AfricaRice, AATF sign five year agreement to strengthen Africa’s rice production
The new partnership aims to help more farmers access improved rice technologies as Africa works to reduce its dependence on imports.
AFRICA – AfricaRice and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) have signed a five year memorandum of understanding to speed up the use of agricultural technologies across Africa’s rice sector as demand for the staple continues to outpace local production.
The agreement brings together AfricaRice’s research expertise in rice breeding and production with AATF’s network for delivering agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers in 32 African countries. The partners want to improve farm productivity by helping farmers gain better access to improved seed varieties, farm equipment and technical support.
Data from the OECD and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that Africa’s average rice yield remained below 2 tonnes per hectare in 2025, compared with a global average of almost 3 tonnes per hectare. During the 2023 to 2025 period, the continent consumed an average of 45.3 million tonnes of rice each year while producing only 27.6 million tonnes. This gap has kept Africa dependent on imports from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Mechanization also forms a key part of the partnership as many rice farmers across Africa still rely on manual labour, which limits production and processing capacity.
“Through this partnership, we will collaborate with the AATF to develop and promote mechanized tools and agricultural equipment to reduce the arduousness of work in rice farming, improve the efficiency of processing and strengthen the quality of locally produced rice,” said Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, Director General of AfricaRice.
The OECD and FAO expect Africa to record one of the strongest increases in rice consumption over the next decade alongside Asia, mainly because of population growth. Average rice consumption per person in Africa is forecast to rise from 26 kilograms between 2023 and 2025 to 29.6 kilograms by 2035.
The report also notes that future increases in cereal production will depend mainly on higher crop yields rather than expanding farmland. Better crop genetics, improved farming practices and more efficient use of farm inputs will play a central role.
Even with stronger research efforts, experts say wider access to quality seeds, financing, rural infrastructure and farmer training will determine how quickly new technologies reach farms and help narrow Africa’s rice supply gap.
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