AfricaRice and the Birth of NERICA: New Rice for Africa Thrives in Saharan Drylands
Rice is a staple food across Africa. Its growing importance is reflected in the food security policies of many nations, with West Africa leading rice production in Africa.
Coumbayel Coulibaly holds a calabash of high-yielding NERICA rice.
In 1992, the Africa Rice Center — with support from CGIAR, the Gatsby Foundation, IFAD, Japan, the Rockefeller Foundation, UNDP, and the World Bank — began developing a new rice variety suited to African conditions. The result was New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a hybrid created by crossing hardy African rice with high-yield Asian rice. Designed for the African climate, NERICA now includes 18 upland (dryland) varieties that grow well in rain-fed fields across sub-Saharan Africa.
Rice remains a critical food for African families and central to food security planning. There are 39 rice-producing countries on the continent, but local farmers supply only about 42% of demand; the rest is imported at great cost. Smallholder farmers struggle with limited access to irrigation and modern growing techniques, especially in West Africa — the region’s main production hub, led by Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria.
Dryland rice, the most extensive rice ecosystem in Africa, depends entirely on rainfall. Because of erratic weather and drought risk, crops often fail. NERICA was created to thrive in these tough conditions and help Africa move closer to rice self-sufficiency.
Today, rice is cooked simply in salted water, ground into flour, and served with fish, meat, beans, and vegetables. Women prepare rice using time-honored techniques that remain essential in rural kitchens. Rice is now one of the most important sources of calories in West Africa, ranking just behind wheat and maize, and it remains deeply tied to African culture.
Despite the success of NERICA, imported long-grain white rice from Thailand and Vietnam still dominates most West African markets due to price and availability.
Rice in Africa: Trade vs. Aid
Africa has its own ancient rice — Oryza glaberrima — domesticated thousands of years ago in the inland Niger Delta. But most rice eaten today is Asian rice (Oryza sativa), brought by traders across the Indian Ocean as early as the 8th–10th century and later spread further by Portuguese and Atlantic merchants. Colonial farming boosted its expansion.
Food aid often delivers imported rice during war or famine because it is affordable and quick to cook, but aid did not introduce rice to Africa — it arrived through trade and farming long before humanitarian programs.
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