African rice (Oryza glaberrima): History and

future potential
Olga F. Linares*
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 2072, Balboa-Ancon, Republic of Panama

Contributed by Olga F. Linares, October 4, 2002

The African species of rice (Oryza glaberrima) was cultivated long existed, the fact remains that African rice was first cultivated
before Europeans arrived in the continent. At present, O. glaber- many centuries before the first Europeans arrived on the West
rima is being replaced by the introduced Asian species of rice, African coast.
Oryza sativa. Some West African farmers, including the Jola of The early Colonial history of O. glaberrima begins when the
southern Senegal, still grow African rice for use in ritual contexts. first Portuguese reached the West African coast and witnessed
The two species of rice have recently been crossed, producing a the cultivation of rice in the floodplains and marshes of the
promising hybrid. Upper Guinea Coast. In their accounts, spanning the second half
of the 15th century and all of the 16th century, they mentioned
the vast fields planted in rice by the local inhabitants and
T here are only two species of cultivated rice in the world:
Oryza glaberrima, or African rice, and Oryza sativa, or Asian
rice. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, O. glaberrima is thought to
emphasized the important role this cereal played in the native
diet. The first Portuguese chronicler to mention rice growing in
have been domesticated from the wild ancestor Oryza barthii the Upper Guinea Coast was Gomes Eanes de Azurara in 1446.
(formerly known as Oryza brevilugata) by peoples living in the He described a voyage along the coast 60 leagues south of Cape
floodplains at the bend of the Niger River some 2,000–3,000 Vert, where a handful of men, navigating down a river that was
years ago (1, 2). The two strains of O. sativa (Oryza japonica and probably the Gambia, went ashore: ‘‘they said they found the
Oryza indica) were domesticated independently, both probably country covered by vast crops, with many cotton trees and large
in China (3, 4). It is also possible that Asian rice was domesti- fields planted in rice . . . the country looked to them as having
cated in tropical Asia south of China, but evidence for this the aspect of a pond (i.e., a marais)’’ (7). A few years later, in
possibility is still lacking. 1455, Alvise da Cadamosto confirmed the previous observations
At the present time, O. glaberrima is being replaced every- by mentioning the many varieties of rice that were grown in the
where in West Africa by the Asian species, introduced into the Gambian area (8). That rice growth was not confined to the
continent by the Portuguese as early as the middle of the 16th valley of the Gambia River, but was practiced by many popula-
century (1). The native species is thus rapidly diminishing in tions living along the West African coast known as the Southern
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importance. As a National Research Council report points out, Rivers, was brought out by Eustache de la Fosse in 1479–1480.
‘‘this should not be allowed to happen. The rice of Africa (O. Talking about a visit he made to the Île de Los, off the coast of
glaberrima) has a long and noteworthy history’’ (5). This article Conakry, the capital of present-day Guinea, he mentions that at
begins with information about the past and present status of the entrance of the market ‘‘there were several large mounds of
African rice and then moves to a detailed example of when, how, rice, and with human labor it was carried back to the ships’’ (9).
and why it was cultivated by the Jola, a population of ancient rice Scattered references to rice are also found in the chronicle of
growing peoples living in the swampy coastal areas of Casa- Duarte Pacheco Pereira dating from 1506–1508. Besides men-
mance, in southern Senegal. It compares the status of O. tioning that the Falupos, a general term used at the time for the
glaberrima in 1960 with what it is today, when only remnant Jola living in the area between the Casamance and Guinea
populations remain. My purpose is to explore the reasons for the Bissau, had lots of rice, he alluded to the Cocalis (the present-day
demise of the species and document the contexts in which it still Landuma) and the Biafadas, both of whom still grow rice in the
survives. The final section argues that farmers need to preserve coastal areas of Guine Bissau and Guinea Conakry (10). Also,
African rice and improve its cultivation. In a continent where the well-known compiler, Valentim Fernandes, whose second-
food deficits are the rule, this hardy species has qualities that hand account dates from about the same time (1506–1510),
make it superior to Asian rice as a subsistence crop. Recent remarks that ‘‘this land is rich in food, to wit rice, millet and
agronomic advances now allow for gene transfer between the two beans, cows and goats, chickens and capons and numerous wines
species, thus creating hybrids that are better adapted, and higher and other food products’’ (11).
yielding under adverse conditions, than either parent species. The first Portuguese observers greatly admired the native
rice-growing technology, because it involved diking, transplant-
Ancient History of the O. glaberrima Species ing, and other ‘‘intensive’’ practices. Already in the 1590s, André
In the absence of firm archaeological evidence it is difficult to Alvares d’Almada, who was born in Cabo Verde of mixed
assess whether Portères (1, 2) is correct in suggesting that O. European and African heritage (thus a Luso-African) and was
glaberrima was first domesticated in the Inland Delta of the well seasoned by travels up and down the Guinea Coast that
Upper Niger River, in what is today Mali, ⬇2,000 or 3,000 years helped him to become a good naturalist, provides us with an
ago. According to Portères, the species spread to two secondary account of rice cultivation as practiced by peoples living along
centers of diversification, one in the coast of Gambia, Casa- the Gambia, Casamance, and Geba rivers. He wrote that ‘‘in
mance, and Guinea Bissau, the other in the Guinea forest these parts the rainy season starts at the end of April, beginning
between Sierra Leone and the western Ivory Coast. of May. The Blacks make their rice fields in these plains; they
Harlan et al. (6) have suggested an alternative theory. They construct dikes of earth for fear of the tides, but despite them
have proposed that O. glaberrima was selected for at several [the dikes] the river breaks them frequently, flooding the rice
different localities within the vast forest and savanna areas, fields. Once the rice has sprouted, they pull it out and transplant
where the wild ancestor species O. barthii grew and was har-
vested by ancient hunting– gathering human populations.
Whether one or several centers of African rice domestication *E-mail: [email protected].

