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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 9, No. 6
Publication Date: December 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/aivp.96.11413. Dagnogo, F. (2021). Strategies for Rice Self-Sufficiency in Côte d'Ivoire. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(6). 513-523.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Strategies for Rice Self-Sufficiency in Côte d'Ivoire
Foussata Dagnogo
Department of Geography, University Peleforo Gon Coulibaly
Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire
ABSTRACT
Côte d'Ivoire is a country which is not self-sufficient in rice despite its combined
agricultural potential. It is timely to make an analysis of the problems encountered
by the actors of the value chain to make concrete proposals to meet the challenge of
self-sufficiency in rice in the country. Thus, documentary research and a survey
were carried out on producers. It appeared that the actors in the rice production
system (rice farmers, processors, traders) encountered some difficulties which do
not allow for a match between local demand and local rice production. This
situation results from the inability of suppliers to differentiate and qualify their
products to meet the requirements of Ivorian rice consumers. Faced with such a
situation of failure, the public authorities can help by supporting the organization
of the actors in the rice production system through an association that enables them
to mobilize and activate all local resources to serve their activities. Public actions
are insufficient and centralized. Thus, there is a need for decentralized structures
in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly around local authorities, to act in synergy and with the
support of local private producers.
Keywords: Rice, self-sufficiency, Côte d'Ivoire, strategies
INTRODUCTION
Rice is a strategic and priority commodity for food security in developing countries (Seck et al,
2013). According to FAO (2013), rice is the most common cereal in the world after wheat,
accounting for 20% of cereal consumption. In Africa, rice (Oryza sp) plays a major role in the
diet of rural and urban households. It is consumed by more than half of the world's population,
with nearly 50 million consumers in Africa.
In Côte d'Ivoire, annual rice consumption is estimated at 2,650,000 tons, or about 80 kg per
year per capita (SNDR, 2020). With an annual production of 1,300,000 tons of paddy rice, rice
cultivation occupies more than 325,000 hectares, or 7.46% of the cultivable land in Côte
d'Ivoire (SNDR, 2020). However, this production only covers 50% of national food needs
(ADERIZ, 2019). To make up the shortfall, Côte d'Ivoire resorts to massive imports of milled
rice, mainly from Asian countries, which are increasing considerably from year to year.
Currently, the state of Côte d'Ivoire imports more than one million tons of milled white rice per
year, or about 400 billion in expenditures per year (ADERIZ, 2019).
To limit the increasingly high cost of importing rice due to population growth, the Ivorian
government has initiated since 2012, the National Strategy for Rice Development (SNDR),
which relies primarily on the private sector. Thus, several companies, leader of pole, have been
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installed, with the objective of promoting local production and making the country self- sufficient in rice by 2020. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of these leaders of pole, the
objectives set are still far from being achieved to date. The objective of this article is to propose
solutions for achieving rice self-sufficiency. To this end, the first part will be devoted to an
analysis of the problems encountered by the actors in the value chain. Secondly, proposals will
be made to meet the challenge of self-sufficiency in rice production.
METHODOLOGY
The methodology adopted in this work consisted of documentary research, a field survey, and
interviews with producers. The survey allowed us to understand the realities on the ground
and identify the various issues that exist there. To obtain additional information, a survey was
carried out among rice producers in different areas.
DIAGNOSIS OF THE RICE SECTOR
Ivorian rice policy has gone through several phases that are intertwined with the various
agricultural policies implemented since the independence in 1960. This policy was subdivided
into four main periods.
Voluntary and interventionist policy of the State from 1960 to 1977
This policy allowed for the development of the rice sector through two important structures:
the Company of Technical Assistance and Modernization of Agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire
(SATMACI) from 1960 to 1970 and the Rice Development Company (SODERIZ) from 1970 to
1977. This resulted in an increase in production to reach a level of self-sufficiency between
1977 and 1978 with a significant decrease in imports from 1976. The incentives included the
distribution of selected seeds, the granting of campaign credit, the fixing of a guaranteed
minimum price, the provision of small agricultural equipment and the supervision of
producers. However, the inorganization of distribution channels with artificial shortages on the
markets, the high subsidy to the sector ($0.090 /kg of paddy) and management problems led
the State to dissolve SODERIZ.
Agricultural diversification policy and its effect on rice production from 1978 to 1994
The desire to diversify Ivorian agriculture, despite the emphasis placed on export crops,
allowed for the continued development of Ivorian rice production, which was managed by
several structures, including the Professional Organization of Seed Growers (OPS), SATMACI,
SODEPALM, SODEFEL, CIDT and OCPA. In fact, seed production has been entrusted to the OPS,
the supervision of producers to SATMACI, SODEPALM, SODEFEL and CIDT, depending on the
agro-ecological zones, industrial and marketing activities to OCPA and the private sector, and
regulation to the Equalization Fund. Despite the importance of the subsidies granted to the
private sector, the millers lack supply strategies and coordination of their activities. They soon
went bankrupt and ceased their activities. The State, therefore, gradually disengaged from the
agricultural sector and the supervision of the rice sector was entrusted to a single structure
from 1988 to 1994, namely the Ivorian Food Development Company (CIDV), with incentives,
including the supply of high-yield seeds (Bouaké 186, IDSA 6 and 10), the installation of micro- rice mills, etc. However, results have been mixed, with production moving up and down.
