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Africa: Rice Breeders Raise Hope On Food Security
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This Day (Lagos)
3 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Lagos
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has said African rice breeders have made some appreciable progress toward ensuring self-sufficiency and boosting production.
The announcement was made in Kampala, Uganda, at the inaugural meeting of the Rice Breeders Network, a consortium of eminent rice breeders, researchers and seed companies from more than 10 African countries.
It came against the backdrop of concerns about the impact of rising food prices and new restrictions on rice exports from Asian countries hit by adverse climate conditions.
The AGRA said in a statement made available in Lagos, that the breeders had recorded successes in the development and release of stress-tolerant upland and lowland irrigated rice varieties.
The development, it said, had significantly increased rice production in some countries, including Uganda.
The statement attributed the success to funding from the Nairobi-based AGRA, which also announced plans to support the development and release of new rice varieties.
The varieties are to be released in Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Mali, Nigeria and Malawi.
The group also said in the statement that the measure would boost local production, improve regional food security, and reduce Africa's over-reliance on rice imports from Asia.
It stressed the need for strong government support for rice breeding and seed distribution programmes to maximise gains.
"African rice consumption exceeds production. Only 54 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa rice consumption is supplied locally. Farmers need new high-yielding, locally adapted varieties to raise rice yield and turn around Africa's food crisis situation," AGRA's Programme Officer, Jane Ininda, said at the Kampala meeting.
The statement urged governments to develop policies that would speed up the breeding and distribution of new varieties.
It noted that the demand for rice in sub-Saharan Africa was double the rate of population growth, and that consumption was growing faster than that of any other major staple food.
"But rather than substantially increasing local production, demand for imports had surged", it added.
The statement said rice imports by Mali doubled over a four-year period, increasing from 51,969 tonnes in 2000 to 105,390 tonnes in 2004.
AGRA's President, Dr. Namanga Ngongi, said in a statement that, "As long as Africa depends on imports for meeting our food demands, we will experience food crises as the costs continue to rise for consumers. We must boost local production. We must grow our own food".
AGRA is a partnership-based organisation that works across sub-Saharan Africa to end rural poverty and hunger by increasing the productivity and sustainability of smallholder farming.
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Its support of the Rice Breeders Network is part of a comprehensive approach that embraces everything from the development and distribution of high-quality seeds.
It is also involved in improving soil health, agricultural education and developing markets and infrastructure for agriculture.
The network participants were from Benin, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Mali, Nigeria and Malawi.
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