Book Description
Rice consumption in Africa has increased dramatically over recent decades, growing faster than consumption of any other major staple on the continent. However, apart from Egypt, no African country is currently self-sufficient in terms of rice consumption. FAO implemented the project from May 2014 to December 2019, with the ten ministries of agriculture from the beneficiary countries. The project goal was to develop sustainable and productive rice systems in Africa to increase food security and enhance sustainable development of the rice food chain among smallholder farmers. South-South Cooperation was demonstrated to be an excellent mechanism for pooling resources and efforts in innovation and development processes. Sharing knowledge with decision makers and political consultation at the highest level was useful to reaffirm and update policies strategies and intervention priorities, and to mobilize partners from a large number of countries. Several producers, producer groups and communities successfully moved from subsistence farming to commercial farming by increasing production, reducing post-harvest losses and improving quality of rice through the use of appropriate post-harvest management technologies and equipment.
