Davis, California and Nairobi,
Kenya
April 24, 2008
Technology donation to foster
environmentally sustainable increase in food security and
productivity of African farmers
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.,
an agricultural technology company focused on products that
benefit the environment and human health, and the
African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF), a not-for-profit organization
focused on the access and delivery of new agricultural
technologies for African smallholder farmers, have entered into
a licensing agreement for the use of Arcadia’s technologies to
develop rice varieties that will be available royalty-free to
smallholder farmers in Africa. Under the agreement, AATF
receives a license to Arcadia’s Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE)
and Salt Tolerance technologies for use in African rice. As part
of Arcadia’s stated commitment to agricultural and environmental
improvement in the developing world, the company will not
receive monetary compensation for the research and commercial
rights granted in the agreement. In addition, Arcadia will
complete the early-stage research and development work for the
project and will provide improved rice lines to African research
collaborators for field-testing.
Rice is one of the largest and most important food sources in
Africa. Rice consumption in West Africa is growing by almost 10
percent annually, while production is only growing by about 4
percent. Rice consumption on the entire African continent is
growing by 6 percent annually and has created an annual shortage
of 6.5 million metric tons, which is imported at a cost of about
USD 1.7 billion. According to the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa
produce between 12 and 17 million metric tons of rice annually.
Most of this rice is produced and consumed by small-scale
farmers.
The problem for Africa goes beyond high demand and low yields
for rice. Many African soils have inherently poor fertility
because they have been farmed for very long periods of time
without adequate nutrient replenishment. A report presented at
the 2006 African Fertilizer Summit states that land use and
management practices, and a lack of nutrient inputs, have led to
a decline in productivity, increased soil erosion, and
salinization in many parts of Africa.
The goal of the agreement between Arcadia and AATF is to
increase rice productivity, improve profitability for African
farmers, and benefit the environment. Having demonstrated that
NUE Rice can achieve high yields with 50 percent less nitrogen
fertilizer than conventional rice, and that Salt Tolerant rice
may reduce the demand for scarce fresh water supplies, NUE and
Salt Tolerant African Rice can have a major positive impact on
African rice farming, food security, and human health.
“The availability of new agricultural technologies to African
farmers has historically been slow because of issues around
development costs and intellectual property ownership. The
partnership between Arcadia and AATF is designed to solve both
of these issues,” said Eric Rey, president and CEO of Arcadia.
“Plant yields respond to nitrogen fertilization, but plants are
generally inefficient absorbers of nitrogen. Because of this,
farmers in highly developed countries often apply more
fertilizer than plants are able to absorb. In Africa, the
on-farm price of nitrogen fertilizer is very high due to
importation and supply chain costs. Because of this, the amount
of nitrogen fertilizer required to significantly improve yields
is cost-prohibitive for many African farmers. Similarly, fresh
water is a precious and scarce commodity in Africa, and the
ability to irrigate crops with salty water can improve
productivity, reduce irrigation costs, and make more fresh water
available for human consumption. We believe that NUE and Salt
Tolerant African Rice will provide substantial economic benefits
to smallholder African farmers by reducing total input costs and
increasing yields. This can all happen without increasing the
environmental footprint of rice production.”
‘’Strategic partnerships between public and private sector
organizations are key to setting in motion the process of
access, adaptation and delivery of technologies that will raise
the productivity of smallholder farming systems,’’ said Mpoko
Bokanga, executive director AATF. ‘’The license granted by
Arcadia presents an opportunity for smallholder farmers to
access technologies that will address low rice productivity
characterized by low soil nitrogen and high soil salinity and
AATF will share these technologies with research institutions
and seed multipliers in Africa to ensure that farmers benefit
from these technologies,’’ he added.
After Arcadia completes the transformation of NUE and Salt
Tolerant African Rice, AATF will work with its regional
development partners to breed rice varieties that are most
effective for local environmental conditions and then distribute
to local growers.
Arcadia and AATF expect NUE and Salt Tolerant African Rice to be
first available by 2016.
Based in Davis, California, with additional facilities in
Seattle, Washington and Phoenix, Arizona, Arcadia Biosciences is
an agricultural biotechnology company focused on the development
of agricultural products that improve the environment and
enhance human health.
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is an
African-led charity designed to facilitate and promote
public/private partnerships for the access and delivery of
appropriate proprietary technologies with potential to increase
the productivity of resource-poor smallholder farmers in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
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