(Ecofin Agency) - Côte d’Ivoire will set an agency for the development of the rice sector (ADERIZ). This has been announced on January 10, 2018, at the end of a ministerial council by the executive which revealed the adoption of a decree on the agency.

This measure should accompany the country’s strategy for the development of rice production (Stratégie Nationale de Développement de la Riziculture-SNDR) from 2012 to 2020. Indeed, through SNDR, the government aims to make Côte d’Ivoire a self-sufficient milled rice producer and exporter. 

“Specifically, The agency will help strengthen the capacities of trade organizations in the sector, invest in infrastructures for rice production and establish a sustained mechanism to continually meet national demand for certified rice seeds and improved varieties” the government indicates.

In the country, rice which accounts for 65% of cereal production is mainly produced on irrigated, rainfed and flooded systems.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), during the rice campaign 2016/2017, Côte d’Ivoire has produced about 1.3 million tons of rice while the local consumption averages 2.9 million tons.

Espoir Olodo