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it on land that is less inundated, where the rice yields’’ (12).
Although d’Almada seems confused about the practice of trans-
planting, which is done in deep water rather than well-drained
land, he provides ample evidence that the natives of those areas
were growing swamp or wet rice in diked fields using intensive
techniques.
Nearly a century was to pass before we have another detailed
account of local rice-growing practices. In 1685 or thereabouts,
Sieur de la Courbe crossed the hinterland between the Gambia
and Guinea Bissau, a territory that he mentions was occupied by
the Felupos (the Jola) and the Banyun (the ancient Bainouk). At
one point he went out for a walk along what may have been a
tributary of the Soungrougrou marigot (or tidal creek) dividing
Lower from Middle Casamance (13). He writes, ‘‘I saw fields of
rice located along the river; they are traversed by small walkways
from space to space that prevents the water from running out;
after it rains, one seeds the rice, which grows in the water’’ (14).
In another part of de la Courbe’s account, the section that Labat
plagiarized in 1728 and ascribed to a governor called André
Brue, he gives a description of the countryside: ‘‘the low lands,
and those that are watered by ordinary spillover from the heavy
rains at the height of the season, or inundated by springs or
currents coming from higher up, are all planted in rice. They
[meaning the people] cut up their land by means of small dikes
that retain water so that the rice is always bathed; because it likes
to be in the water; and it grows as the water rises’’ (15). Further
on he describes the technology used by the Felupos or Jola: ‘‘The
lands that are flat and well irrigated are perfectly cultivated, and
they do not use but shovels of wood provided with a flat piece
of iron at one end and a long handle to cultivate’’ (ref. 15, pp.
43–44). This is one of the most detailed early references (circa
1685) to the kajandu, the long-handled fulcrum shovel used by
the Jola and their close relatives in Guinea Bissau to turn over
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Fig.1. Map of Lower Casamance, Senegal.

