The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has disclosed in its study of rice farming some difficulties faced by rice farmers as well as recommendations to deal with them.
Stating some of the major challenges, the foundation highlighted the use of farmer-saved seeds, lack of machinery to support commercialization and low use of fertilizers in its press statement.
In a statement sighted by the Vaultz News, the study revealed that climate change is one of the major factors contributing to the abandonment of rice farms as it results in the high accumulation of salt (salinity).
According to the study, the abiotic stress (plant stress) of salinity has assisted in the plummet in rice production especially in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda as it either depletes soil nutrients or causes imbalances in them.
Focusing on these three countries, it established that Nigeria practices only 9 per cent of exclusive irrigated rice farming where as Uganda practices 10 per cent. At sampled rice producing communities in these countries, the study also established that they were affected by droughts since most of the farmers practised rain fed agriculture leading to low yields.
The report indicated 52 per cent of Ghanaian farmers – that is, more than half of sample size – 78 per cent Nigerian farmers and 83 per cent Ugandan farmers used farmer-saved seeds for consequent production.
“The high use of saved seeds was linked to low yields in crops. Other reasons included lack of money to procure other inputs (fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides) to guarantee yields,” it emphasized.
Meanwhile, the statement signed by Nancy Muchiri of the Communications and Partnerships Unit of AATF shows that the study attests to the adaptation and adoption process African farmers are going through to keep them going in their sector.
According to the report, African farmers are beginning to innovate, increase productivity, and drive unprecedented progress across entire economies, climate change as well as a surge of new pests and diseases threatening the gains.
Notwithstanding, the statement highlighted the involvement of the youth in rice farming. It noted that 46 per cent youth in Ghana are now taking up roles in rice farming, 52 per cent in Nigeria and 47 per cent in Uganda. The Foundation believes that the increase in interest is an indication of labour availability and signals that there is a sustained future in rice farming.
The Rice Project Manager at AATF, Dr Kayode Sanni recommended that for Africa’s agriculture sector to achieve desired growth, food security and create jobs, certain reforms need to be made.
Highlighting the reforms he included “access to land, improvement of infrastructure, enhancement of extension services and farmer education, access to markets, finance and good quality seeds and adoption of new technologies”.
According to him, rice was an important food staple and a major source of carbohydrates in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. He added that in Nigeria and Ghana, it was the second most important cereal consumed and the third in Uganda.
Dr Sanni said rice was grown on a scanty 11 per cent and two per cent of Nigeria and Ghana’s agronomic land respectively; while in Uganda, it was grown on a total land area of 95,277 hectares.
He also noted that in all three countries, about 80 per cent of the rice was produced by small scale farmers cultivating an area less than three hectares.
“Despite the high number of people engaged in rice production and the area of land allotted for rice farming, the average yield of 2.1 MT/ha during the period of 2012 – 2018 (USDA, 2018), is still extremely low compared to yields of 5.0 MT /ha in Asia,” he said.
He reiterated the abiotic stress associated with productivity.
“This low yield has led to the three countries being net importers of rice, especially from Asia. Further, this yield rate remains far below the potential productivity for rice in the region and this is attributable to abiotic and biotic stresses”.
Dr Sanni is optimistic that the adoption of varieties of rice production has the potential for increasing the yields of rice in SSA since it has the ability to do well and produce more grains per hectare under the different adverse environmental and soil conditions of SSA.
The report recommends the need to invest in new farming technology for Africa—from better seeds to digital tools to machinery—as the best opportunity for transforming African agriculture into an engine of economic growth that will have benefits far beyond the farm sector; and use of new rice varieties and other innovations to ensure farmers can adapt to climate change, address the challenges to help them improve productivity.
