The state of rice value chain upgrading in West Africa

Market intelligence for guiding crop improvement: A systematic review of stakeholder preference studies in the rice sector in the Global South and beyond

Improvement of crop varieties can be a powerful strategy for addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South if it is guided by market intelligence. We conducted a systematic literature review of stakeholder preference studies that aim at guiding crop improvement in rice, the Global South's most important staple food. We review behavioral indicators such as purchase intention, willingness to pay, acceptance, probability of adoption, and preference. Results from 106 studies reveal important gaps in terms of geographical and stakeholder representation: (1) Southcentral Asia is underrepresented and (2) studies focused either on upstream (farmers) or downstream (consumers) stakeholders along the value chain, while missing out on midstream actors (processors, traders). From the consumer studies, urban consumption zones are adequately represented as sources of end-market opportunities for farmers to tap into demand. Evidence suggests that consumer preferences for intrinsic attributes revolve around eating and cooking quality attributes (i.e., aroma, texture, swelling capacity, taste) and physical traits (i.e., whiteness, size and shape, proportion of broken grains). Evidence from farmer studies reveals that (1) preferences for agronomic attributes dominate and focus on yield, maturity, plant height, lodging tolerance, and tillering ability; (2) yield and early maturity were generally considered priority attributes and were often jointly considered as such; and (3) preferences for abiotic stress tolerance revolve around drought, submergence, and salinity. These insights can help refocus market intelligence research to aid crop improvement in addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South, which may be expanded globally.

Field phenotyping for African crops: overview and perspectives

Improvements in crop productivity are required to meet the dietary demands of the rapidly-increasing African population. The development of key staple crop cultivars that are high-yielding and resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses is essential. To contribute to this objective, high-throughput plant phenotyping approaches are important enablers for the African plant science community to measure complex quantitative phenotypes and to establish the genetic basis of agriculturally relevant traits. These advances will facilitate the screening of germplasm for optimum performance and adaptation to low-input agriculture and resource-constrained environments. Increasing the capacity to investigate plant function and structure through non-invasive technologies is an effective strategy to aid plant breeding and additionally may contribute to precision agriculture. However, despite the significant global advances in basic knowledge and sensor technology for plant phenotyping, Africa still lags behind in the development and implementation of these systems due to several practical, financial, geographical and political barriers. Currently, field phenotyping is mostly carried out by manual methods that are prone to error, costly, labor-intensive and may come with adverse economic implications. Therefore, improvements in advanced field phenotyping capabilities and appropriate implementation are key factors for success in modern breeding and agricultural monitoring. In this review, we provide an overview of the current state of field phenotyping and the challenges limiting its implementation in some African countries. We suggest that the lack of appropriate field phenotyping infrastructures is impeding the development of improved crop cultivars and will have a detrimental impact on the agricultural sector and on food security. We highlight the prospects for integrating emerging and advanced low-cost phenotyping technologies into breeding protocols and characterizing crop responses to environmental challenges in field experimentation. Finally, we explore strategies for overcoming the barriers and maximizing the full potential of emerging field phenotyping technologies in African agriculture. This review paper will open new windows and provide new perspectives for breeders and the entire plant science community in Africa.

Dynamics of the rice yellow mottle disease in western Burkina Faso: Epidemic monitoring, spatio-temporal variation of viral diversity, and pathogenicity in a disease hotspot

The rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is a model in plant virus molecular epidemiology, with the reconstruction of historical introduction routes at the scale of the African continent. However, information on patterns of viral prevalence and viral diversity over multiple years at a local scale remains scarce, in spite of potential implications for crop protection. Here, we describe a 5-year (2015-9) monitoring of RYMV prevalence in six sites from western Burkina Faso (geographic areas of Bama, Banzon, and Karfiguela). It confirmed one irrigated site as a disease hotspot and also found one rainfed lowland (RL) site with occasional high prevalence levels. Within the studied fields, a pattern of disease aggregation was evidenced at a 5-m distance, as expected for a mechanically transmitted virus. Next, we monitored RYMV genetic diversity in the irrigated disease hotspot site, revealing a high viral diversity, with the current coexistence of various distinct genetic groups at the site scale (ca. 520 ha) and also within various specific fields (25 m side). One genetic lineage, named S1bzn, is the most recently emerged group and increased in frequency over the studied period (from 20 per cent or less in 2015-6 to more than 65 per cent in 2019). Its genome results from a recombination between two other lineages (S1wa and S1ca). Finally, experimental work revealed that three rice varieties commonly cultivated in Burkina Faso were not different in terms of resistance level, and we also found no significant effect of RYMV genetic groups on symptom expression and viral load. We found, however, that infection outcome depended on the specific RYMV isolate, with two isolates from the lineage S1bzn accumulating at the highest level at early infections. Overall, this study documents a case of high viral prevalence, high viral diversity, and co-occurrence of divergent genetic lineages at a small geographic scale. A recently emerged lineage, which comprises viral isolates inducing severe symptoms and high accumulation under controlled conditions, could be recently rising through natural selection. Following up the monitoring of RYMV diversity is required to confirm this trend and further understand the factors driving the local maintenance of viral diversity.

Rice availability and stability in Africa under future socio-economic development and climatic change

As Africa is facing multiple challenges related to food security, frameworks integrating production and availability are urgent for policymaking. Attention should be given not only to gradual socio-economic and climatic changes but also to their temporal variability. Here we present an integrated framework that allows one to assess the impacts of socio-economic development, gradual climate change and climate anomalies. We apply this framework to rice production and consumption in Africa whereby we explicitly account for the continent's dependency on imported rice. We show that socio-economic development dictates rice availability, whereas climate change has only minor effects in the long term and is predicted not to amplify supply shocks. Still, rainfed-dominated or self-producing regions are sensitive to local climatic anomalies, while trade dominates stability in import-dependent regions. Our study suggests that facilitating agricultural development and limiting trade barriers are key in relieving future challenges to rice availability and stability.

The impact of the rice production system (irrigated vs lowland) on root-associated microbiome from farmer's fields in western Burkina Faso

Due to their potential applications for food safety, there is a growing interest in rice root-associated microbial communities, but some systems remain understudied. Here, we compare the assemblage of root-associated microbiota in rice sampled in 19 small farmer's fields from irrigated and rainfed lowlands in Burkina Faso, using an amplicon metabarcoding approach of the 16S rRNA gene (prokaryotes, three plant sample per field) and ITS (fungi, one sample per field). In addition to the expected structure by root compartments (root vs. rhizosphere) and geographical zones, we showed that the rice production system is a major driver of microbiome structure. In irrigated systems, we found a higher diversity of prokaryotic communities from the rhizosphere and more complex co-occurrence networks, compared to rainfed lowlands, while fungal communities exhibited an opposite pattern (higher richness in rainfed lowlands). Core taxa were different between the two systems, and indicator species were identified: mostly within Bacillaceae in rainfed lowlands, and within Burkholderiaceae and Moraxellaceae in irrigated areas. Finally, a higher abundance in rainfed lowlands was found for mycorrhizal fungi (both compartments) and rhizobia (rhizosphere only). Our results highlight deep microbiome differences induced by contrasted rice production systems that should consequently be considered for microbial engineering applications.

Farming Systems, Food Security and Farmers' Awareness of Ecosystem Services in Inland Valleys: A Study From Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana

Inland valleys (IVs) in West African countries have increasingly been used for crop production, including rice cultivation. Though it is widely assumed that IVs have a high potential to contribute to food security of West African countries, a comprehensive assessment of farming systems addressing agricultural, institutional, food security, poverty, and ecosystem indicators is still lacking. This study characterizes IVs' smallholder farm households at the regional and farm type level using Rural Household Multiple Indicator Survey (RHoMIS) data collected from 733 randomly selected farm households in four agro-ecological regions, i.e., Bouaké and Gagnoa in Cote d'Ivoire, and Ahafo Ano North and Ahafo Ano South in Ghana. A farm typology is developed, and farm households are characterized with regard to demographic, agricultural, economic, and institutional indicators. Furthermore, farm households' food security and poverty status, and the importance of rice in the portfolio of crops, is assessed. Finally, farmers' awareness of different ecosystem services (ES) for their food security is examined. Four farm types are identified, i.e., farmers who rent all the land cultivated, farmers who own some land and rent extra land, farmers who own and cultivate all their land, and farmers cultivating only a part of the land they own. We find that the variation in farm households' demographic, economic, and institutional characteristics is greater between regions than within regions. Crop production, either for direct consumption or marketing, especially rice production, is the main contributor to daily energy intake, followed by wild food consumed. Still, a substantial percentage of the farm households (16–38%) in all regions cannot meet minimum daily energy requirements. Farmers of all farm types, and in all regions, attach high relevance to IVs' provisioning ES, particularly the ability to provide food. A majority of farmers in all regions highlighted the relevance of regulating ES, including climate regulation, water storage, and groundwater values for their wellbeing. In contrast, farmers attached relatively lower relevance to cultural ES. Interventions to improve national rice production need to acknowledge and preserve the diversity ES that IVs provide to smallholder farm households.

Spatiotemporal Survey of Multiple Rice Diseases in Irrigated Areas Compared to Rainfed Lowlands in the Western Burkina Faso

Multiple constraints affect rice yields in West Africa. Among these constraints are viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. We aimed to describe the spatiotemporal patterns of occurrence and incidence of multiple rice diseases in farmers' fields in contrasting rice growing systems in the western Burkina Faso. For this purpose, we selected a set of three pairs of sites, each comprising an irrigated area and a neighboring rainfed lowland, and studied them over four consecutive years. We first performed interviews with the rice farmers to better characterize the management practices at the different sites. This study revealed that the transplanting of rice and the possibility of growing rice twice a year are restricted to irrigated areas, while other practices, such as the use of registered rice cultivars, fertilization, and pesticides, are not specific but differ between the two rice growing systems. Then, we performed symptom observations at these study sites to monitor the following four diseases: yellow mottle disease, Bacterial Leaf Streak (BLS), rice leaf blast, and brown spot. The infection rates were found to be higher in irrigated areas than in rainfed lowlands, both when analyzing all observed symptoms together (any of the four diseases) and when specifically considering each of the two diseases: BLS and rice leaf blast. Brown spot was particularly prevalent in all six study sites, while yellow mottle disease was particularly structured geographically. Various diseases were frequently found together in the same field (co-occurrence) or even on the same plant (coinfection), especially in irrigated areas.

Rice pests in the Republic of Benin: farmers' perceptions, knowledge and management practices

BACKGROUND

Rice (Oryza spp) is one of the most consumed cereals in the Republic of Benin. However, rice production is threatened by various pests, which lead to important yield losses. For the development of integrated management strategies responding to the farmers' realities, it is important to document their perceptions, knowledge and management of rice pests. Surveys involving 418 rice farmers to 21 ethnic groups through 39 villages were performed using rural appraisal tools.

RESULTS

Farmers perceived birds, specifically weavers as the most important rice pests. The surveyed farmers also identified the variegated grasshopper, Zonocerus variegatus L. and rice brown leaf spots [Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Boedijn] as the main pests in the northern region, the pink stem borer, Sesamia calamistis Hampson and rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr) in the southern region, and Z. variegatus and rice yellow mottle virus (genus Sobemovirus) in central Benin. The most important rice storage constraint was rodent attacks and the surveyed farmers proposed 13 key solutions to minimize constraints related to rice storage. Among various pest control methods recorded, farmers used mainly synthetic chemical pesticides. However, the Beninese National Pesticide Management Committee (CNGP) does not recommend most of pesticides used by farmers for rice protection (prohibited pesticides or intended for the protection of other crops). Farming experience, family size, region and number of observed pests have significantly influenced farmers' decision to use pesticides.

CONCLUSION

The rice pests perceived by farmers as important vary significantly across regions. These results suggest that integrated pest management programmes which target rice pests accounting for these regional differences will be more effective. The identified variables that influence the use of pesticides must be taken in account in the development of strategies which will encourage farmers to use ecofriendly pest management.

Ghana's rice value chain resilience in the context of COVID-19

The 2020 State of the Food Security and Nutrition World report suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may render 83 to 132 million people food insecure. The global south has been projected to be adversely affected by COVID-19 in terms of food and nutritional security. This potentially renders Africa off track in achieving SDG -2 of zero hunger by 2030. Ghana is a net importer of rice and how the sector responded to the global pandemic has received less traction in the agri-food system literature. There is skewed literature that concentrates on the global north. The paper employed a qualitative approach involving key informant interviews across 6 regions in Ghana. The study covered 48 Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officers, 80 farmers, and 48 market leaders. We use one of the country's main food staple - rice to show the food (in)-security situation during the pandemic. We articulate that using the right food security conceptual and theoretical framing remains imperative in understanding food (in)-security. The findings showed price hikes during the imposition of lockdown affected access (physical and effective demand). Rice however remained available during and after the lockdown imposition. Ghana's rice production output was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The ramification of COVID-19 on Ghana's rice sector was not dire but points to the vulnerability of the rice value chain to future pandemics. Important policy actions are needed to consolidate particular gains made in Ghana's planting for food and jobs to minimize rice imports.

Tailoring rice varieties to consumer preferences induced by cultural and colonial heritage: Lessons from New Rice for Africa (NERICA) in The Gambia

Rice breeding priorities in Africa often focus on agronomic gains. However, being a net importer of rice, the continent's varietal replacement success also crucially hinges on new varieties' market competitiveness vis-à-vis imports. Markets have been profoundly shaped by cultural and colonial heritage. Indigenous preferences for African rice can be traced back to ancient rice domestication and have been subsequently influenced by Asian rice import standards as a result of colonial import substitution policies. New Rice for Africa (NERICA) crosses between African and Asian rice species have the potential to reconcile these dual indigenous/import preferences, but little is known about their market competitiveness. We use auction market data to assess the intrinsic and extrinsic consumer value of NERICA in The Gambia relative to two market standards: branded, Asian rice imports and the most popular locally grown Asian rice variety. We categorize rice consumers into four market segments, based on their heritage as evidenced by their preferences and genealogical lineages. NERICA outperforms both Asian rice standards in terms of market competitiveness, and its value is further reinforced by colonial heritage and labeling, but somewhat weakened by cultural heritage. Consumers were found to pay price premiums for NERICA in the range of 5% to 22% relative to Asian rice imports, with the highest premiums offered by consumers with colonial heritage, representing 86% of the sample. Maintaining and expanding this market will require breeders to incorporate trait mixes that reconcile agronomic gains and consumer preferences induced by cultural and colonial heritage.

The global burden of chronic and hidden hunger revisited: New panel data evidence spanning 1990-2017

Gödecke, Stein and Qaim (2018) (GSQ) recently analysed the 1990–2010 trend and determinants of the global burden of chronic and hidden hunger. We reanalyse and extend GSQ's study and demonstrate that after 2010, significant reductions in the burden of hunger were achieved. In contrast with GSQ, we find that (i) hidden hunger is more prevalent than chronic hunger; (ii) cereal availability and the supply of vegetables and fruits matter; and (iii) gender equality only affects hidden hunger. We further provide evidence on the importance of spatial spillovers in GDP affecting the burden of hunger. Policy makers should therefore prioritize (i) enhancement of micronutrient density of cereals; (ii) diversification of production systems and consumer diets; and (iii) development of nutrition-sensitive food value chains.

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We reanalyse and extend the study of Gödecke et al. (2018).

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Hidden hunger is more prevalent than chronic hunger.