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Dagnogo, F. (2021). Strategies for Rice Self-Sufficiency in Côte d'Ivoire. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(6). 513-523.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.96.11413
Structural adjustment measures from 1994 to 2009
The structural adjustment measures imposed in Côte d'Ivoire from 1994 to 2009 led to the
dissolution, privatization or merger of several agro-industrial structures and the establishment
of a national structure in charge of supervising agricultural producers, ANADER (National Rural
Development Support Agency) through a global approach. The rice sector was no longer
adequately supervised and the inorganization of stakeholders, combined with the succession
of socio-political crises since 1999, have negatively affected national production. From 1995 to
1996, the State set up the SOPRORIZ (Rice Promotion Company) to promote the sector, and
then the National Rice Project, which became the National Program of Rice (PNR) in 2003 to
coordinate and monitor the implementation of rice projects. From July 2010 to the present, the
National Program of Rice was dissolved, and the National Rice Development Office was created
to take over the activities of the PNR. Marketing activities were entrusted to the Food product
Marketing Assistance Office (OCPV) and to the private sector (rice mills and hullers), while
regulatory activities were the responsibility of the Interministerial Rice Committee and
research activities were conducted by the National Center for Agronomic Research (CNRA).
Revival of the rice-growing activity
To address the risk of food insecurity in Côte d'Ivoire, especially due to the restrictive measures
that are increasingly being imposed by the main rice exporting countries, the Ivorian
government adopted a strategy document in June 2008 to revive rice production in Côte
d'Ivoire. This strategy aims to cover all the country's rice needs through national production by
2012. Unfortunately, these efforts have not lived up to expectations over the period 2010-2012,
and the state continues to import large quantities of milled rice to make up for the shortfall in
national production. From 2013 to 2016, the efforts of this policy of recovery are taking shape.
Thus, national production takes over from imports from 2013 to 2016. of 1335911 tons against
an import volume of 1342027 tons of milled rice (Figure 1). As of 2017, the nightmare of
imports was reborn with a national production.
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Figure 1: Quantities of national production and import of white rice from 2010 to 2017
(ADERIZ, 2020).
VALUE CHAIN ACTORS
There are several categories of actors in the rice value chain, the main ones being the producers,
the leaders of Pole, and the rice distributors. Alongside these three main actors, there are
financial partners (bankers) and governance and support structures that communicate directly
with the Pole Leaders. Another group of service providers and agricultural input suppliers
support the Pole Leaders.
Producers
Since the privatization of the large industrial rice mills and the liberalization of the sector, the
rice sector has been managed by a multitude of actors, the main ones being the producers and
their professional organizations. In Côte d'Ivoire, approximately 600,000 producers spread
throughout the country are involved in rice cultivation, i.e., 8% of the active Ivorian population
(Coraf/Wecard, 2014).
There are about 44 rice cooperatives, namely Departmental Rice Growers' Cooperatives
(CODERIZ), Rice Producers' Cooperatives (COPRORIZ), Regional Rice Growers' Cooperatives
(CORERIZ), and cooperative unions. In terms of representing and defending the interests of rice
growers, there is the National Association of Rice Growers of Côte d'Ivoire (ANARIZCI), which
is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizations of Côte d'Ivoire
(ONAPACI) and has 35 CORERIZs spread throughout the country. There is also the National
Association of Seed Producers of Côte d'Ivoire (ANASEM-CI), set up in 2009 as part of the
revitalization of the Ivorian seed sector. However, the professional organization of rice
producers is embryonic and the existing legal frameworks, particularly the cooperative status,
are not always well adapted to needs. Nonetheless, as projects have been implemented,
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
1400000
1600000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Production locale riz blanc (tonnes) Local production of white rice Volume d'importation riz blanc (tonnes)
(tonnes)
Import volume of white rice (tonnes)
production of white rice (tonnes)
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Dagnogo, F. (2021). Strategies for Rice Self-Sufficiency in Côte d'Ivoire. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(6). 513-523.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.96.11413
producer groups have been set up, most often informally, to manage issues related to perimeter
management and maintenance, input supply, joint use of power tillers, seed production, etc.
Pole Leaders and Processors
As part of its policy to free up the rice sector, the state has entrusted the various zones to private
processors called "Pole Leaders" who constitute the central core of the value chain. These Pole
Leaders have small processing units, with a total processing capacity of 300,000 to 1,000,000
tons of paddy/year (ONDR, 2012). They process almost all the paddy produced in Côte d'Ivoire
into milled rice for the market. These facilities operate largely on a service basis, due to a lack
of funding. At the industrial processing level, there are about ten of them with a milling capacity
of 440,000 tons per year. However, not all these industrial rice mills are operational to date.
The actions of the Pole Leaders are supported by financial partners such as banks, and research
structures such as the CNRA and AfricaRice. Indeed, the national rice research system is
composed of the CNRA and AfricaRice. Most of the rice varieties produced and popularized in
Côte d'Ivoire are obtained from two research institutes, IDESSA (absorbed by CNRA since 1998)
and ADRAO (now AFRICARICE). It should be noted that some varieties, most often of recent
creation, are not included in the official catalog, where only certified varieties are listed. The
large-scale production of these varieties and their dissemination to producers were the
responsibility of parastatals: SATMACI (1960-1970), SODERIZ (1971-1977), OSP (1985-1988),
CIDV (1986-1994). Subsequently, because of its policy of disengagement from productive
activities in the 1980s, the State dissolved these structures. The private sector and producers,
who were neither prepared nor organized for this, were unable to take over.
In addition, other actors such as service providers and suppliers of agricultural inputs
collaborate with the Pole Leaders.
Rice distributors Traders/collectors
The collection and marketing of paddy is carried out by private operators on their own behalf:
These are the distributors or traders or collectors. Often the producers themselves can sell their
production either on the field or on the local market, after processing or not into milled rice.
Figure 2. Structuring of value chain actors. APO: Agricultural Professional Organization