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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Agriculture Report. |
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Researchers are developing ways |
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to increase rice production in Africa |
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as part of efforts to fight hunger. |
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Their work was discussed |
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at the African Rice Congress in Cameroon last month. |
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Experts say 60 percent of the thirty million tons of |
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rice used in Africa is imported from Asia. |
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They estimate that Africa spends $5 billion |
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on rice imports every year. |
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And yet the United Nations |
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Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says |
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they are still rice shortages on the continent. |
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Rice production was reduced in some countries |
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after the economic crisis of the 1990s. |
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Samantana Mark is director general of |
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Cameroon's rice production company, SEMRY. |
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He says that with beginning of the crisis, |
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African countries stopped making investments |
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in rice production and in the marketing of rice. |
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Issues like climate change and extreme temperatures |
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have slowed rice production, |
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especially in areas south of the Saharan desert. |
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Plant disease is also a problem. |
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But some African researchers say |
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they have developed rice plants |
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that can grow in areas with little rain fall. |
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Nigerian-born Adekoya Madinat works with |
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the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences. |
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"With this research we try to see how much water |
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exactly is needed for rice production |
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and try to see which genes are actually recruited |
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during the event of droughts. |
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So these genes can be used to develop drought-resistant varieties |
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that can be plante with minimal water |
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and we still have very good yields and food security," said Madinat. |
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Delegates to the congress called for |
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great mechanization of African agriculture, |
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and they agree that investing in rice production requires a lot of money. |
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Robert Guei works for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. |
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He says that investments in rice production |
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should be a top issue for African governments |
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seeking to end hunger and poverty. |
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"African governments have to support small companies. |
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These people have to be encouraged |
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so governments have to come out with good policies |
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whereby these companies are subsidized. |
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Help them to have credits to banks and loans |
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so that they can produce these varieties of rice |
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and distribute and this is what FAO is doing now, |
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talking to governments to set up policies," said Guei. |
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Experts say that currently, |
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African countries produce about 12 million tons of rice per year. |
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And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. |
