Scientists hope new hybrid rice varieties will keep Africa fed

THE FIRST hybrid rice varieties developed in subSaharan Africa are yielding up to four times more than other improved varieties, say scientists, who are using web-based tools to identify the right climate conditions to maximise harvests.

The 15 hybrids, bred in Kenya and Tanzania, are also tolerant to diseases and the high temperatures found in Kenya’s western Lake Region and coastal areas.

Local farmers have always depended on imported hybrid rice varieties, particularly from Asia, which sometimes do not adapt well to conditions in sub-Saharan Africa.

As the climate shifts and arable land shrinks under population pressure, experts say there is a need for more innovative ways to produce food. Seed systems Africa’s food deficit is projected to increase to 60 million tons by 2020 if no action is taken, according to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra).

Joe DeVries, the director of an Agra programme to strengthen Africa’s seed systems, said productivity on the continent was limited by the fact that farmers had a narrow choice of improved varieties.

“Most of them (are) planting varieties that were released more than 30 years ago,” DeVries said.

Denis Kyetere, the executive director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), which has developed the new hybrids in a public-private partnership, said hybrid technology had revolutionised rice production in Asia, especially in China.

Asia’s productivity has dramatically increased from an average of 1.89 tons per hectare in 1949 to 6.71 tons per hectare in 2012.

“With this technology, we look forward to Africa being able to feed Africa,” said Kayode Sanni, the project manager for rice at the AATF.

In 2014, Africa imported 12 million tons of rice, mostly from Asia.

The AATF, in collaboration with private firm Hybrids East Africa, has so far developed 140 hybrid rice varieties using African parent lines.

Of these, 15 – each yielding 7 to 10 tons per hectare – have been presented to the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service for national performance trials.

US-based aWhere, a partner in the hybrid rice project, has developed web-based tools that allow scientists to determine when and where to conduct breeding, seed multiplication and seed production to take advantage of the best climate conditions.

Improved inbred rice varieties, such as the New Rice for Africa lines, are already in use on African farms. As arable land shrinks… there is a need for more innovative ways to produce food.