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July, 2009
Source:
Crop Protection
Ex ante impact assessment of
herbicide resistant rice in the Sahel
Matty Demont a,*, Jonne Rodenburg a, Mandiaye Diagne a,
Souleymane Diallo b
a Africa Rice Center (WARDA), B.P. 96, Saint-Louis, Senegal
b Institut Se´ne´galais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), B.P.
240, Saint-Louis, Senegal
ABSTRACT
Weeds are serious
production constraints for rice in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
However, very few effective and suitable weed control
options are known or accessible to farmers. Herbicide
resistant (HR) technologies may have the labour-saving
benefits of conventional chemical control without the
concomitant risks of phytotoxicity and are expected to
contribute to the control of problem weeds like weedy and
wild rice. Despite world-wide interest in this technology,
no study has ever attempted to assess the value of HR rice
in SSA. In this paper we assess the potential value of HR
technologies in irrigated-rice agro-ecosystems in the
Senegal River Valley. We develop a simple graphical tool
which can be used by breeders, crop protectionists and
biosafety regulators to estimate the value of such
technologies. The total value of HR rice is estimated at
V22–26 ha 1, of which farmers would capture V16 ha 1, while
the agro-industry would absorb V6–10 ha 1.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved. |
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