Resource information
Asia's green revolution in rice was
transformational and improved the lives of millions of poor
households. Rice has become an increasingly important part
of African diets and imports of rice have grown. Agronomists
point out that large areas in Africa are well suited for
rice and are encouraged by the field tests of new rice
varieties. So is Africa poised for its own green revolution
in rice? This study reviews the recent literature on rice
technologies and their impact on productivity, incomes, and
poverty, and compares current conditions in Africa with the
conditions that prevailed in Asia as its rice revolution got
under way. An important conclusion is that, to a degree, a
rice revolution has already begun in Africa. Moreover, many
of the same practices that have proved successful in Asia
and in Africa can be applied where yields are currently low.
At the same time, for many reasons, Africa's rice
revolution has been, and will continue to be, characterized
by a mosaic of successes, situated where the conditions are
right for new technologies to take hold. This can have
profound effects in some places. But because diets, markets,
and geography are heterogeneous in Africa, the successful
transformation of the Africa's rice sector must be
matched by productivity gains in other crops to fully launch
Africa's Green Revolution.
