Benin wants to quit importing rice by 2011
COTONOU, 31 December 2009 (IRIN) - Known for its palm oil and cotton production, Benin's agriculture sector wants to become known for high-quality rice and to quit importing rice by 2011, according to the government.
People in Benin's agriculture sector must aim high, said the Agriculture Ministry's Antonin Alavo, coordinator of agriculture diversification.
"We have to nurture grand ambitions [knowing] we will achieve less. It took us 30 years to get where we did with cotton. We will not develop a new sector quickly."
Working with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the government is trying to double current rice output by 2011 by producing 2,200 tonnes (mt) of higher-yield rice seeds annually. The country imported nearly 240,000mt of rice in 2004 – the latest data available – and produced 350,000mt in 2007.
Commentaires