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Nigeria, AfricaRice deepen partnership to advance rice self-sufficiency, food security – EnviroNews
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Nigeria and the Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice) have renewed their commitment to transforming the country’s rice production systems through scientific innovation, climate-smart technologies and improved agricultural practices.
The commitment was reaffirmed on Friday, August 21, 2026, when Nigeria’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Ezenwa Chukwuemeka Nwaobiala, visited the AfricaRice main research station in Mbé.
The visit underscored the strategic importance of the partnership between Nigeria and AfricaRice at a time when food sovereignty and resilience to climate change have become major priorities across Africa.
With a population of more than 220 million people, Nigeria’s food security has implications far beyond its borders. The country is therefore seeking to increase domestic rice production, reduce dependence on imports and strengthen resilience to climate-related shocks by deploying scientific innovations and climate-smart technologies developed by AfricaRice.
AfricaRice Director General, Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, described the visit as a demonstration of Nigeria’s determination to achieve rice self-sufficiency and strengthen food security.
“Achieving food self-sufficiency is a marathon. It is a challenge that is entirely achievable, but to succeed, you need determination and strong partners by your side,” Manneh said.
He added that Nigeria had demonstrated the necessary political commitment, while AfricaRice remained ready to support the country through stronger local seed systems and the deployment of climate-resilient technologies.
Ambassador Nwaobiala, meanwhile, stressed the need to expand the partnership beyond existing initiatives and deepen its implementation across Nigeria’s states.
“To achieve true rice sovereignty for the benefit of all, our collaboration with AfricaRice must go much further and scale up,” he said.
He called for the extension of the partnership to Nigeria’s federal states and greater integration of AfricaRice’s scientific innovations, appropriate mechanisation and advanced rice-processing technologies.
According to him, such an approach could provide a model for sustainable rice self-sufficiency capable of delivering benefits not only to Nigeria but to countries across the region.
The Nigeria-AfricaRice partnership is already producing results through the deployment of improved rice varieties and production technologies.
Among the key innovations are climate-resilient varieties, including flood-tolerant rice suited to low-lying areas. Zinc-biofortified rice varieties are also being promoted as part of efforts to address nutritional deficiencies and improve the quality of diets among vulnerable rural populations.
The collaboration is also supporting trials of high-yielding rice hybrids, the development of varieties designed to reduce the labour and cost associated with planting, and improved management of lowland rice ecosystems through the Smart-Valleys approach.
Digital technologies are equally becoming an important part of the transformation. Tools such as RiceAdvice are helping farmers make better-informed decisions on rice production, while improved processing technologies are aimed at ensuring that locally produced rice meets market quality standards and reaches consumers more efficiently.
The partners are now looking to expand the deployment of these technologies to more Nigerian states.
The broader objective is to combine scientific excellence, political commitment and subnational engagement to build a more resilient domestic rice industry.
For Nigeria and AfricaRice, the strengthened partnership reflects a wider ambition to make food sovereignty a practical reality by harnessing Africa’s own scientific expertise, agricultural resources and technological capacity.
With sustained investment and wider adoption of climate-resilient technologies, rice production could increasingly serve not only as a pillar of food security but also as a driver of employment, rural development and economic growth across Nigeria and the wider African region.