African Rice Initiative: 
Stepping Up NERICA Dissemination in SSA
Building on the Guinea success story, WARDA and its partners joined forces to create a mechanism to scale up the dissemination of the NERICA throughout SSA. Their efforts culminated in the launching of The African Rice Initiative (ARI) in March 2002.

ARI is in harmony with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and provides a framework for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Although the initial focus of ARI will be on selected West African pilot countries, NERICAs will be promoted across SSA through farmer-participatory approaches.

According to ARI’s projections, by the end of 5-year project (Phase I), some 200,000 ha will be under NERICA cultivation with a production of nearly 750,000 tonnes per year, achieving rice import savings worth nearly US$90 million per year.

NERICAs on the Move

NERICAs are making rapid headway in SSA. In 2002, NERICA 1, 2, 3 and 4 were the top varieties selected by farmers in PVS trials in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Togo. 

Within WCA, Côte d’Ivoire released the first two NERICA varieties in 2000, and Nigeria released one in 2003. Farmers in The Gambia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone are growing several NERICA varieties. In Benin, Gabon, Mali, and Togo, several NERICA varieties are under extension. 

Uganda has released a NERICA variety as "NARIC–3". Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania are evaluating several NERICA varieties.

Coordinating NERICA Dissemination
A growing number of donors and development agencies are championing the dissemination of NERICA in many African countries. The African Rice Initiative, hosted by WARDA, has been created to serve primarily as a single focused channel for all NERICA dissemination efforts in Africa. This will help to efficiently coordinate its dissemination across the region, satisfy the high demand for pure seeds and eliminate the risk of its dissemination in inappropriate environments.

Capturing NERICA’s Full Potential

The current NERICA varieties are targeted to upland rice systems. NERICA varieties for irrigated and lowland systems, which hold a high potential for Africa’s food security, are in the pipeline.

 

WARDA and its partners are together delivering the promise of NERICA to the poor across SSA, and NERICA varieties are increasingly reaching villages, farms, and homes of rice farmers and consumers of Africa.