PA R T I V Boosting Agricultural Efficiency and Output through Targeted Interventions CHAPTER 1 5 Increasing Rice Productivity and Strengthening Food Security through New Rice for Africa (NERICA) Aliou Diagne, Soul-Kifouly Gnonna Midingoyi, Marco Wopereis, and Inoussa Akintayo espite Africa’s potentially rich land and water capita rice consumption in West Africa increased from resources, its farmers are among the poorest in the 14 kilograms in the 1970s to 22 kilograms in the 1980s and world. Because the vast majority of people in more than 39 kilograms in 2009. For Africa as whole, annual DAfrica der ive their livelihoods from agriculture, the weak per capita rice consumption increased from 11 kilograms in state of the sector has profound implications for poverty.1 the 1970s to 21 kilograms in 2009 (figure 15.1). Since the Agricultural innovation in Africa needs to internalize the early 1970s rice has been the number one source of caloric region’s biophysical, institutional, and socioeconomic con- intake in West Africa and the third most important source straints and establish efficient value chains to support sus- of calories (after maize and cassava) for the continent as a tainable growth and reduce poverty. whole (figure 15.2). Agricultural research can catalyze agricultural innova- Domestic rice production grew at the rate of 6 percent a tion and the development of the value chain. A prime exam- year between 2001 and 2005.5 But production still falls far ple is the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties developed short of demand. As a result, Africa imports up to 40 per- by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice2) and partners, which cent of its rice consumption. The continent as a whole gained popularity among Africa’s rice farmers in a relatively imports 30 percent of world rice imports, a potentially very short period of time.3 NERICA varieties were developed risky and unsustainable situation, as shown during the food from crosses between the African species Oryza glaberrima crisis in 2008. Rice imports cost Africa almost $4 billion in Steud. and the Asian species O. sativa L., using conventional 2009 (Seck et al. 2010)—money that could have been biotechnology to overcome the sterility barrier between the invested in developing the domestic rice sector. two species. This chapter describes the history, develop- Until the early 1990s, rice breeding programs in Africa ment, and impact of NERICA and makes recommendations worked almost exclusively on improving O. sativa lines about its expansion. for Africa’s diverse rice growth environments. Some breeders even voted to accelerate the disappearance of glaberrima (IRAT 1967), even though sativa varieties are THE IMPORTANCE OF RICE AND THE generally much more vulnerable than glaberrima to the DEVELOPMENT OF NERICA VARIETIES numerous biotic stresses (rice diseases, insect attacks, Rice has long been the food staple in many traditional rice- weeds, and so forth) and abiotic stresses (soil acidity, growing communities and in major cities in West Africa.4 It drought, salinity, iron toxicity, and so forth) of the is now the fastest-growing food staple in Africa. Annual per African environment. 253 Figure 15.1 Annual per Capita Rice Consumption in Africa and West Africa, 1961–2009 45 40 35 West Africa 30 25 20 15 Kilograms/person/year Africa 10 5 0 Source: FAO 2009. Figure 15.2 Share of Calories in African Diet Provided by Various Sources, 1961–2007 18 16 14 12 intake 10 calorie total 8 of 6 Percent 4 2 0 Cassava Maize Millet Rice (milled equivalent) Sorghum Source: FAO 2009. Some visionary breeders thought about combining the ing breeders from the Institut de Recherche Agronomique favorable characteristics of O. sativa with those of O. glaber- Tropicale (IRAT) and the Institute of Savannah (IDESSA) rima. Crossing was difficult, however, because of the steril- Bouaké, in Côte d’Ivoire, worked on the problem during the ity barrier between the two species. A few breeders, includ- 1970s and 1980s (Diagne 2006). Their work did not produce 4 CHAPTER 15: INCREASING RICE PRODUCTIVITY AND STRENGTHENING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH NEW RICE FOR AFRICA (NERICA) good results, with the crosses resulting in either sterile off- table 15.A1 and figure 15.A1 in annex 15.A1, which compare spring or offspring that had some of the undesirable char- the performance of NERICA progenies with that of their acteristics of the glaberrima parent (lodging, shattering, low sativa and glaberrima parents and other sativa checks under yield).6 high and low input conditions and under major stresses in Development of the NERICA varieties began in 1991, upland rice ecologies in AfricaRice’s key research sites in when AfricaRice initiated an interspecific breeding program Cote d’Ivoire.8 for the upland ecosystem. This long-term investment paid Indeed, the agronomic trials data show that the NERICA off, when breeders eventually overcame the obstacles varieties bring to upland farmers the high yield potential encountered earlier, through perseverance and the use of of the sativa varieties under