CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS for Rice

1. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS for Rice presented by Ms Alice Gowa

2. KEY ISSUES • Research, development and dissemination • Suitability of varieties both local and exotic • Ensure availability of basic seed • Building adequate human resource for rice research. innovation and dissemination • Technology dissemination channels • funding for on going and new research • Market orientated research (palatability, time of cooking, aroma etc) - Researchers and extensionists- motivation, retention etc

3. Production a) Technical • Inadequate information on suitable varieties and crop husbandry practices • Labour intensive and competes with other enterprises • Appropriate technology for mechanization • Pests and diseases management • Choice and application of fertilizer and other agro-chemicals • Appropriate farm planning

4. Technical (Soil and Water management) • Skills in soil testing and nutrient mapping • Technical know how of appropriate water harvesting and usage • Affordability and accessibility of fertilizers and small scale irrigation • Environmental Impact studies • Soil fertility studies to address soil degradation and promotion of sustainable soil resource usage among other concerns • Water management technique in accordance with rice growing stage

5. b. Institutional • Land ownership and tenure issues • Extension delivery system (from research to field) • Governance • Coordination • NRDS clear chain of command and all stakeholders inclusive • Research, extension and farmer linkage.

6. Capacity Building • Needs identification • Design of trainings and skills development- relevancy and demand driven • Funding

7. Financing • Appropriate funding mechanism and institutions (Micro –finance, village banks e.t.c e.t.c) – • Accessibility and affordability (interest rates, collateral, adequate resourcing) • Sustainability

8. Quality Assurance • Unavailability of good quality foundation seed • Need seed multiplication and distribution system from foundation to certified • Proper usage and safe disposals of Agro chemicals • Hygiene at milling, packing, distribution, storage etc

9. Harvesting and Post Harvest - Timely and proper harvesting knowledge and techniques • Appropriate, accessible and affordable harvesting machinery • Appropriate and affordable drying facilities • adequate and proper storage facilities • appropriate and affordable milling units • access and affordability of power to run machinery - Efficient milling machines to reduce post harvest losses - Training

10. Marketing • Market access, consumer preference • Market information availability and accessibility through the value chain • Marketing infrastructure • Pricing • Risk management (WRS)

11. Socio- Economic • Contribution of rice to GDP, employment creation, poverty alleviation and food security • Profitability of rice production • Popularization campaigns of rice production /adoption studies • Cultural issues • Nutrition aspects

12. Socio- economics cont’ • Farming as a business

13. Gender - gender mainstreaming at policy level - gender based training - gender sensitive technologies - gender based research - land ownership - credit access

14. Policy and Regulatory Environment • Policy framework • Legislation include bye laws • Political goodwill

15. Regional Co-operation • Co-operation in research and development • Information- data gathering, sharing of info and dissemination • South South co-operation • Skills development • Technology transfer • Trade agreements • Fiscal, Import and Tax policies • Non tariff barriers (NTB’s)

16. Conclusions • All countries participating in the FAO/JICA Project have tremendous potential for increasing rice productivity to meet domestic demand and for export

17. Conclusions cont’d • The rice sub sector has substantial potential to contribute to GDP, employment creation and wealth creation for small scale farmers

18. Conclusions cont’d • The rice sub sector value chain in the participating countries is still constrained by weak policy, programming and resource capacity

19. Conclusions cont’d • Participating countries can promote and facilitate development of the rice sub sector by providing and enabling policy environment, increasing budgetary resource allocation and providing the necessary infrastructure to enable value added rice development

20. Recommendations to the Project (GCP/INT/053/JPN) • Strengthen collaboration and linkages with partners such as CARD • Establish web site information for info disemination • Support to mobilize funding to small projects in rice • Support capacity building especially in areas such as skills development and institutional development

21. Recommendation to FAO • Facilitate improvement of access of small scale rice producers to inputs • Support capacity building to researchers, extension workers and farmers through TCP project • facilitate assistance through south –south co-operations for identification and donors • Increase number of projects and funding levels • Facilitate study tours for successful countries • Improve information flow and sharing

22. Recommendation to Donors • Facilitate more donor funding • Encourage exchange of technical information among beneficiaries • Intensify monitoring and evaluation of projects in progress • Support Rice data collection and other rice projects • Timely disbursement of promised funds • Reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and improve co-ordination among relevant donors • Support the implementation of the various strategy components of NRDS

23. Recommendation to Governments • Intensify research and extension delivery services • Intensify capacity building of extension service providers and research staff • Enhance public private partnerships and coordination in the whole value chain • Take advantage of CARD lobbying to continue the dialogue with donors • Encourage local production for self sufficiency and export • Support implementation of NRDS • Equitable funding to rice sector • Provide enabling policy environment for easy implementation of projects • Increase funding to research and development • Provide infrastructure for agricultural/agro industry development • Staff motivation • Establish capacity for rice research and development and dissemination for technologies

24. Recommendation to the Regional Organisations • Share data on research and development of rice industry • Harmonize policies and regulations • Monitoring Evaluation and Advocacy • Establishment of regional programme for food security

25. Recommendation to the Farmer Organizations, Private Sector and Civil Society • Farmers- implement the rice strategy through forming effective farmers’ organizations • Private sector- Invest in rice industry, advisory services, capacity building of farm level organizations, trading services • Civil Society- Advocacy, capacity building and M & E

26. Recommendation to Research Institutions • Strengthen research- farmer- extension linkages • Strengthen linkages for participatory research (demand driven approach) • Release and maintain improved varieties based on agro ecologies • Source for required funding • Patenting local knowledge and technologies