Rice Producer‐Processor Networks in CÔte d'ivoire*

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Pressured by structural adjustment loan conditions, Côte d'Ivoire reduced state support for rice production and processing during the 1990s. In this article we examine how various actors in the rice commodity chain adapted to the macroeconomic reforms. Following a brief history of the rice sector, we present the results of fieldwork based on interviews conducted in 2002 of farmers, millers, traders, and workers in the state extension service and nongovernmental organizations. We found that, in the absence of state supports for farmers, private millers became the focal point of regional producer‐processor rice networks. The four networks identified became the sole source of domestic commercial rice when the state removed subsidies for fertilizer and modern seeds, privatized extension, and liberalized prices and imports. To increase their role in the national rice supply, the rice networks may need support through microlending and a focus on niche markets.

• commodity production
• Côte d'Ivoire
• farming systems
• rice
• structural adjustment

* This material is based on work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0333100 and by the Africa Rice Center (warda), Cotonou, Benin. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Africa Rice Center. For their roles in assisting with the research or reading drafts of the article, the authors thank Kimou Akomian, Roger Diallo, Hannah Gosnell, and Rod Becker.

1 Dr. Becker is an associate professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97330.

2 Dr. Yoboué is the director of the Agronomy Laboratory at the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët‐Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire

* This material is based on work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0333100 and by the Africa Rice Center (warda), Cotonou, Benin. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Africa Rice Center. For their roles in assisting with the research or reading drafts of the article, the authors thank Kimou Akomian, Roger Diallo, Hannah Gosnell, and Rod Becker.

1 Dr. Becker is an associate professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97330.

2 Dr. Yoboué is the director of the Agronomy Laboratory at the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët‐Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire

Notes

* This material is based on work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0333100 and by the Africa Rice Center (warda), Cotonou, Benin. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Africa Rice Center. For their roles in assisting with the research or reading drafts of the article, the authors thank Kimou Akomian, Roger Diallo, Hannah Gosnell, and Rod Becker.

1 Dr. Becker is an associate professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97330.

2 Dr. Yoboué is the director of the Agronomy Laboratory at the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët‐Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire