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Africa celebrates the International Year of Rice
In the beginning of creation, according to the Diola people living near the Casamance River in Senegal, the Rain God Emitai gave Diola rice — which
carried a life-giving power — to their ancestors. The rice they refer to is Oryza glaberrima (African rice), which is still grown by some of the Diola
people and used in rituals to preserve the link with their ancestors.
Rice is an integral part of the history and culture of Africa, where it has been cultivated for more than 3000 years. It was so widely grown in West
Africa when the first European sailors reached there, that they called the region from Senegal to Côte d’Ivoire the ‘Rice Coast’.
Rice has now become a commodity of strategic significance in Africa. It is grown and consumed in about 40 countries in the continent. Fuelled by
changing lifestyle and consumer preference, the demand for rice in West and Central Africa (WCA), is growing at the rate of 6% per annum — faster
than anywhere else in the world.
In recognition of the worldwide importance of this crop, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has designated 2004 as the International Year
of Rice (IYR). This dedication of an International Year to a single crop is rare in the history of UNGA.
Rice is worthy of this distinction because it feeds more than half the world's population while providing income for many. To millions of people, such
as the Diola, rice is more than just food. It is inextricably woven into their culture, identity and way of life.
The theme of the 2004 IYR is Rice is life, which recognizes the special relationship that links people to this vital crop. The IYR celebrations will
highlight the central role that rice plays in agriculture, food security, the environment and culture.
One of the 2004 IYR objectives is to improve rice production through greater emphasis on rice research, development and policy. A sustainable
increase in rice production will reduce hunger and poverty and contribute to environmental conservation.
As part of the IYR, public awareness campaigns on rice are being planned in many countries and national committees for the IYR are being formed,
which will serve as focal points for the campaigns and link up with the global IYR vision.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the lead agency for the implementation of the global IYR vision in collaboration
with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the CGIAR, national programs, NGOs, and the private sector. In Africa, WARDA is actively
participating in the IYR events in various countries in collaboration with its partners.
As part of this celebration, a pan-Africa IYR event ‘Rice is life for Africans’ is being jointly organized under the sponsorship of NEPAD, FARA, WARDA,
the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), UNDP, and FAO at Accra, Ghana, in September 2004.
The event will be an opportunity to formally felicitate Dr. Monty Jones, who has been selected as the 2004 World Food Prize co-winner for the
development of the NERICA.
The pan-Africa IYR event includes an African Rice Conference during which prominent rice experts will help draw up a common agenda for the
development of rice and rice-based production system in the continent. The Third Biennial Regional Rice Research Review (4Rs), led by ROCARIZ —
the Rice Network hosted by WARDA — will also form part of this event.
A stakeholder round-table discussion on African rice policy, recognition of specific African Heads of State for their successful promotion of the
NERICA, scientific awards, prizes to rice producers and an exhibition of rice technologies will feature prominently in the celebration.
Another important IYR event initiated by WARDA is the organization of the Fourth Meeting of the National Experts Committee (NEC) — which
comprises the Directors General of WARDA member countries — under the theme of ‘Celebrating the International Year of Rice in Africa’ in
Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, in June 2004.
Thanks to the 2004 IYR celebration in Africa, improved rice technologies, such as the NERICAs will increasingly reach villages, farms and homes of
millions of poor rice farmers and consumers in the region.
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