Climate-resilient and eco-friendly rice for Africa

project summary

Rice is an increasingly important staple food crop in Sub-Saharan Africa, but currently, its production is insufficient to meet the rising demand. Increases in extreme weather events challenge local rice production and distribution systems, making the already fragile food system even more vulnerable. Unfortunately, rice-growing areas are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, in addition to making rice more climate-resilient to sustain droughts and floods, there is a need for more eco-friendly rice with reduced emissions of methane and carbon dioxide. Moreover, there are significant equity issues in the rice value chain particularly related to gender and access to resources. We therefore propose to 1) Enhance equitable rice cultivation capacity in drought-prone marginalized areas and focus on women-led household farmers, 2) Develop drought tolerant varieties by inserting drought tolerance traits into popular, locally adapted varieties and elite breeding lines 3) Implement agronomic strategies in drought-prone rice-growing regions to save water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 3) Build institutional capacity to master modern research, breeding, and deployment strategies.

The outcomes of the proposed project will therefore A) Generally strengthen community resilience to drought, with better-prepared farmers and more sustainable agricultural practices, and specifically enhance rice cultivation capacity among women-led household farmers in drought-prone and marginalized areas; B) Enhance food security and reduce vulnerability to drought-induced crop failures via adoption of drought-tolerant rice varieties by farmers; C) Improve yield and profitability for farmers in drought-prone regions, enhancing overall agricultural sustainability via reduced water consumption in rice cultivation through the adoption of direct seeding and ratoon cropping practices leading to decreased greenhouse gas emissions from rice fields, contributing to climate change mitigation; and D) Increase regional and global collaboration, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation in rice cultivation and drought resilience through strengthened institutional capacity to conduct cutting-edge research and breeding programs resulting in sustainable development of local research institutions, ensuring long-term benefits and self-sufficiency.