Management of rice production systems to increase productivity

CHAPTER ONE:
RICE PRODUCTION TRENDS IN THE GAMBIA, WEST AFRICA
1.1. Introduction
Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) was probably introduced into the
eastern parts of Africa a little more than 1500 years ago, when sea trade
between East African and India was flourishing. Portuguese traders
introduced Indian rice either directly from India or from East Africa and
Madagascar into The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, and Sierra Leone. The
Asian rice established well in many parts of West Africa, spreading quickly
into areas where the indigenous African rice (O. glaberrima Steud) was being
cultivated (WARDA, 1996).
Rice is one of the leading food crops of the world. Currently, it is the
major staple for 2.7 billion people in the world, almost half of the total
population of the globe.
Demand for rice from less advantaged areas in Africa is certain to
increase, replacing much of the coarse grains such as sorghum (Sorghum
vulgare L.), millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) and starchy root crops such as taro
(Colocasia esculenta L.) and cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) as the major
source of dietary calories. Demand for rice has in fact been increasing rapidly
in much of Africa. Between 1985 and 2001 rice imports to Africa more than
doubled, rising from 3 million to 7.5 million tons per annum (FAO, 2003). Rice
is the staple food in The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal,
Cote DʹIvoire and Sierra Leone. It is the principal dietary item providing more
than 40% of the nation’s food need. It is rapidly becoming the staple food in
other countries of West Africa, hence becoming an important crop in the
1