Global Markets
Home›Global Markets›Emerging Markets›China-backed rice seeds help Nigerian farmers boost yi…
China-backed rice seeds help Nigerian farmers boost yields
One Abuja-area farmer said his rice yield rose to more than three times its previous level after adopting the seed variety supplied through a China-linked program.
Just outside Nigeria’s capital Abuja, a China-linked seed supply is being credited with helping smallholders raise rice yields. A farmer, Ahmed Yusuf, 42, who grows rice near Green Agriculture West Africa Limited, said locals refer to the company as the source of the so-called “magic” rice seeds.
According to SCMP Economy, Yusuf’s yields averaged just 2 tonnes per hectare before working with the seed variety, leaving him near giving up farming after more than a decade due to recurring losses. He said the new variety has allowed him to stay in business by increasing his yield more than threefold on similar effort.
The report frames the farmer’s outcome as part of a broader China-backed push to raise productivity in African subsistence agriculture through mechanization and improved inputs, with implications that go beyond food security.