the earth and prepare their fields.
To summarize, the Jola and their neighbors were certainly
growing wet rice and using intensive techniques, such as diking both species, a feat that that has recently met with considerable
to retain rainwater and transplanting, at the time they first success.
encountered the Europeans. The rice they grew was doubtless In West Africa, rice is grown as the main staple crop by 10–15
the African species O. glaberrima. Although it is not known with million people living in societies that are distributed along the
certainty when and where the first varieties of Asian rice O. sativa coast, from the Casamance in Senegal to the bend of the
were first introduced into West Africa, the general consensus is Bandama River in the Ivory Coast. In addition, rice is an
that, beginning in the 16th century, the species spread and was important but not a dominant crop in the drier savanna zones
adopted by peoples living in the Upper Guinea Coast who had from the Senegal River to Lake Chad. Rice is also grown today
previous experience growing the local African species. as a commercial crop in Ghana and Nigeria (6). In the coastal
area, where rice is a dominant subsistence crop, isolated pockets
Differences Between O. glaberrima and O. sativa and of O. glaberrima cultivation remain in Guinea Bissau, Guinea,
Their Distribution Sierra Leone, and in the Casamance region of southern Senegal,
Slight morphological differences separate the two species of rice, the zone we are concerned with here. Everywhere, however, O.
making them difficult to tell apart in the field. Generally glaberrima types are fast being replaced by the higher yielding O.
speaking, African rice has small grains that are pear-shaped and sativa varieties. This phenomenon is documented below with
have a red bran and an olive-to-black seedcoat, straight panicles respect to the Jola peoples of Casamance, who some decades ago
that are simply branched, and short, rounded ligules. However, planted numerous varieties of African rice but no longer do so.
some Asian rice types also have pear-shaped grains with a red The discussion that follows documents the O. glaberrima types
bran, and some African types have pointed ligules (6). Other that Jola cultivated in the 1960s, the reasons why they were
ecological characteristics of the two species may more important abandoned, and the cultural context in which they still survive.
from the point of view of human selection potential. African O.
glaberrima varieties have certain negative features with respect The Jola Cultivated Numerous O. glaberrima Varieties in
to the Asian O. sativa: the seed scatters easily, the grain is brittle the 1960s
and difficult to mill, and, most importantly, the yields are lower. The Jola people, who number more than 300,000, live in the
But the O. glaberrima types also offer distinct advantages: the Lower Casamance, a region located in the southwest corner of
plants have luxurious wide leaves that shade out weeds and the Senegal (Fig. 1) that has a sub-Guinean tropical climate and a
species is more resistant than its Asian cousin to diseases and marshy, coastal landscape. Numerous creeks or marigots, filled
ANTHROPOLOGY

pests. Moreover, African rice is better at tolerating fluctuations with brackish water and lined with mangrove vegetation, branch
in water depth, iron toxicity, infertile soils, severe climates, and out from the Casamance River, crisscrossing the low-lying areas
human neglect. Some O. glaberrima types also mature faster than and creating an amphibian landscape. Lower Casamance is one
Asian types, making them important as emergency food (5). of the two centers of O. glaberrima diversification suggested by
These characteristics have made it worthwhile to attempt to cross Portères (1, 2).

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Fig. 4. Young women harvesting rice.
Fig. 2. Men prepare the rice fields using the kajandu.

