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UNITED
NATIONS (Reuters) - New varieties of "miracle"
rice developed in West Africa could soon help African and
Asian farmers grow up to 50 percent more of the vital staple
each year in far less time.
The
U.N. Development Program (UNDP) says the New Rice for Africa
-- dubbed NERICA -- combines the hardiness of African strains
with the higher yields of Asian breeds.
Three
years of testing in Guinea and Ivory Coast in West Africa
have shown that the new varieties, while not requiring fertilizer,
are richer in protein and better resist disease, drought
and pests than currently grown varieties, UNDP officials
said on Wednesday.
NERICA
also matures 30 to 50 days earlier, and its broad blades
grow out so quickly that they shade weeds trying to grow
nearby. That means less labor-intensive weeding.
The
West African Rice Development Association, which developed
the strain with UNDP support, is conducting a workshop next
week in the Ivory Coast city of Bouake to identify national
partners to help promote the new seed.
Japan,
the Rockefeller Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International
Development, the African Development Bank and the UNDP are
helping organize the workshop, which 17 West African countries
and three East African nations are expected to attend along
with Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.
"This
is one of the rare cases where we are seeing the transfer
of technology from Africa to Asia," instead of the
other way around, said Peter Matlon, acting leader of the
UNDP's Environmentally Sustainable Development Group.
"We're
making a lot of seed available and moving it out,"
he said in an interview.
While
farmers initially will focus on building up supplies of
seed, it will soon be a food crop, helping to battle poverty,
UNDP said. It is expected to lead to bigger crops at lower
cost and bring down prices for countries importing rice
supplies.
NERICA
is the latest entry in a succession of "miracle rices"
that have been credited for helping to spur a Green Revolution
in the developing world.
The
improved strains have increased supplies enough to drive
down prices at least 25 percent worldwide since miracle
rice first emerged in the 1960s, Matlon said.
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