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The New Rice for Africa – NERICA – is a technology from Africa for Africa. It is perfectly adapted to the harsh growing environment and low-input conditions of upland rice ecologies in sub-Saharan Africa, where smallholder farmers lack the means to irrigate and apply chemical fertilizers or pesticides. It responds even better to higher inputs.
A cross between the African rice species (Oryza glaberrima) and the Asian rice species (O. sativa), NERICA combines the ability of the African parent to withstand drought, pests and diseases with the productivity of the Asian parent. Yields on upland soils are up to 3 tons per hectare with little or no fertilizer application (compared to about 1.5 tons per hectare for current upland varieties). Another advantage is NERICA’s earliness (by 30 to 50 days). Hundreds of NERICA varieties have been produced. Since they are self-pollinating, the seed can be kept by farmers from year to year.
NERICA was developed by WARDA – The Africa Rice Center – in association with an array of partners from around the world. It is a testimony to the strategic partnership that WARDA has forged with the national and international agricultural research systems, non-governmental organizations, and farming communities with staunch support from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and other donors.
WARDA recognizes the foremost NERICA champions who have played a pivotal role in moving it to farmers’ fields, namely the Japanese Government (a key member of the CGIAR), World Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, UNDP, Gatsby Foundation, IFAD, and African Development Bank. To coordinate this dissemination process, the African Rice Initiative (ARI), hosted by WARDA, was created in 2002. It will serve primarily as a single focused channel for all NERICA dissemination efforts in Africa. NERICAs are now spreading in West and Central Africa and beyond into Southern and Eastern Africa.
A series of high-level meetings on support for NERICA dissemination held in Tokyo on 1 July and 12 September 2003 – organized jointly by World Bank, CGIAR, and the Japanese Government – culminated in the NERICA side event at TICAD III, featuring a seminar “NERICA on the Move - a Symbol of Hope for Rice Farmers in Africa” to showcase collaboration for NERICA’s dissemination. The side event also included a NERICA information display.
In addition to the side event, WARDA delivered a leadoff statement on NERICA’s promise for Africa at one of the thematically focused sessions on agricultural development.
NERICA truly captured the spirit of TICAD III and it was prominently featured in the TICAD III Declaration as well as in several high-level addresses and discussions. The quotations presented here represent only the documented statements on NERICA.
On behalf of WARDA, I take this opportunity to thank the visionaries who have championed NERICA and are committed to move the technology into the hands of farmers and consumers across Africa and beyond. |
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