In 1965, as part of an ongoing project on Jola rice cultivation

The Jola practice a labor-intensive form of wet-rice cultiva- practices, I collected all of the rice varieties grown in a small
tion. They till the soil, and dike and bund the paddy fields using village of ⬇600 people known as Jipalom. Located in the mixed
a unique fulcrum shovel known as the kajandu (Fig. 2). The Jola rice and groundnut growing area north of the river, away from
use sophisticated methods of rainwater control and distribution, the most intensive zone south of the river where rice is cultivated
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keep the tidal waters out of their rice fields and construct fish as a monocrop, the inhabitants of the Jipalom community still
ponds, apply abundant amounts of cattle dung for fertilizer, planted several varieties of the African O. glaberrima species.
transplant seedlings from prepared nurseries into flooded fields The rice samples collected were then identified in 1966 by R.
(Fig. 3), weed the crop, and harvest the rice panicles individually Portères, the renowned rice expert, who divided the sample into
(16) (Fig. 4). Important regional differences exist in the gender the two species and named their various subspecies and types.
division of labor, the dominance of upland versus floodplain The results of his identifications are presented in the following
cultivation, the ratio of transplanted to direct-seeded rice, and outline.
the role played by secondary and commercial crops. But every-
I. O. sativa L., subspecies O. indica Gutschin (5 varieties and
where in the Jola area, rice is the dominant subsistence crop. It
11 types).
is grown all over the countryside, in tidal zones recovered from A. Variety mutica, types longi-perlonga and longa.
the mangrove vegetation, inland freshwater valleys, and low B. Variety elongata, types medilonga and perlonga,
plateaus. It is also cultivated in peri-urban zones around sec- perlongissima.
ondary cities such as Ziguinchor, the capital of the Casamance, C. Variety atrobrunnea, type longa.
and Bignona, a town north of the Casamance River. D. Variety gilanica, types medilonga, media, curta.
E. Variety adusta, types longa, media, media兾longa.
II. Hybrids between O. sativa L., subspecies O. indica and
O japonica (three varieties, two types).
A. Variety amaura, type curta.
B. Variety sepica, type media.
C. A cross between A and B.
III. O. sativa L., subspecies O. japonica Gutschin (four vari-
eties, five types).
A. Variety italica, type curta.
B. Variety amaura, type media.
C. Variety malanotrix, type curta.
D. Variety dichroa, types media, media兾longa.
IV. O. sativa L., subspecies O. brevis Gutschin (one variety,
one type).
A. variety cycliana, type percurta.
V. O. glaberrima Steudel (six varieties, including one hybrid,
eight types).
A. Variety rustica, types curta and media.
B. Variety rigida, types media and medilonga.
Fig. 3. Jola women transplant the rice seedlings. C. Variety evoluta, type media.

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The Properties of Rice That Are Valued
Jola women place great value on the distinct ecological proper-
ties displayed by the numerous rice varieties belonging to the two
species that they cultivate. First and foremost, they focus on their
rates of maturation, whether varieties are fast or slow growing,
followed by their height, whether the plant will be tall or short.
It is important to grow a mixture of fast and slow maturing types
so as to stagger the harvest. Tall varieties are easier to harvest
than short ones, but they tend to lodge (i.e., to fall or lie down).
Another criterion taken into consideration is whether a partic-
ular variety does well in clayey soils, or if it is better suited to
grow in sandy soils. Because different kinds of soils are found in
the various types of paddy fields (sandy soils in the nurseries, for
example, and clayey soils in the kuyelen fields that retain
rainwater) it is imperative that the right kind of seed or seedling
is put in each sector of the rice fields. For these various reasons,
Jola women constantly exchange rice seed with other women. A
woman will trade a variety that is best suited to the rain-fed fields
(the biit) for one that grows well in the mangrove fields (the
weng). Another woman will trade a fast-growing for a slower-
maturing variety depending on her needs. Trading varieties
sometimes takes place over considerable distances, between
women living in separate villages, so that rice seed circulates over
wide spheres of exchange.
The cultural aspects that dominate Jola women’s choice of
which varieties to plant have to do with their taste, the ease with
which they are pounded (or milled), and how they respond to
cooking. A Jola can usually tell the general region from which a
particular variety comes, and how long it has been stored, by its
taste. Rice varieties from the southern Jola area tend to be
‘‘sweeter’’ tasting, except when they have been stored for a long
Fig. 5. Displaying the rice seed for exchange.
time in granaries placed on the ceiling of the cooking huts; rice
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thus stored acquires a smoky taste. Jola women also prefer

