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Increasing local rice production could be one of the solutions to achieving the self-sufficiency in this commodity desired by most African countries. But quality rice capable of competing with imported varieties with a comparative advantage seems to be the sustainable solution.

"Our rice value chain needs to be better integrated and able to compete with imported rice in terms of quality," explains Dr Abdoulaye Touré, Principal Economist, Lead Manager of the WAPP at the World Bank.

"Our experience with the Programme de Productivité Agricole en Afrique de l'Ouest (PPAAO) has shown us that it is not enough to increase local rice production and think that it will replace imported rice," said Dr. Abdoulaye Touré at a consultation workshop on the comparative competitiveness of rice, during which lessons were drawn from the experience of rice in Asia to improve the competitiveness of West African rice.

At the recent consultation meeting in Abidjan, jointly organized by AfricaRice, the World Bank and CORAF, participants learned that the success of Asian rice depends on strong country commitment, an enabling policy environment, long-term investment in infrastructure and research, and a market-driven approach.

Other factors in the success of Asian rice are as follows:

• Professionalizing the players in the value chain;
• Strong farmers' organizations;
• The use of high-yield varieties and mechanization;
• Credit support system;
• Creating outlets for domestic production;
• Private sector involvement in input supply;
• Creating a committed private sector;
• Quality assurance mechanisms;
• Creation of labels and promotional activities;
• Managed supply and distribution systems.

At the same meeting, AfricaRice Managing Director Harold Roy-Macauley declared that "the Asian rice value chain has undergone a rapid transformation, and is now highly integrated and organized". He urged West African countries to "identify upstream, intermediate and downstream strategies from Asia that could be applied locally, to make their rice value chains competitive and transformative, so that they can contribute effectively to food security in the sub-region".

Rice is one of the main staple foods for most of the 430 million people living in West and Central Africa.

Lessons learned from the workshop should feed into a more transformative agriculture program for the West and Central regions, currently under development.

Total annual food imports into Africa are estimated at US$35 billion, and are expected to reach US$110 billion by 2025. Despite improvements in local rice production, it is still unable to cover the region's needs.

Workshop recommendations for improving the local rice value chain

Policy: West African governments should support the continued development of the rice value chain by focusing on the development and implementation of appropriate public policies and improved basic infrastructure such as irrigation and storage facilities.

Production: The establishment of farmer groups in various agro-ecological zones that would produce fewer (maximum of two to five) preferred rice varieties capable of conquering lucrative urban, regional and international markets.

Marketing strategy: The classification of quality milled rice in West Africa, aimed at targeting different markets with different prices, should be encouraged. Cross-border trade in paddy rice, enabling other countries to process it and add value, should be explored.

Data: Ongoing work on CIPRiSSA, involving the collection and analysis of credible data to guide investment in the West African rice value chain, should be maintained.

Various initiatives aimed at improving the rice value chain in each country should be aligned with the national rice development strategy. This could be facilitated by the establishment of the Support System for Accelerating Self-Sufficiency in Rice in Africa (SSARSSA) proposed by AfricaRice. SSARSSA will help extend CIPRiSSA studies to other countries and support rice self-sufficiency in Africa.