Why NERICA is a Successful Innovation for African Farmers

Wopereis, M.C.S.; Diagne, Aliou; Rodenburg, Jonne; Sié, Moussa; Somado, Eklou A.

doi:10.5367/000000008785915502

Cited by 40 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Eighteen interspecific cultivars suitable for upland growing conditions were named as NERICA 1 to 18 Tollens et al, 2013). The upland NERICA cultivars are broadly adapted to African rice-growing environments and have been greeted with great enthusiasm by farmers, who look not only at yield, but also other plant characteristics such as short growth duration, grain quality, and resistance to pests and diseases (Wopereis et al, 2008). However, it has been repeatedly reported that there is clear scope for improving on the current family of upland NERICA cultivars (e.g., Saito and Futakuchi, 2009;Sone et al, 2009;Touré et al, 2011).…”

Section: Plant Characteristics Of High-yielding Upland Rice Cultivarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Characteristics of High‐Yielding Upland Rice Cultivars in West Africa

Saito

2016

Crop Science

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In West Africa, upland rice (Oryza spp.) is typically grown in low‐input production systems under low soil fertility conditions. Genetic improvement may offer a cost‐effective approach to improving the productivity rather than approaches that rely solely on external nutrient inputs. In the 1990s, the upland rice breeding program of the West Africa Rice Development Association (now Africa Rice Center [AfricaRice]) developed New Rice for Africa (NERICA) cultivars. However, recent studies suggest that there is scope for improving on the currently available NERICA cultivars. The objectives of this study are to (i) quantify yield advantage of two cultivars (Aus 257 and IR 74371‐3‐1‐1) which were identified as high‐yielding ones from a wide range of materials, over NERICA 1, and (ii) identify plant characteristics of these two high‐yielding cultivars. Data were compiled from nine on‐station and 23 on‐farm trials in Benin. On average over all the trials, the two cultivars out yielded local check upland NERICA 1. Particularly, their relative yield advantage was higher when NERICA 1 showed low yield. Aus 257 had greater biomass accumulation, harvest index (HI), and uptake of N, P, and K. Greater biomass accumulation was the result of high leaf area index (LAI). Cultivar variation in nutrient‐use efficiency also contributed to high yield, and IR 74371‐3‐1‐1 showed higher nutrient‐use efficiency than NERICA 1 and Aus 257. These results suggest that the use of the two cultivars with greater biomass accumulation, harvest index, nutrient uptake, and use efficiency is critical for improving rice yield.

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Section: Plant Characteristics Of High-yielding Upland Rice Cultivarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Characteristics of High‐Yielding Upland Rice Cultivars in West Africa

Saito

2016

Crop Science

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“…The proportion of the O. glaberrima genome among NERICA 1 to 7 ranged from 3.4 to 12.1% (Semagn et al, 2007;Somado et al, 2008). The upland NERICA cultivars have been broadly adapted to African rice-growing environments and met with great enthusiasm by farmers, who looked at not only yield but also other traits such as short growth duration, grain quality, and resistance to pests and diseases (Wopereis et al, 2008). However, solid scientifi c evidence for their adaptation and yield performance is still lacking.…”

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Enhancing Rice Productivity in West Africa through Genetic Improvement

2012

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Rice yields have stagnated in West Africa at 1 to 2 Mg ha"^ because of unfavorable rice environments and poor management practices. Interspecific rice cultivars, the New Rice for Africa (NERICA), were developed by crossing Asian rice {Oryza sativa L.) and African rice (O. glaberrima Steud.) to improve upland and lowland rice productivity in resource-poor farmers' fields. This paper provides an overview of recent studies, performed by the Africa Rice Center and its partners, on evaluation of growth and yield performance of upland and lowland NERICA cultivars and modern Asian rice cultivars including the improved upland indica cultivars often termed aerobic rice. Upland NERICA cultivars were found to lack the expected combination of superior yield potential with weed suppressive ability (WSA) and adaptation to low soil fertility, instead sharing similarity in these characteristics with their O. sativa parent WAB56-104 but remaining inferior to their O. glaberrima parent CG 14 in terms of tillering ability and WSA. Some aerobic rice cultivars were identified for high yielding ability, strong WSA, and superior adaptation to low-fertility uplands and waterlimited lowlands. Some lowland NERICA cultivars outyielded improved lowland O. sativa checks and aerobic rice cultivars in favorable lowlands, whereas they did not perform well in water-limited lowlands. The implications of these findings for future challenges for genetic improvement in West Africa are discussed.

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“…NERICA cultivars whose inter-specificity crosses between Oryzasativa and Oryzaglaberrima were introduced to Nigerian farmers through the Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) methods with a view to increasing rice production. NERICAs have unique characteristics such as shorter duration (mature between 30 and 50 days earlier than traditional varieties), higher yield, and tolerance to major stresses, higher protein and good taste compared with the traditional rice varieties [10,4,8,10,9,24,13]. The Federal Government launched the Multinational NERICA Rice Dissemination Project (MNRDP) in 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Levels and Intensity of Adoption of New Rice for Africa (Nerica) Among Rice Farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

Olufunmilola¹,

Bamire²,

Ogunleye³

2017

IJAE

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Abstract:The study determined the levels of New Rice for Africa (NERICA) technology adoption and identified the factors influencing the levels and intensity of technology adoption among the NERICA rice farmers with a view to improving NERICA production among rice farmers in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 200 NERICA rice farmers for the study. Primary data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and technology adoption index. Results showed that there were two main levels of NERICA technology adoption among the farmers based on the mean adoption index 0.9547. These were partial adopters with an index of <0.9547 and full adopters with an index of >0.9547. Partial adopters of the NERICA technology accounted for 50.5% of the farmers while full adopters accounted for 49.5%. The levels of adoption of NERICA technology was influenced by factors such as age, farming experience and quantity of fertilizer used while intensity was influenced by factors such as number of labour used, farming experience and quantity of fertilizer used. The study concluded that the adoption rate of NERICA technology in Ogun State could be improved by increasing the quantities of seed, number of labour and appropriate use of fertilizer.

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Why NERICA is a Successful Innovation for African Farmers

Abstract: This paper responds to‘Funding international agricultural research and the need to be noticed: a case study of NERICA rice’ by Stuart Orr, James Sumberg, Olaf Erenstein and Andreas Oswald, published in this issue of Outlook on Agriculture.

Cited by 40 publications

References 13 publications

Plant Characteristics of High‐Yielding Upland Rice Cultivars in West Africa

Plant Characteristics of High‐Yielding Upland Rice Cultivars in West Africa

Enhancing Rice Productivity in West Africa through Genetic Improvement

Factors Influencing Levels and Intensity of Adoption of New Rice for Africa (Nerica) Among Rice Farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

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