1 RICE POLICY IN AFRICA: WHAT WENT WRONG? BY TUNJI AKANDE, YOUSSOUF CISE & PATRICK KORMAWA

2 INTRODUCTION Rice has been at the centre of policy attention in West Africa since the 1970s. (Witness: formation of West Africa Rice Development Association –WARDA- in 1971). Substantial investments, programmes and activities were undertaken to promote local production of rice. The results belied the efforts made and expectations nursed. Africa today still depends on rice imports at a scale never imagined. Domestic production has not been quite successful.

3 Questions What went wrong? Why has Africa been unable to produce enough rice to stem imports? Why did the initial investments in irrigation schemes and programmes for rice fail?

4 Objectives of the paper Review past policies and expectations of rice development in Africa Examine some case studied in selected countries Make proposals for improved policy environment

5 RICE DEMAND PROFILE IN AFRICA The demand for rice in sub-Saharan Africa is growing much faster than for any other grain. Both the rich and the urban poor rely on rice as a major source of calories. Rice is no longer an occasional but regular meal. Rice is being substituted for coarse grains and traditional roots and tubers at an annual rate of about 5% (FAO). Urbanization, changes in employment patterns and life style are the factors causing the increasing demand for rice.

6 Rice Policy Framework Agricultural policy implies roles, procedures, programmes, institutions and budgets which direct public conduct in agriculture. Policy is used to:  chart a path for development actions which public officials should follow in agriculture.  establish entitlements and the goals to be achieved;  provide a mechanism for the public agencies to articulate a course of action and organize society’s scarce resources to achieve public good.  allow decision makers to establish preferences and organize programmes in line with available resources.

7 Objectives pursued in the rice sector Self sufficiency Generation of income Equitable distribution of income

8 Policies enunciated Trade policies Production/Input policies Investment policies

9 COUNTRY-LEVEL RICE POLICIES (PRE-SAP SITUATION) COTE D’IVOIRE The country emphasized four types of policies: research, institutional, investment and pricing. The research policies focused on using technological improvements to stimulate increased output of rice.

10 Institutional policies targetted effective input delivery and marketing of output. Treated seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, equipment, land development, extension services, maintenance of irrigation works and mechanization were subsidised. Investment policy involved long-term capital development of irrigation projects in the savannah zone to the north and the establishment of industrial- scale rice mills. Trade and domestic price policies were geared towards ensuring fair and stable prices for local rice.

11 SENEGAL The Senegalese government set an official price for rice; defended with large quantities of imports. Later, rice policy focused on expanding domestic production under more secure water control system. Rice policy also covered extension activities, public investments in irrigation projects, and input subsidies.

12 MALI The Malian rice policy objectives were: self- sufficiency, security of food supplies, improved rural incomes and nutrition. Central instruments of policy were technical improvement and investment in rice production in the Office du Niger and in the two main rice projects at Segou and Mopti.

13 NIGERIA The Nigerian rice sector showed certain characteristics, namely: importation was massive and quality suffered; government was directly involved in distribution and marketing of imported rice and absorbed the associated marketing costs; urban consumption increased by 10% yearly. subsidy on fertilizer/other inputs but this was not sufficient to offset the depression in output prices because of cheap imports.

14 Outcome of policies (Pre-SAP) The policies pursued failed to achieve the objectives of the various governments. This was because the objectives and the policies pursued were conflicting, i.e., providing cheap food for consumers and remunerative income for producers. poor management and execution of rice projects. Low productivity resulting in low rate of return of large-scale irrigation investments, against expectation and plans. The policies failed to establish comparative advantage in rice production in most of the countries

15 POST-SAP RICE POLICIES In the 1980s and early 1990s governments in West Africa initiated macro-economic stabilization and structural adjustment programmes. The policy measures under SAP emphasized the role of the market in shaping economic development. So, SAP eliminated state intervention in most economic activities, replacing the state with private sector. Fiscal, monetary, wage and incomes policies as well as trade and exchange rate measures were introduced.

16 Outcome of SAP policies WARDA studies on the impact of SAP on rice sector in Cameroon, Mali, Mauritanian, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal confirmed that SAP reduced the role of state in production, marketing and pricing. Private sector became more important. SAP reduced producer incentives It reduced pressure on the national budgets. SAP improved competitiveness of local rice and raised prospects of self-sufficiency.

17 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS Misplaced priority of African leaders at independence who chose to adopt import substitution strategy at the expense of agriculture and food production. Frequent changes in government as a result of military coups across the continent. The result of these changes had been changes in emphasis and focus on the appropriate strategies to feed the people. In most of the countries the changes in policy direction had created lags in the implementation of rice development programmes.

18 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS (cont.) Lack of optimal policy mix. The price and trade policies pursued were frequently being changed even within the year as shown in the case of Nigeria. This instability in policy environment tended to create an unstable investment environment for producers and other stakeholders hoping to explore the opportunities in the rice sector.

19 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS (cont.) Gender bias as technological adaptations and practices fail to pay sufficient attention to the needs of womenfolk who perform most tasks in rice production, processing and marketing. Gender insensitiveness in technology development obstructs efficiency and performance.

20 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS (cont.) Poor quality of local rice prevents sufficient consumer demand which could serve as reason for increased production by farmers. In addition, there is little price differential between local and imported rice to warrant consumers to sacrifice quality for price incentive. The transaction costs associated with local rice are substantial because producing areas are different from consuming centres.

21 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS (cont.) Reliance on exotic technology (fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides). None of the African rice-producing countries has capacity to manufacture its requirement of chemical inputs nor to import and distribute enough quantities of inputs. Inputs prices and transaction costs are high since these inputs are found only in urban locations which farmers have to visit to make purchases.

22 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS (cont.) Lack of sufficient quantities of improved seed rice to meet the planting needs of farmers across various ecologies. This made a large proportion of rice farmers to depend on the traditional varieties which are of low yield.

23 WHY RICE POLICIES IN AFRICA ACHIEVED LITTLE SUCCESS (cont.) The high demand for labour by rice activities as compared with other staple crops which farmers also cultivate, even at more lucrative returns tend to discourage farmers from expanding their rice holdings.

24 PROSPECTS OF AFRICA RICE INITIATIVE Problems to watch out for: High cost of production Quality of rice produced Policy instability and uncertain market environment

25 What role for Africa Rice Centre (WARDA)? WARDA must generate appropriate production and processing technologies to make rice produced in Africa competitive. assist national governments to develop strategies that create enabling market environment for Africa rice. provide technical support and advice which individual countries and regions require to expand rice production. disseminate its technologies. promote national, regional and continental policy dialogue on rice.

26 CONCLUSION Rice consumption and development is extending to all other parts of Africa, as a deliberate state policy. African governments must come up with an optimal mix of policies which will promote productivity, efficiency in resource allocation and increased output. The Africa Rice Centre (WARDA) should be at the vanguard of this initiative given its centrality in rice development and research in the continent.

27 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. MERCI!