This is the VOA SpecialEnglish AGRICULTURE REPORT.
A new kind of rice is coming to West Africa. The new rice is saidto have the best qualities of traditional African rice. It also hasthe higher productivity of Asian rice. It increases harvests by asmuch as fifty percent.
The West African Rice DevelopmentAssociation announced plans to give the new rice to farmers inseveral West African countries.
Rice is the main food in much of West Africa. The West AfricanRice Development Association says demand for rice is growing fasterthere than anywhere in the world. It says rice imports have risen inWest Africa during the past thirty years.
Experts say the African and Asian versions of rice developedseparately over many centuries. The African rice plant falls downwhen the plant is filled with rice. The grain head breaks aparteasily, so some rice is lost. Asian rice is more productive. It hasbecome popular in world markets.
For years, scientists talked about combining the best qualitiesof African rice with those of Asian rice. Yet attempts to combinethe two kinds of rice failed.
In Nineteen-Ninety-One, researcher Monty Jones started usinggenetic engineering methods to combine the two. The geneticdifferences of the plants made the work difficult. Yet thedifferences also led to improvements in the new rice. Scientists saythe product of two genetically different plants grows faster and ismore productive.
Scientists have created several kinds of new rice for Africa.These kinds of rice resist dry weather, harmful insects and poorsoils. They also slow the growth of unwanted plants. That reduceslabor, and permits farmers to work the same land for longer periods.
The new kinds of rice also have a different structure of thegrain head. African rice produces only seventy-five to one-hundredgrains. The new rice plants produce as many as four-hundred grains.The rice plants hold the grains firmly, so they do not fall apart.
The new kinds of rice develop about one month earlier than otherrice. They also are taller. This makes harvesting easier. Expertssay they also contain more protein than other rice.
The West African Rice Development Association says the new ricealso may help rice growers in Asia, Central America and SouthAmerica.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by GeorgeGrow. This is __________.