Local rice varieties in sub-Saharan Africa are yielding up to four times more thanks to the first hybrid varieties developed in the region. A group of scientists, using web-based tools to establish the link between ideal climate conditions and maximised harvests, found that the 15 hybrids (bred in Kenya and Tanzania) are also tolerant to disease as well as the high temperatures characteristic of Kenya’s Western Lake Region and coastal areas.

According to a Reuters report, the current average yield of inbred rice varieties in sub-Saharan Africa is 2.3 tons per hectare. However, during trials, some of the new ones produced between 7 and 10 tons per hectare.

20 September 2016
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