D. Variety aspera, type curta. longer-grained rice, which is easier to pound, and nonglutinous
E. Hybrid between aspera and rustica varieties that they say are easier to cook. The kind of fractured
F. Variety ebenicolorata, type media. rice that is imported from Southeast Asia that can now be bought
in town stores is mainly consumed by rural Jola living north of
In summary, 6 of 19 varieties, or nearly one-third of the rice the Casamance River. This is the more Islamicized area, where
that was grown in 1965 by the inhabitants of the Jipalom rice-production has diminished markedly since the years of
community, belonged to the African rice (O. glaberrima) species. drought. South of the river, however, the more ‘‘traditional’’ Jola
Interviews with the elderly ladies of the community confirmed reject this poor-quality rice, refusing to eat it. Curiously, they
that in the not-too distant past they grew many more African rice also reject the long-grained rice that United States aid agencies
varieties. Without the slightest hesitation they could name at give to the Senegalese government to distribute in times of need.
least ten O. glaberrima varieties that were no longer planted. It They say it has a ‘‘strange’’ taste, perhaps because it is milled by
is also quite probable that further south, in the more intensive machine, and they are not used to it. In short, the preferences and
rice-growing zone south of the Casamance River, the Jola were patterns that the Jola articulate with respect to their preferred
growing an even higher number of O. glaberrima varieties than rice varieties reflect a wide range of reasoning, from ecological
in Jipalom in the 1960s. To this day, African rice varieties are or environmental to cultural and, as we shall see, religious.
known in Jipalom under the general terms ‘‘ajola’’ (from the
Jola, their ethnic label), or ‘‘ecasay’’ (from Casamance), whereas The Drought and Its Aftermath: Old Varieties Disappear and
types of the introduced Asian species are known as ‘‘amanding’’ New Ones Are Introduced
rices, to indicate that they were brought in by the Manding In the late 1960s, and for several ensuing decades, many sub-
peoples, a nation of traders with which the Jola have had Saharan African countries, including Senegal, entered a
protracted interactions through the centuries. drought-ridden period. This meteorological disaster was not
In Jipalom, it is the women who select the rice seed; it is they, confined to the dry zones of northern Senegal. It was acutely felt
and not the men, who can distinguish the different varieties (Fig. even in the wetter, more tropical region of Lower Casamance to
5). A woman is able to recognize numerous rice varieties based the south. In Bignona, a town close to the Jipalom community,
on the size and number of grains in each spikelet, the red vs. rainfall for the month of June 1968 was only one-third that of
white color of the bran and the stem, the shape of the panicles, previous years. August and September, crucial months when the
and whether or not they have ‘‘spikes,’’ which is a characteristic rain-fed fields had to be tilled before transplanting, received
of the African types. The two species, O. glaberrima and O. sativa, ⬍200 mm of rain each, compared with ⬎500 mm the year before.
ANTHROPOLOGY

are also easily separated on the basis of their morphology, and October had a scanty 87 mm, compared with 100 mm and 238
their growth and ecological features are well known. Thus, mm the previous 2 years. The total precipitation for the entire
women know that the African types mature earlier, are usually year was 826.5 mm, compared with 1,795.1 mm the year before
direct seeded on higher ground rather than transplanted, and are (1967). This was the first clear warning sign that many difficult
hardier but lower yielding than the Asian types. years were ahead.

