Achievements by MAAIF and JICA
collaboration in the Rice Sub-Sector

Introduction
Rice has emerged as one of the crops with the fastest adoption in Uganda in the recent years because farmers reap a lot of returns. For instance, in some places farmers are able to reap gross profit of up to UShs 1,200,000= from one acre of land after investing UGX600,000= in seed and other inputs, thus the farmer reaps a net profit of UShs 600, 000=, assuming the farmer sold the unmilled rice at UShs 1000 per Kg. This is 100% profit. In the future farmers will even save more at the rice processing level.

The different stakeholder efforts have resulted in a total tremendous increase in rice production from 123,000MT in 2003 to 160,000MT in 2007, and were estimated at 165,000MT in 2008. Consumption of rice has grown, now estimated at 225,000 but imports have instead dropped thus Uganda is increasingly approaching self sufficiency.

Many rice growing households have moved out of poverty; they have built brick houses and roofed with iron sheets, some able now to pay school fees, people have bought bicycles and household item,land, cattle, motorcycles, to mention but a few. Rice will indeed bring many poor households out of poverty.

Rice Steering Committee and Rice Industry Secretariat
In order to accelerate the rice industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) in 2007 joined up with other rice stakeholders comprising of rice farmers, processors, traders, Civil Society Organizations, Environmental, Agricultural and Trade Policy makers, Rice research, Extension and the donor agencies forming a Steering Committee for the Development of the Rice Industry in Uganda. The committee develops policies and strategies to support the Rice Industry. Its operationalizes its activities through the Rice Industry Secretariat (RIS) which was established with support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

JICA has continued to support both the RIS and Rice Steering Committee. This has resulted into:
* Increased stakeholder coordination and participation in planning and implementing strategies for the development of the Rice Industry. During the 3rd Rice Steering Committee meeting held on 20th May 2009, the Draft Uganda National Rice Development Strategy (UNRDS) was approved. The UNRDS will be the National framework for coordination and support of interventions in the rice industry in Uganda.
* Development of UNRDS whose goal is to double rice production in the next ten years 2008 - 2018.
* Skeleton rice data base in the RIS

Water Management in Rice fields
In 2008, MAAIF started the Sustainable Irrigated Agricultural Development (SIAD) Project, the successor of Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture Development Study which ended in the same year. SIADP is supported by JICA. SIAD project covers over 22 districts of Eastern Uganda. Through it farmers have learnt agricultural water management which is suitable in areas where relief facilitates gravitational water flow. Farmers have also acquired modern rice cultivation skills and some farmers have accessed manual rice threshers. All skills are taught theoretically and practically through demonstration plots and in their rice fields thus increasing the chances of adoption.

Training Agricultural Extension Officers in Modern Rice Cultivation Skills
Through the MAAIF JICA collaboration Agricultural extension officers in Uganda and Japan in modern rice cultivation skills in accordance to their various duties. Over 20 District Agricultural officers have been trained in Uganda. Also some officers from Research, extension, policy and environment have been trained in Japan on Agronomy, Irrigation, post-harvest handling of rice, mechanization, policy to facilitate the adoption of modern rice cultivation techniques that have made Japan one of the world's leaders in modern rice technologies and consequentially in rice production.

Variety Trials and Agromonic practices of NERICA
NARO, in collaboration with JICA, is supporting variety trials and Agromonic practices of NERICA varieties in National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) Namulonge. The variety trials are being carried out in the different Zonal Agricultural Research Institutes (ZARDI's) in Uganda.

Regional Rice Training Institute in NaCRRI, Namulonge
Through donor support from the Government of Japan, a modern Regional Rice Research and Training Institute is being constructed at Namulonge.

Uganda National Rice development Strategy (UNRDS)
Uganda will soon be implementing the Uganda National Rice Development Strategy (UNRDS). The UNRDS intends to double rice production between 2009 and 2018. JICA is one of the leading partners in this process.

