7. Countries Varieties Acreage to be
planted with R1
seeds (ha, %)
Expected production (Tons)
R1 G3 G2
CIV WITA 9, WAB 638-1, CY2 20,000 (27%) 1,000 33 0.83
Guinea NERICA L 19, WITA 9 15,000 (10%) 750 25 0.63
Niger Kogoni 91/1, NERICA L19 3,500 (17.5%) 140 4.7 0.12
Sierra Leone ROK 10, NERICA L19 17,400 (2%) 1,392 70 2.32
Togo 77,300 (2%) 3,860 129 3.22
Countries Varieties Acreage to be
planted with R1
seeds (ha, %)
Expected production (Tons)
R1 G4 G3 G2
CIV WAB 56-50, Akadi, IDSA 10 100,000 (8%) 10,000 500 25 0.83
Guinea NERICA 4, ARICA2 30,000 (10%) 3,000 150 7.5 0.25
Sierra Leone NERICA 4, NERICA 11, ROK 34 8,700 (1%) 609 - 30 1.02
Togo IR 841, Orylux 6, NERICA L 14 50,500 (1%) 5,050 253 13 0.42
Irrigated / Lowland ecologies
Upland ecology
Table 1: Seed Road Map of 5 countries for 2018 (WAAPP, 2016)

8. 3. AfricaRice comparative advantages for seed capital
a) A strong team of Seed Experts and Technicians
b) A production station in Côte d’Ivoire, with 4 rice agro-ecologies
c) Decentralized stations (Benin, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra L)
d) National country stations (Developed partnership with the NARIs)
e) A Genetic Diversity Improvement Program to develop new improved rice
varieties in partnership with NARIs
f) A modern Genebank that houses nearly 22,000 accessions of genetic
resources, including traditional African rice varieties
g) A Seed Unit responsible for producing large quantities of genetic materials
required by the market
The Seed Capital will comprise, for each variety, the following classes:
Classes Implementing
institutions
Remarks
Breeder seed
(G1, G2, G3)
AfricaRice +
NARIs
Breeder seeds for production of G4 seeds.
Tag: White color with diagonal violet stripes
Foundation
(G4)
AfricaRice +
NARIs
Foundation seeds for production of R1, R2 seeds.
Tag: White color is issued by SCU
Certified seed
(R1, R2)
Private Seed
enterprises /
Cooperatives
Seeds resulting from first or second multiplication of
Foundation seeds.
Blue and red color tags for R1 and R2 seeds

9. 4. Benefits of the Pan-African Rice Seed Capital
• Establishment of a seed strategic stock in case of disasters such as
droughts, flooding, and civil wars
• Possibilities to better exploit the diversity of rice species including:
 White rices: rich in Glucids, Minerals and Vitamins
 Red rices: rich in Iron and Zinc (efficient against anemia), good
source of fiber.
 Black and purple rices which are rich:
o Vit. B and Vit. E, useful for immune health and diabetics
o Dietary fibers (Cancer), Fe (against anemia), Potassium (Muscle)
• Establishment of functional seed systems (G0, G1, G2, G3, G4, R1, R2
– In CIV: Involvement of National Seed Control and Certfication
Services –LANASEM, DGSPA, SDSI)
Farmers: Economic gain from use of certified seeds in irrigated zones
estimated at US$ 868 ≠ US$ 526 /ha for farmer-saved seed (+65%).
Enterprises: Gain expected for delivery of 1.5 million T of R2
certified seeds for rice self-sufficiency. Estimated at US$ 3 billion.

10. Diversity of rices

11. Year 2 021 2 022 2 023 2 024 2 025
Research
institutions
AR NARIs
(26)
AR NARIs
(26)
AR NARIs
(26)
AR NARIs
(26)
AR NARIs
(26)
Breeder / Foun-
dation seed (T)
300 1 300 400 2 600 500 3 900 700 5 200 1 000 6 500
Certified seed R1
(T)
6 000 26 000 8 000 52 000 10 000 78 000 14 000 104 000 20 000 130 000
Certified seed R2
(T)
60 000 260 000 80 000 520 000 100 000 780 000 140 000 1 040 000 200 000 1 300 000
Total R2 seed (T) 320 000 600 000 880 000 1 180 000 1 500 000
Nber enterprises
/ cooperatives
600 2 600 800 5 200 1 000 7 800 1 400 10 400 2 000 13 000
Paddy produced
(T)
5 333 333 10 000 000 14 666 667 19 666 667 25 000 000
Table 2: Self-sufficiency program - Quantities of seed
to be produced (2021 – 2025)
Nber farmers
beneficiaries
8 000 000 15 000 000 22 000 000 29 500 000 37 500 000
Impact:
- Youth employment: 150,000
- Farmers: 37,500,000

12. Stakeholders Buying price /
Prod. costs
Charges Total costs Selling price Profit
margins
Total
AfricaRice + NARIs 1,53 0,44 1,97 2,83 0,86 6 450 000
Private Enterprises /
Cooperatives
0,55 0,16 0,71 1,19 0,48 720 000 000
Paddy Producer - - 0,14 0,27 0,13 3 250 000 000
Processors - - - - 0,05 738 636 364
Transporters 0,11 0,01 0,13 0,15 0,02 530 000 000
Traders of milled rice - - - - 0,05 812 500 000
Table 3: Profit margins expected by 2025
by each actor (US$)

13. 5. Conclusion
a) Investing in the establishment of a Pan-African Rice Seed Capital is a
profitable model for countries and for all the rice value chain actors.
b) Potential impact:
 A good opportunity for research institutions (AfricaRice, NARIs) to
benefit from generated revenues and become more stable in order
to carry out first class research and generate relevant improved
products for farmers.
 A good opportunity for youth employment:
- AfricaRice and NARIs: At least 150 Scientists and Technicians
- Enterprises &cooperatives: 150,000 Technicians and Managers
- Farms: 37,500,000 farmers
To be able to run this model, AfricaRice will need regular funding.
An amount of FCFA 0.5 (US$ 0.001) could be recovered from each
kg of the 9.8 million T of imported rice in ECOWAS zone (USDA,
2017). This will generate an annual revenue of $US 9.0 million
which represents around 36% of AfricaRice budget. If accepted by
the CoM, a management organ will be established to pursue this

14. Emergency seeds
Thanks a lot