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In fact, the mean precipitation for Bignona in the years example, a resident extension agent would prepare a nursery
1968–1977 was insufficient, with 1,056.33 mm of rain, compared plot, plant it with the new varieties, and give the seed and
with 1,436.41 mm for the years 1958–1967. But drought years seedlings to Jipalom’s farmers. The mainland Chinese, who were
were not always in consecutive years. Whereas 1969 and 1970 working on a small dam in a neighboring community, also
had a satisfactory precipitation, 1971 and especially 1972 were introduced a few fast-maturing varieties.
deficit years. Rain gauges set up in the community of Sindian, The loss of diversity had negative consequences. The 1999
very near to Jipalom, registered ⬍1,000 mm in 14 of 20 years precipitation had been considerable (1,435 mm of rain), and it
between 1973 and 1993. In 1980, the situation had been cata- was well distributed throughout the year. But the fast-ripening O.
strophic, with 676 mm of rainfall falling in the entire year. Insofar sativa varieties that were to be harvested beginning in 2000 had
as rice cultivation was concerned, the situation certainly quali- matured all at the same time, making it impossible for the
fied as an agricultural drought, when plants suffered seriously Jipalom women to gather the entire crop at once. Much of the
from lack of moisture. Conditions improved somewhat in the crop lodged, rotted from the excessive water at the start of
years after 1993. For example, precipitation in the Sindian area the season, or dried up when not gathered in time at the end of
was 1,310 mm in 1994 and 1,435 mm in 1999. But the mean the season. Thus, despite the abundant rains, the severely
precipitation all over the Lower Casamance during the last restricted gamut of varieties planted by the Jipalom inhabitants
decades has been several hundred millimeters below what it had had worked against them. This reliance on few varieties made
been in the decades preceding the late 1960s. farmers aware of the necessity during future years to plant some
The years of drought had a profound impact on the Jola of the older, slower varieties to have widely spaced harvests.
agricultural system and, more specifically, on the farming prac-
tices of the Jipalom inhabitants. In this community, the deep and African O. glaberrima Varieties Survive in Ritual Contexts
productive fields that had been carved from the mangrove (i.e., In communities north of the Casamance River, such as Jipalom,
the weng) no longer existed. In their place was a salt-encrusted the inhabitants converted to Islam beginning in the 1930s. South
expanse of barren land. The kuyolen (with an ‘‘o’’) area, located of the river, however, in the wetter, more intensive rice-growing
behind the compounds, which in 1965 was entirely prepared as regions west of Oussouye, in the lands located at the entrance of
nurseries, was now definitely abandoned and overrun with the Casamance River, the majority of the inhabitants have
weeds. It was substituted by a few nurseries made in the remained practitioners of the traditional awasena religion (from
backyards of houses. Only one-third to one-half of the rain-fed kawasen, to pour palm wine libations at the shrines) (17). Here,
or biit fields were being cultivated. The only paddy fields that traditions relate that the supreme deity, the rain ‘‘god’’ known as
could be counted on to yield a decent harvest were the kuyelen Emitai, gave ‘‘Diola rice’’ (O. glaberrima) to the ancestors. This
(with an ‘‘e’’), where runoff rainwater accumulated. rice carried a life-giving power that explained the ultimate
One of the marked changes brought about by the rainfall origins of the land that Emitai had bestowed upon the inhabit-
deficit was the loss of many of the old rice varieties as new, ants. For this reason, some varieties of O. glaberrima should
fast-growing types were introduced by extension agents from always be planted, to preserve the link to the ancestors, and to
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national research centers such as DERBAC (Projet de Devel- Emitai, who sends rain.