both low and high input con- biotechnology tools such as anther culture and embryo res- ditions (see figure 15.A1), with what is in essence insur- cue techniques. In 1994 the first interspecific line with ance against the risk of significant yield losses in the face promising agronomic performance was obtained (Wopereis of major upland biotic and abiotic stresses. Given that the et al. 2008; Jones et al. 1997a, b).7 Several hundred interspe- sativa and glaberrima parents of these first-generation cific progenies were generated, opening new gene pools and NERICAs are not the best-performing varieties within the increasing the biodiversity of rice. two species, there is reason to expect that the perfor- The main objective of the breeding work that led to the mance of the next generations of NERICAs will be much NERICAs was to combine the high-yielding attribute of higher.9 O. sativa with the resistance of the indigenous O. glaberrima Through participatory varietal selection (box 15.1), to the African environment. Another long-sought attribute farmers all over Africa have evaluated interspecific lines. for a good upland variety is the ability to provide acceptable The most successful lines have been named NERICA vari- yields under the low-input use conditions typical of upland eties. There are currently 18 varieties suited for upland rice farming in Africa. Both objectives have been largely met, growth conditions (NERICA1 to NERICA18) and 60 vari- as evidenced by the experimental trials data summarized in eties suited for lowland growth conditions (NERICA-L1 to Box 15.1 The Participatory Varietal Selection Methodology Participatory varietal selection (PVS) aims to improve African O. glaberrimas, and local varieties as checks. rice production through direct involvement of farmers, Male and female farmers are invited to visit the plot who play an active role in varietal selection, develop- informally as often as possible. Groups of farmers for- ment, and dissemination. PVS is an adjunct to conven- mally evaluate the varieties at three key stages: maxi- tional breeding that markedly reduces the time taken mum tillering (development of the plant leaves), matu- for new varieties to reach farmers. In conventional rity, and postharvest. At the first two stages, farmers breeding schemes, selection and testing procedures compare agronomic traits. Each farmer’s varietal selec- involve a series of multilocation trials over 8 to 12 years tion and the criteria for selection are recorded and later using a diminishing number of varieties. Through PVS, analyzed. a large number of potentially interesting varieties reach In the second year, each farmer receives as many as farmers for evaluation in 5 years, and farmers have a six of the varieties he or she selected in the first year to major input into the selection of varieties to be released. grow. PVS observers, including breeders and techni- By involving farmers in the varietal selection process, cians from nongovernmental organizations and exten- PVS aims to meet a diversity of demands for varieties, sion services, visit participating farmers’ fields to record taking account of site-specificity for agronomic adapta- seed performance and farmer evaluations of the tion and selection criteria. selected varieties. At the end of the year, farmers evalu- AfricaRice’s approach to PVS research involves a ate threshability and palatability to provide an overall three-year program. In the first year, breeders identify view of the strengths and weaknesses of the selected centralized fields near villages and plant a rice garden varieties. In the third year, farmers are asked to pay for trial of up to 60 upland varieties. The varieties range seeds of the varieties they select. Willingness to pay pro- from traditional and popular O. sativas to NERICAs, vides evidence of the value farmers place on the seeds. Source: Gridley and Sié 2008. CHAPTER 15: INCREASING RICE PRODUCTIVITY AND STRENGTHENING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH NEW RICE FOR AFRICA (NERICA) 255 NERICA-L60). Agronomic characteristics of these vari- hectares under NERICA1 in Nigeria in 2007 (ARI 2008). eties vary widely, but they are generally high yielding and The Uganda National Research Institute, citing a report of early maturing (a trait much appreciated by farmers), do the Statistics Office of the Ministry of Agriculture in not lodge or shatter, yield good grain quality, and are Uganda, estimates that 35,000 hectares were under NER- relatively resistant to the biotic and abiotic stresses of the ICA4 in 2007 (ARI 2008). continents harsh growth environment. Weed resistance of Except in Guinea and Benin, where surveys were con- the NERICAs, especially the upland NERICAs, still needs ducted (in 2003 in Guinea and in 2005 in Benin), the esti- improvement. (For details on the development and the char- mated areas under NERICA reported above by national acteristics of different NERICA varieties, see Somado, Guei, agricultural research systems are based on quantities of seed and Keya 2008; Wopereis and others 2008; and Kaneda produced and distributed to farmers.