Uganda will achieve this projected success by implementing the NRDS along the following fronts which tackle the whole rice value chain

Strengthening the Institutional Framework

Research, Technology Dissemination and Capacity Building

Improve Irrigation and Water Management

Seed Production, Multiplication and Dissemination of Certified Seed

Increase Utilization of Agro-Inputs and Sustainable Soil Management

Post harvest Handling, Processing and Marketing

Mechanization

Access to Agricultural Finance

Policy Development

Environmental Conservation

JICA- MAAIF collaboration has already registered a lot of success including support to the steering committee and rice Industry Secretariat resulting into drafting the UNRDS, Sustainable Irrigated Rice Cultivation, Training Extension Officers and farmers in Rice cultivation, Regional Rice Research and Training Centre.

Uganda's Rice Sector Current status
Rice production in Uganda started in 1942 mainly to feed the World War II soldiers, however due to a number of constraints, production remained minimal until in 1965 when Kibimba Rice Scheme started. In 1974 when farmers appealed to the then Government for assistance. In response, government identified the Doho swamps and constructed the Doho Rice Irrigation Scheme (DRS) with the help of Chinese experts. Today rice is grown mainly by small scale farmers almost through out the country, but also with large scale farmers in few places. Total production is estimated at 165,000 metric tones. Population growth rate is 3.2% thus the demand for rice is expected to rise.

Uganda adopted NERICA 1, 4 and 10 varieties in addition to the old lowland varieties. Since the introduction of upland rice in 2002, rice farming has grown from 4,000 ha farmers to over 35,000 ha. From the earlier releases of three upland rice varieties in Uganda in 2002 courtesy of the Rockfeller support farmers were able to reap $9 million (14.9 billion) in 2005. In the process, the country has seen rice imports drop between 2005 and 2008.

This trend of events according to the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) saved the country about $30 million (Ug. Shs. 50.4 billion) in foreign exchange earnings. Most rice in Uganda is grown in Eastern Uganda followed by Western Uganda due to the presence of lowland with high moisture content throughout the growing season. Government of Uganda intends to increase rice production to cater for the ever increasing demand.

About 5% rice farmers are large scale with land under cultivation over 6 hectares. Among the large scale farmers are rice schemes with acreage of over 1,000 hectares. Today there are 591 operational rice mills. The rudimentary poor performing engelbergs account for 77.5%, milltops constitute 20.8% and medium to large scale are 1.7%. The small rice milling cottage factories using engelbergs and milltops mill 95% of the paddy produced in the country significantly contributing to persistent low quality and market value which is non- competition in the current liberated market economy.

Trading of rice in Uganda is completely under the private sector.

Most of the trading is done by middle men who buy threshed rice from the farmers at the farm. The price of milled rice varies from place to place between UShs.1500= per kg to UShs. 2,500= per kg of locally produced rice. This rice is usually packed in 50 and 100kg bags. Some medium and large scale processors however process, package and brand their rice thereby fetching higher market prices ranging from UShs. 2500= to UShs 7500= per Kg.

Gender and Youth Dimensions of Rice Production, Processing and Trading
Women play a major role in rice production in the country including, field opening, planting, weeding, harvesting, bird scaring and other agronomic activities, on-farm processing and marketing. Sometimes due to gender imbalance, the proceeds from rice sales do not trickle down to the women who have labored in the production process. Youth are less involved in rice production and this causes a danger to future production and food security. Most of the youth prefer to seek jobs in urban areas.

Comparative Advantage of Domestic Rice Production
Domestic rice production is increasing and local and regional demand is also increasing. The current demand for rice in Uganda is over 225,000 metric tonnes of which only 165,000metric tones are locally produced creating a deficit of 60,000MT.

East African countries (Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi) import over 700,000 metric tonnes of rice per year. Rice production would therefore provide an import substitution of about $150 million worth of rice every year to Uganda if it can double its production. This covers for only 15% of rice imports in East Africa.