• Energy Research

ABSTRACTRice production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has increaed ten-fold since 1961, whereas its consumption has exceeded the production and the regional self-sufficiency rate is only 48% in 2020. Increase in rice production has come mainly from increased harvested area. Yield increase has been limited and the current average yield in SSA is around 2 t ha−1. This paper aims to provide the status quo of (i) current rice production and its challenges, (ii) selected achievements in rice agronomy research mainly by the Africa Rice Center and its partners, and (iii) perspectives for future research on rice agronomy in SSA. The major problems confronting rice production include low yield in rainfed environments, accounting for 70% of the total rice harvested area. Rainfed rice yields are strongly affected by climate extremes such as water stresses, soil-related constraints, and sub-optimum natural resource management and crop management practices by smallholder farmers including poor water management, and suboptimal use of fertilizers, herbicides, and machineries. For alleviating these constraints, a wide range of technologies have been developed and introduced over the last three decades. These include water conservation technologies in rainfed and irrigated lowland rice, site-specific nutrient management practices, decision support tools such as crop growth simulation models, and labor-saving technologies. We conclude that further research efforts are needed to develop locally adapted agronomic solutions for sustainable intensification, especially in rainfed rice to enhance the resilience to climate change and increase land and labor productivity and sustainability of rice cultivation in SSA.

Climate services are playing an increasing role in efforts to build the resilience of African agriculture to a variable and changing climate. Efforts to improve the contribution of climate services to agriculture must contend with substantial differences in national agricultural climate services landscapes. Context-specific factors influence the effectiveness, scalability and sustainability of agricultural climate service, but in ways that are challenging to anticipate. In the context of six countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Zambia), this paper addresses the need to consider differing national contexts when developing strategies to make agricultural climate services in sub-Saharan Africa more effective, scalable and sustainable. Based on authors' collective firsthand knowledge and a review of information from secondary sources, we identify key strengths and weaknesses of climate services relative to agriculture sector needs in the focus countries; and assess factors that have contributed to those differences. Focus countries differ substantially in areas such as the degree of public support, alignment of services with agricultural needs, service delivery channels, degree of decentralization, and public—private-sector balance. These differences have been driven largely by differing national policies, delivery capacity and external actors, but not by responsiveness to agricultural sector demands. Building on the analyses of country differences and their drivers, we then discuss four key opportunities to further strengthen the contribution of climate services to agriculture: (a) leveraging farmer demand to drive scaling and sustainability; (b) exploiting digital innovation within a diverse delivery strategy; (c) balancing public and private sector comparative advantage; and (d) embedding climate services in agricultural extension. For each of these opportunities, we consider how different country contexts can impact the potential effectiveness, scalability and sustainability of services; and how efforts to strengthen those services can account for context-specific drivers to manage the tradeoffs among effectiveness, scalability and sustainability.

The data used in this article are related to the rice yield following the use of the RiceAdvice technology recommendation and the rice yield following the recommended level of fertilizer recommendations. The data were collected in 5 sites in Mali. In all sites, rice yield with RiceAdvice was higher than rice yield following the conventional levels of fertilizer. On average, rice yield with RiceAdvice was 0.7 t/ha higher than rice yield with the conventional level of fertilizer recommendations.

Inland valleys are becoming increasingly important agricultural production areas for rural households in sub-Saharan Africa due to their relative high and secure water availability and soil fertility. In addition, inland valleys are important as water buffer and biodiversity hot spots and they provide local communities with forest, forage, and fishing resources. As different inland-valley ecosystem functions may conflict with agricultural objectives, indiscriminate development should be avoided. This study aims to analyze the diversity of inland valleys in Sierra Leone and to develop guidelines for their sustainable use. Land use, biophysical and socio-economic data were analyzed on 257 inland valleys using spatial and multivariate techniques. Five cluster groups of inland valleys were identified: (i) semi-permanently flooded with good soil fertility, mostly under natural vegetation; (ii) semi-permanently flooded with very low soil fertility, abandoned by farmers; (iii) seasonally flooded with low soil fertility under low input levels, used for rainfed rice and off-season vegetables for household consumption and market; (iv) well drained with moderate soil fertility under medium input levels, used for rainfed rice and off-season vegetables for household consumption and market; and (v) well drained with moderate soil fertility under low input levels, used for household consumption. Soil fertility, hydrological regime, physical and market accessibility were the major factors affecting agricultural intensification of inland valleys. Opening up the areas in which inland valleys occur through improved roads and markets, and better water control through drainage infrastructures along with an integrated nutrient management would promote the sustainable agricultural use of inland valleys.