Nigeria and the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) have renewed their commitment to transforming the country’s rice production system as part of efforts to strengthen food security and reduce dependence on imports.
The commitment was reaffirmed when Ezenwa Nwaobiala, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, visited the AfricaRice main research station in Mbé, Côte d’Ivoire.
Nwaobiala said the visit was aimed at strengthening the partnership between the Federal Government and AfricaRice and accelerating the deployment of scientific innovations to boost rice production in Nigeria and across the region.
He said food sovereignty had become a major continental priority, noting that Nigeria’s ability to feed its growing population would have significant implications for food security across Africa.
With Nigeria’s population now exceeding 220 million, the ambassador said the country must increase domestic rice production, reduce reliance on imports and build greater resilience to climate-related shocks.
He said AfricaRice’s scientific innovations and climate-smart technologies could play a critical role in achieving these objectives.
“To achieve true rice sovereignty for the benefit of all, our collaboration with AfricaRice must go much further and scale up,” Nwaobiala said.
He added that extending the partnership to Nigeria’s federal states, while integrating improved mechanisation and modern processing technologies, would help create a sustainable model for rice self-sufficiency that could benefit the wider region.
Dr Baboucarr Manneh, Director-General of AfricaRice, described the visit as a demonstration of Nigeria’s determination to achieve rice self-sufficiency.
Manneh said achieving food self-sufficiency would require sustained commitment and strong partnerships, adding that AfricaRice was prepared to deepen its collaboration with Nigeria.
“AfricaRice is committed to being one of its partners,” he said, noting that the organisation would continue supporting local seed systems and the deployment of climate-resilient technologies.
The partnership has already produced results through the development and dissemination of improved rice varieties, including flood-tolerant varieties designed for cultivation in low-lying areas.
Nigeria and AfricaRice are also promoting zinc-biofortified rice varieties to address nutritional deficiencies among rural populations.
Other areas of collaboration include trials of high-yielding hybrid rice varieties, the development of varieties designed to reduce the labour and cost of planting, and improved management of low-lying rice-growing areas through the Smart-Valleys approach.
The renewed partnership is expected to strengthen the link between research, technology and rice production, with the broader goal of improving food security in Nigeria and contributing to rice self-sufficiency across Africa.