oppement Rural de la Casamance), and foreign development The inhabitants of Sambujat, a small community of farmers
schemes such as the Dutch-financed ILACO (International Land who cultivate rice exclusively in the deep irrigated fields re-
Development Consultants) project. Thus, in 1989, only 13 vari- claimed from the mangrove vegetation, recall the time when
eties of rice were being grown in Jipalom, compared with 19 in their forefathers cultivated only the O. glaberrima species. This
1965–1966. Of the 1989 varieties, three were old O. sativa must have been at the turn of the century, before the O. sativa
varieties that had been around before, and the rest were new, varieties were introduced. Today, very few of the old African rice
fast-ripening O. sativa varieties that had been introduced in the varieties are cultivated. The exception, however, is the O.
preceding years. The inhabitants could name at least seven of the glaberrima variety called ejonkin. Ejonkin is grown in consider-
old O. sativa varieties that had been abandoned. Interestingly, able quantities by the Jola living in four communities on the
only 2% or 15% of the varieties grown belonged to the African shores of one of the important tidal channels (or marigots) that
O. glaberrima species. Therefore, there had been a notable loss extend inland from the entrance of the Casamance River. This
of diversity in the rice varieties being grown twenty years after marshy terrain is crisscrossed by marigots that create small
the drought began. islands where the people live and cultivate their rice fields.
Drought was not the only factor affecting rice diversity in Because many of the fields are bathed by brackish water, the
Lower Casamance. Although difficult to measure, the protracted inhabitants like to grow the glaberrima species, which is tolerant
civil war that has brought endless confrontations between sol- of salt-saturated soils. The main function of the ejonkin rice is
diers of the Senegalese army and Jola rebels of the MFDC forces ritual, to propitiate the rain-shrine called Husurah. This impor-
(Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de la Casamance) has tant shrine must be propitiated with African rice; varieties of the
caused the abandonment of several Jola communities in the Asian species cannot be used. Small quantities of cooked rice
southern sector, near the frontier with Guinea Bissau. The belonging to any O. glaberrima species, in this instance ejonkin,
displacement of people and neglect of the rice fields must have must be placed each year around the shrine to ask for abundant
caused several rice varieties to disappear, but we have no way of rains. The participants in the ritual, however, often eat cooked
measuring the extent of this loss. rice belonging to O. sativa varieties. Thus, what is eaten is kept
The loss of diversity was very marked in the agricultural year separate from what is required in sacred rituals.
1999–2000. In that year, only nine varieties of O. sativa were To propitiate their own version of the Husurah shrine, the
being grown in the village, and only one variety of the O. inhabitants of communities such as Sambujat, who no longer
glaberrima species. Although some African types mature rapidly, cultivate the O. glaberrima varieties, must go to one of the
their relatively low yields and difficulty in pounding or milling aforementioned communities and trade 10 jugs filled with palm
discouraged farmers from growing them. A woman who would wine for one jug of ejonkin. The reasons given by the Sambujat
have planted in the previous decades an average of seven to nine people for no longer cultivating the African species is that its
varieties would now plant only three. During the previous yields are low, and it is slow-maturing in comparison to some
decade, government extension agents from DERBAC had begun varieties of the Asian species, which mature in the record time
disseminating high-yielding, fast-ripening O. sativa varieties all of 65 days. Moreover, it is said that O. glaberrima varieties are
over Lower Casamance. In an adjacent village to Jipalom, for difficult to thresh using one’s feet because grains are arranged in

