Why did farmers stop cultivating Nerica upland rice varieties in central Benin?

Why did farmers stop cultivating Nerica upland rice varieties in central Benin?

About half of the farmers had ceased cultivation of NERICA varieties in 2011. The reasons for abandonment were the combined effects of reduced seed demand and low yields, which were attributed to a lack of access to credit and training on NERICA cultivation practices.

What is the full meaning of Nerica?

NERICA. ​ The New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties are the first wide-scale success of crossing of the two cultivated species: Oryza sativa, known as ‘Asian rice’, and O. glaberrima, often called ‘African rice’ and found only in Africa.

What type of rice is grown in Africa?

Oryza glaberrima
Oryza glaberrima, commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown in West Africa around 3,000 years ago….

Oryza glaberrima
Genus: Oryza
Species: O. glaberrima
Binomial name
Oryza glaberrima Steud.

What are the characteristic of the new rices dubbed New Rice for Africa or Nerica )?

Key features of the new varieties include: An increase in grain head size from 75-100 grains per head to 400 grains per head. An increase in yield from 1 tonne per hectare to 2.5 tonnes per hectare, yield increases to 5 tonnes per hectare with fertilizer use.

When did rice come to Africa?

Africa has an indigenous rice, Oryza glaberrima, which may have been domesticated about 1500 B.C.E. along the upper Niger River. It spread to west Africa, and when the first Portuguese explorers reached Guinea in 1446, they found extensive fields. Perhaps Carolina Gold descended from this plant.

What is the full meaning of Warda in agriculture?

The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), formerly known as the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), is a pan-African intergovernmental association and a CGIAR Research organization, currently headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

How is African rice grown?

Swamp rice, however, is being increasingly cultivated in former mangrove areas of the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Essentially all of it at present is the Asian species. African rice can also be grown in the same way. It can be seeded into damp soil or transplanted to fields under water.

Who brought rice to Africa?

the Portuguese
At the present time, O. glaberrima is being replaced everywhere in West Africa by the Asian species, introduced into the continent by the Portuguese as early as the middle of the 16th century (1).

What is tissue culture in short?

tissue culture, a method of biological research in which fragments of tissue from an animal or plant are transferred to an artificial environment in which they can continue to survive and function. The cultured tissue may consist of a single cell, a population of cells, or a whole or part of an organ.

What is African rice called?

Jollof rice
The dish is typically made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables and meat in a single pot, although its ingredients and preparation methods vary across different regions….

Jollof rice
Alternative names Benachin, riz au gras, ceebu jën, zaamè
Type Rice dish
Region or state West Africa

What plant does rice come from?

Oryza sativa
The rice grain grows on a rice plant, which is actually a grass. There are two species: Oryza glaberrima or Oryza sativa. The latter is the most commonly grown and known one, being grown all over the world.

Is NERICA rice good quality?

Upland NERICA varieties give yields that are generally as good as the Asian rice varieties. They are early-maturing (75-100 days) and are relatively tolerant of major stresses of Africa’s harsh growth environment. However, not all of these characteristics are found in one single NERICA variety.

Why the nerica varieties?

The NERICA varieties for various rice ecologies are a significant international public good. The ability of the African rice to grow under low input conditions makes it an especially useful genetic resource for developing stress-tolerant rice varieties for rainfed ecosystems in Africa.

What is the yield of nerica-L 19 Rice?

The most popular rainfed lowland variety NERICA-L 19 yields 5–7 t/ha, and is tolerant to iron toxicity, drought and blast. The work on rainfed lowland NERICAs earned Dr Sié the Fukui International Koshihikari Rice Prize from Japan in 2006.

What is the new rice for Africa?

The New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties are the first wide-scale success of crossing of the two cultivated species: Oryza sativa, known as ‘Asian rice’, and O. glaberrima, often called ‘African rice’ and found only in Africa

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