STORY: China's new hybrid rice variety helps boost African food supply
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 13, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 22, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:48
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the fields
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOHN KIMANI, Geneticist, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): GOITSEONE MALAMBANE, Senior Lecturer, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MWALIMU MENZA, Deputy Director, Industrial crops research institute of Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization

STORYLINE:

A hybrid rice variety developed by China is boosting food production and enhancing food security in African countries.

Water-saving and drought-resistance rice (WDR) is a new type of cultivated rice.

It combines the high yield and quality characteristics of paddy rice with the drought resistance and water-saving traits of upland rice.

It has already been introduced and promoted in several African countries, yielding significant social benefits.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOHN KIMANI, Geneticist, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization
"The varieties performed very well. They have given the yields (of) 7.5 tonnes per hectare, compared to our local varieties that have given 3.5 metric tonnes per hectare. So this is more than double."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): GOITSEONE MALAMBANE, Senior Lecturer, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
"This WDR has brought a new shape into cultivation of rice, because we have done two years already. Food is important for everyone. So food security becomes a social security. Everyone is happy, everyone is secure when they have food security. So that's why we're trying to get also the rice so that we can reduce on the imports and then have our rice as one of the food secure crops in Botswana."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MWALIMU MENZA, Deputy Director, Industrial crops research institute of Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization
"Concerning the collaboration between Kenya and China for agricultural development, it is very good. And we appreciate the support that China has extended to Kenya in terms of finances, technology transfer, training opportunities, because almost every other year, we have a group of Kenyans who go to study in China in agricultural courses, in environmental sciences and natural sciences so that they come back with improved knowledge and skills to implement our research programs and development programs here in Kenya."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)