The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) have launched a five-year partnership aimed at improving rice production, strengthening food and nutrition security, and reducing Africa’s estimated $6 billion annual rice import bill.
The partnership, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will combine AfricaRice’s expertise in rice research and technology development with AATF’s experience in scaling agricultural innovations to smallholder farmers across 32 African countries.
According to AfricaRice, the continent currently produces more than 30 million metric tonnes of rice annually, with Nigeria, Egypt and Madagascar among the leading producers. Despite this, Africa continues to rely heavily on imports to meet growing consumer demand.
Under the agreement, the two organisations will work together to strengthen the rice value chain by expanding farmers’ access to improved rice varieties, including high-yielding hybrid rice, while promoting technologies that increase productivity from seed production to processing and marketing.
The collaboration will focus on quality seed production and distribution, good agricultural practices, mechanisation, decision-support tools for efficient input use, and improved rice processing technologies.
Director-General of AfricaRice, Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, said the partnership is designed to bridge the gap between scientific research and practical application.
“Through this partnership, we will work together with AATF to develop and promote mechanised tools and agricultural equipment to reduce drudgery in rice production, improve processing efficiency and enhance the quality of locally produced rice,” he said.
Executive Director of AATF, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, described the collaboration as timely, noting that Africa’s food systems are under increasing pressure from population growth, climate change and declining agricultural productivity.
“We stand at a crossroads in Africa’s food production journey, where population growth, climate change and declining agricultural productivity continue to threaten food and nutrition security. By investing in agricultural innovations, we have a unique opportunity to transform African agriculture into a powerful driver of economic growth,” he said.
The organisations said the partnership would accelerate the adoption of improved rice technologies and support Africa’s drive towards greater rice self-sufficiency through stronger collaboration between research institutions, governments and the private sector.
The initiative comes amid growing investment in the continent’s rice sector. At the recent West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, governments, development partners and private investors pledged $1.54 billion to boost domestic rice production, improve processing capacity and reduce dependence on imported rice.
