Reversing urban bias in African rice markets: A review of 19 National Rice Development Strategies

Economic development in poor countries is often hampered by urban bias. Partly as a result of historical urban bias, African countries have become heavily dependent on food imports with concomitant risks for food security as witnessed during the 2008 food crisis. African governments now recognize that they should reverse urban bias by investing in agriculture in order to decrease food import dependency. However, they typically focus primarily on supply-shifting investments that may be insufficient to render domestically produced food competitive, particularly in import-biased food markets. We review the national rice development investment strategies of 19 African countries and argue that in order to reverse urban bias in African rice markets, more resources will need to be allocated to value-adding and demand-lifting investments.