East Africa, 2012
Client: Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)
Countries Involved: Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
What we did
CFC invited EUCORD to conduct an appraisal and elaboration of a full project proposal for “Rice Sector Development in East Africa”. A desk study was conducted to provide a general overview of the East African regional rice sector, and to have a preliminary assessment of the countries that ought to be prioritized. The study was conducted for seven East African countries, including on background, national rice policy, rice value chain, and opportunities, constraints and priority sub sectors and to provide conclusions and recommendations.
Conclusions
All seven countries reviewed are experiencing a rise in domestic rice demand and aim to enhance rice production and postharvest processes to reduce imports. They share commonalities in rice production potential, constraints, and national development strategies, with significant potential to expand areas under rice cultivation and improve productivity. However, small-scale rice farmers in East Africa face key challenges, including poor access to improved seed varieties to enhance productivity at the farmer level, lack of sustainable agronomic mechanisms to improve skills and farmer organization, infrequent marketing and business linkages with private-sector actors (such as agro-processors and the input industry), and insufficient cooperation with other facilitating actors in the sub-sector.
