Importance of market-oriented research for rice production in Tanzania. A review

Abstract

Rice consumption in Tanzania has greatly increased since the 1960s; it is predicted to continue to increase owing to urbanization and changes in consumer preferences from traditional staples to rice. In this study, we review rice agroecology, its value chain, and price determinants, and the history of and challenges to rice research in Tanzania. Our main findings are as follows: (1) rice cultivation can be classified into three major categories: irrigated lowland, rainfed lowland, and rainfed upland. Irrigated lowland is then subdivided into the permanent river, seasonal water, dam, and groundwater subtypes, while rainfed lowland is subdivided into flood plain (fields near rivers), catchment (fields on gentle slope in catchment basin), narrow valley (fields on flat narrow valley bottoms), and plain grassland (fields on gentle slope in savannah grassland). (2) Various stakeholders are involved in production, storage, milling, wholesale, retail, and trade at local, urban, regional, and national levels, resulting in higher market prices of local rice compared to imported rice. However, consumers still choose local rice consisting of traditional cultivar because of its distinct taste and aroma. (3) Improving yield potential through the introduction of foreign elite lines/cultivars has been a major research target; however, farmers have been rejecting most of the new cultivars due to poor grain quality. (4) An integrated set of agronomic management techniques is effective in increasing the yield of traditional cultivars under irrigated lowland. Technical package effectiveness has yet to be tested in all subtypes of rainfed lowland. We propose a new research framework for rice production in Tanzania that is greatly oriented toward meeting consumer demands. In the framework, both breeding and agronomy should have specific research targets for each agroecosystem. Furthermore, genetic resources of traditional cultivars should be fully explored. This study shows the importance of multidisciplinary approach in improving rice production in Tanzania.