Sierra Leone rice-breeder joins world leaders

A Sierra Leone scientist is among five Africans who have been voted among the world's 100 most influential people by the US Time magazine.

Monty Jones helped develop a new form of rice, known as Nerica - short for New Rice for Africa - which increases yields by up to 50%. Nerica is seen as one reason why Africa's harvest of rice - a staple food in much of the continent - has been rising in recent years.

Nerica combines the hardiness of traditional African strains with the productivity of Asian varieties. Rice is the staple food across much of West Africa but much of it is imported.

It was recently announced that African rice production had grown for the sixth year running. Africa Rice Center director Papa Abdoulaye Seck says Nerica is a major reason. Some of the biggest increases in rice production were in Mali and Burkina Faso, among the first countries to introduce Nerica, he says.

BBC