The global food crisis and inflation caused by the war in Ukraine and the rise in grain and energy prices have made the search for food self-sufficiency in Africa a matter of urgency. In this context, several African countries have turned to States with experience in the field of agricultural production, such as South Korea.
This Monday, July 10, after several months of exchanges and field visits, Seoul and eight African countries (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya and Guinea-Bissau) launch the “Korean Rice Belt” initiative. This project, which is part of South Korean official development assistance, plans to focus on rice, one of Africa’s staple foods. South Korea has been able to produce enough rice to meet over 90% of local demand, although it still relies heavily on some other food imports. The aim is to provide high-yielding quality rice varieties, agricultural machinery, and to share agricultural know-how. Objective: To help boost rice production and reduce reliance on imports as concerns persist over food security on the continent.
Africa accounts for 32% of global rice imports for 13% of the world’s population, according to Africa Rice, a research center in Abidjan made up of 28 member countries. “Local rice production covers only about 60% of current demand in sub-Saharan Africa,” the center recently pointed out.
In 2020, African countries consumed 301.16 million tons of rice but produced only 210.54 million tons due to lack of necessary infrastructure and technology and low agricultural yields.
Rice prices have nearly doubled in recent years due to supply chain disruptions and imports have continued to strain countries’ foreign exchange reserves.
Countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria have been working for several years to implement more efficient strategies to curb imports. Senegal, which produces some 840,000 tonnes of rice but imports an average of 900,000 tonnes annually, is increasingly relying on local rice. The goal is to reduce this dependency and become self-sufficient within ten years. Beyond the quantity, the supposed lower quality of the rice produced in Senegal has long turned consumers away. The country wants to follow the Ivorian example, a country where “quantities imported from India have fallen by 24% from 2021 to 2022. There has been a substitution towards Ivorian rice in clear progression and secondarily towards other origins “, declared to AFP Régina Adea, communication officer of the Agency for the development of the rice sector in Côte d’Ivoire (Aderiz). Another strategy is that of Nigeria, where imported rice is ultra-taxed on arrival at ports and prohibited from entering by road.
“We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the respective country to better meet the specific needs of each country given the unique circumstances and to achieve tangible results. This goes beyond just food aid, as we seek to let them know how to farm themselves,” said South Korea’s Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun, whose country has implemented introduces a new approach to South-South cooperation.
For example, Seoul plans to build facilities in Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Cameroon, Uganda and Kenya to produce rice seed that is better suited to local conditions and has yields two to two. three times higher than domestic varieties, the minister said in a recent interview. “This project will not only help solve the food crisis in Africa, but will develop its agricultural industry and the economy at large. It will also help achieve the world’s Sustainable Development Goals by protecting the African continent,” the Minister added. South Korea plans to allocate $80 million to the project by 2027, and it “may further expand the project as more African countries have expressed their hope to participate”, according to the minister.
