Ephraim Kasozi
18 June 2008
Kampala — In an initiative to improve food security and rice production, a new high yielding rice breed will soon be released for farmers in the country.
The efforts focusing on getting high-yielding varieties of rice to smallholder farmers will also see to improving soils and supporting new agricultural research.
The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) has announced that African rice breeders have made critical steps towards ensuring self-sufficiency and boosting African rice production.
"The successful development and release of stress-tolerant upland and lowland irrigated rice varieties has begun to significantly increase rice production in some countries including Uganda," said Dr George Bigirwa, Agra's programme officer in charge of seed production and dissemination.
Dr Bigirwa said the successes and future efforts focus on breeding locally adapted varieties of "Nerica" rice, which is a resilient, high-yielding cross of an African and Asian rice species.
The remarks were made during a media tour of the rice breeding farms after the inaugural meeting of the Rice Breeders Network, a consortium of eminent rice breeders, researchers, and seed companies from 10 countries in Africa.
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. Dr Bigirwa said, "Because farmers are still stuck with local breeds, we have crossed it with improved varieties to come up with a fast growing variety." The process is called conventional breeding (use of existing crop varieties to develop improved ones).
He added that the improved rice variety has got two planting seasons of March and August to enable farmers get good yields. "African rice consumption exceeds production. Only 54 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa rice consumption is supplied locally," said Ms Jane Ininda Agra Programme Officer for crop improvement and farm variety adoption.
Ms Ininda says that the new rice variety is resistant to common diseases, needs less spraying and that it does not shatter during drying. According to Ms Ininda, the advancements are largely a result of the funding from the Nairobi-based Agra, which also announced ambitious plans to support the development and release of new rice varieties in Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Mali, Nigeria and Malawi.
She added that the arrangements will ultimately boost local production, improve regional food security, and reduce Africa's over-reliance on rice imports from Asia.
Others countries to benefit are Benin, Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania. Ms Ininda said the demand for rice in sub-Saharan Africa doubles the rate of population growth and consumption is growing faster than that of any other major food staple. Agra's support of the Rice Breeders Network is part of a comprehensive approach that embraces everything from the development and distribution of high-quality seeds, to improving soil health and agricultural education, and developing markets and infrastructure for agriculture.
According to Ms Ininda, "The demand for rice in sub-Saharan Africa is double the rate of population growth and consumption is growing faster than that of any other major staple food." During 2001 to 2005, rice consumption grew in sub-Saharan Africa by 5.84 percent and between the same period the average per capita rice consumption was 18 kg per year.
Since then, rice farming in Uganda has grown from 4,000 tonnes farmers in 2004 to over 35,000 tonnes in 2007 and the acreage for rice growing areas has increased dramatically. In addition, Uganda has reduced its rice importation from 60,000 metric tonnes in 2005 to 35,000 mega tonnes in 2007, saving Ugandans roughly $30m in the process, according to the Ugandan National Agricultural Research Organization (Naro).
However, the development of new varieties is only a first step. A second major challenge is multiplying large quantities of the new varieties and getting them to farmers. This requires that public breeding institutes work far more closely with small private seed companies, helping to build an African private seed sector that is responsive to the needs of small-holder farmers.
"The activities of companies like Fica, Naseco and Victoria Seeds, working with public breeders, have been a major part of the success story of the Nerica rice varieties in Uganda," Ms Ininda said. Seed companies have seen annual sales grow from zero to 3,500 metric tones in the past six years.
"For the private seed sector to grow and effectively serve smallholder farmers, policymakers need to give these African start-ups the freedom to operate and to access publicly bred varieties without restriction. Farmers are already gaining access to high-yielding new varieties," Dr Bigirwa said.
Haji Abdu Wanonda, a resident of Kikoko Village in Busukuma sub county is one of the few beneficiaries of the new variety; four years since he started cultivating rice.
Haji Wanonda says that he joined the rice growing programme in a way of trying every new variety. "Because I am near Namulonge Research Station where I always go for advice, I decided to test the new rice seeds produced at every step on a nursery bed since 2003. I have developed slowly up to now on a 1.5 acre land," says Haji Wanonda who cultivates in the village 3km away from the research institute.
He says that with the help of experts from the institute, the harvest has since increased drastically whenever he gets new seeds.
"With this new rice breed, I harvest a total of 18 to 25 bags of rice since last year (2007) compared to the previous varieties. Even then, the requirements were more than for the current. From 2005 to 2006 I would harvest 8 to 13 bags from one acre after using 50kg of seeds plus fertilisers," he says.
Haji Wanonda says, "I used to plant cassava but you cannot compare it with rice presently considering the time it takes and gains. Now my six children are in boarding schools because of increased income that comes in 110 days.
Mr Jimmy Lamo, a rice breeder at the National Crops Resources Research Institution (NaCRRI) - Namulonge in Wakiso District is optimistic that the new variety will reduce import of rice.
"The new variety will enable farmers yield 20 to 40 bags per acre compared to the old type where they have been getting 10 to 30 bags years back," says Mr Lamo.
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dear monitor, i wsh to thank you for the great work that you do and it my hope that as you get a new editor you will conutnue in your noble work.
I think the sad stroy of Africans dying as they are being deported is a result of social and ploitical distorntions. The west thrives on the distorted notion that Africans have of a lnd of prosperity which it is not fully is.
Us in Africa we also thrive on this distortion either to keep people powerless and blame others for our failures but also because we have failed to marshal the inner energy to take concrete steps in building societies that take our citzens as the centre pieces.
In Israle, the whole country goes to war because Hesbollah has kidnapped one soldier. In Uganda not even one askari resigns when 20 kids die in a scholl fire in Buddo. Who cares if one illegal Ugandan dies aboard any plane? suffice that he may have lived illegally in the EU name it country for over 20 years and ammased plenty of wealth that he is forced to abandon just like that.
Human rights seem to be a mirrage!