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Supply of cereals, vegetables and fruits significantly alleviates the burden of hunger.

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Gender equality only affects hidden hunger and not chronic hunger.

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Neighbours' GDP has a major positive effect on the alleviation of the burden of hunger.

Deciphering urban consumer requirements for rice quality gives insights for driving the future acceptability of local rice in Africa: Case study in the city of Saint-Louis in senegal

Rice is the staple cereal in Senegal. Despite the many policies implemented over the last decade, Senegalese consumers still prefer imported over local rice. To understand this preference, this study compares consumer acceptability of three local rice samples versus two imported rice samples. Two focus groups and a consumer test with 120 women were carried out in the city of Saint-Louis in Senegal. The results concerning consumption habits showed that about 85% of the surveyed women consume rice at least once a day (at lunch). The hedonic test showed that consumers appreciated all five rice samples, but the most liked samples were obtained from industrial processing of either local or imported whole and fragrant rice. The least liked sample was a local semi-industrial rice, including 50% broken grains. The results of the just-about-right (JAR) test and check-all-that-apply (CATA) test showed that the sensory descriptors such as white color, well-cooked, and homogeneous grain size had an influence on the consumers' choice of rice samples. However, the most important selection criteria were the homogeneous size of the rice grains, the absence of impurities, both of which are directly linked to the milling conditions, and fragrance, which is related to the variety. The origin of the rice samples did not influence the consumers' choice. This study showed that local rice can compete with imported rice if processing is improved in some small-scale rice mills.

Moving toward rice self-sufficiency in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030: Lessons learned from 10 years of the Coalition for African Rice Development

The Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) was initiated as a policy framework with the aim of doubling rice production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period from 2008 to 2018. This paper assesses the contribution of the CARD policy to rice production and forecasts the local rice supply and demand to provide a better understanding of the policies needed to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2030. A combination of the autoregressive integrated moving average method and counterfactual approach was adopted using rice statistical data from 23 countries in SSA. The results showed that the contribution of CARD to paddy rice production in 2018 was 10.2 million tons, equivalent to 74% of the target. This contribution resulted from increases in area and yield of 23% and 19%, respectively. However, the yield growth rate was not sustainable in almost two-thirds of countries. Investments in supply-push factors such as fertilizer and irrigation development, which were the focus in the past, have limited effects on rice production. We conclude that sustainable investments in demand-pull factors such as the private-led modern milling sector and contract farming development should be prioritized to achieve rice self-sufficiency in SSA.

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Practices as a Nature-Based Solution to Promote Water-Energy-Food Nexus Balance

The objective of this study is to evaluate the contributions of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) practices to the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus balance, design practical pathways, and analyze barriers towards achievement of EbA-WEF balance. An area case study and descriptive methods were used to analyze data collected from 50 community forests (CFs) spread across three regions in The Gambia. Extensive information from relevant literature sources was also referred to in this study. Fourteen priority EbA practices were established and categorized into four major groups based on their application similarities. Among the anticipated ecosystem services were enhanced water resource conservation, food and feed production, enhanced energy supply, and improved community livelihoods to enhance their resilience. Pathways on how each practice under the broad category contributes to water, energy, and food were developed to demonstrate how they individually and collectively contribute towards the nexus balance. Key enablers identified included a conducive policy framework, institutional support, diverse incentives, information, knowledge, and technology transfer, and climate and non-climate barriers were cited as impediments. The paper concludes by outlining recommendations to overcome the established barriers.

Policy options for mitigating impacts of COVID-19 on domestic rice value chains and food security in West Africa

Rice plays a strategic role in food security in West Africa. However, the region increasingly relies on rice imports due to a growing and structural deficit, and domestic value chains face constraints in technology, finance and coordination. As a result, West Africa is very vulnerable to international and local trade disruptions, such as the ones currently inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We build on evidence of the current state of domestic rice value chain upgrading in West Africa to anticipate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rice value chains' resilience and their capacity to sustain food security in the region. Several policy options are proposed to help West African governments mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on food security.