Opinion - Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces multiple problems. The main one is improving the lives of the 30% of its population that suffers from extreme poverty and food insecurity. As more than 70% of the population lives off farming and related activities, agricultural development will have to play a major role in improving this situation.
Sub-Saharan Africa faces multiple problems. The main one is improving the lives of the 30% of its population that suffers from extreme poverty and food insecurity. As more than 70% of the population lives off farming and related activities, agricultural development will have to play a major role in improving this situation.
Therefore, many African governments accord high priority to developing their local rice sector as an important component of national food security, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. The abundant supply of agroclimatically suitable wetlands and water resources can support a large expansion in rice area and productivity. Currently, less than 5% of the potentially suitable wetlands are planted with rice because of various constraints.
Rice is cultivated in four ecosystems of SSA: dryland , rainfed wetland , deepwater and mangrove swamps , and irrigated wetland . Many abiotic stresses and biotic constraints limit rice production on the continent. The changing climate is expected to further aggravate the abiotic constraints and reduce rice yields in all ecosystems. Rice production is also restricted by many technical, management, socioeconomic, health, and policy constraints.
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