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a row on the spine. And they are difficult to pound (i.e., mill) Tragically, food production in sub-Saharan Africa is dimin-
because the red bran cannot be easily removed, and are slow to ishing by 1% a year. Per capita food production in 1966–1968
cook. It is doubtful, however, that in former days, those who grew averaged 119 kg per person per year. By 1982–1984, it had fallen
and cooked rice found it necessary to remove the bran, or to boil to 98 kg per person per year (19), and by 1993 to 91 kg per person
the rice for a short period. In any case, African rice is said be per year (Table 8-5 in ref. 20). In 1999 it climbed slightly to 94
‘‘heavier’’ on the stomach and hence better at quenching hunger. kg per person per year (Table 8-5 in ref. 21). As early as the end
It also makes a good flour that is more aromatic and tastes better of the 1960s, population growth was outstripping the annual
than the flour made from the O. sativa species. As a flour it can growth of agricultural production. Thus from 1965 to 1973,
be consumed as a drink, as porridge, cooked as dumplings, or population grew by 2.7%, whereas agriculture grew by 2.4%; this
grilled over hot cinders. relationship was 2.9% to 1.1% from 1973 to 1980, and 3.0% to
To summarize, the ancient species of African rice survives in 2.1% from 1980 to 1990 (22). ‘‘Africa is moving rapidly toward
pockets of Lower Casamance, where the Jola employ it in sacred a third decade of declining food production and increasing
rites. This is a common occurrence. All over the world, old population growth’’ (23).
‘‘traditional’’ cultivars are used in ceremonies to propitiate the In the 1960s, many African farmers were producing enough
spirits, for the link between crops and the ancestors is a rice to feed themselves. Since then, yearly imports have increased
fundamental pillar of most agrarian societies. The Mende peo- 8-fold to 4 million metric tons (www.gene.ch兾genet兾2000兾Mar兾
ples of Sierra Leone, for example, use African rice, soaked in msg00063.html). The situation in Senegal illustrates clearly this
palm oil, as a major component of their ritual sacrifices to the shift from self-sufficiency to dependence on the market. Before
ancestor (6). independence, Senegal was importing rice from Southeast Asia,
and later Mali. But this rice was destined for the cities; most rural
NERICA: New Rice Varieties Hold Great Promise for rice-producing areas like Lower Casamance were largely self-
Sub-Saharan Africa sufficient. Rice imports for Senegal increased steadily, from
The new varieties, named ‘‘New Rice for Africa’’ (hence 100,000 tons in the early 1960s, to ⬇300,000 tons in the early
NERICA), are a cross between O. glaberrima and O. sativa. They 1980s (24). In the 1992–1993 marketing year, the cereal import
combine the hardiness of the African species with the produc- requirements for rice was 400,000 tons, or ⬇57% of all cereal
tivity of the Asian species. Scientists at the West African Rice imports. This amount increased to ⬎557,000 in 1998 (http:兾兾
Development Association (WARDA) succeeded in crossing the primature.sn兾lesoleil兾rizimporte.htm). The broken rice that is
two species by employing embryo rescue techniques that ensure imported is sold to wholesalers in Dakar and other regions, but
the crosses are fertile and mature successfully due to high levels clandestine trade is very important, with Gambian rice being
of hybrid vigor (18). In doing so, they used seeds of African rice found in all markets in great quantity.
The enormous scientific efforts that produced NERICA will
varieties that local farmers, many of them women from Guinea,
result in a ‘‘Green Revolution’’ in which nearly 1.7 million West
grew in their fields, and incorporated them into gene banks. The
African farmers will benefit from increased food security. It will
farmers, in turn, provided information to the scientists about the
help their countries save millions of dollars in rice imports. The basis
Downloaded from https://www.pnas.org by 163.10.64.133 on August 23, 2022 from IP address 163.10.64.133.

traits that they most valued in the new hybrids. NERICA

for this success story is to be found in those West African farmers
varieties shade out weeds, are resistant to pests and droughts,
who continued to grow the ancient O. glaberrima varieties of rice
grow in poor soils, and mature 30–50 days earlier than traditional
despite the introduction of the new Asian species. Their knowledge,
varieties. Moreover, they produce 400 grains per plant (as
expertise, and continued adherence to their traditional rice pro-
opposed to 75–100 in the older varieties), contain 2% more vided the basis for experiments that resulted in the creation of a
proteins and, as a bonus, are said to taste like African rice. The promising new hybrid. Thus, both cultural and ecological variables
high productivity conferred on the NERICA strains by their entered significantly into these developments.
Asian parents means that yields can be increased from the
previous 1 ton per hectare to 1.5 tons without major inputs. With I am grateful to the reviewers for their helpful comments. This work was
fertilizers and good care yields can double or even triple. Thus, supported by grants from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
the new rice holds great promise for a region in desperate need Lina Gonzalez of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute photolab
of decreasing hunger and increasing food security. printed the figures.

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