The history and future of African Rice: food security and survival in a West African war zone

The paper analyses farmer coping strategies under war-time conditions in Sierra Leone in order to identify why food-insecure farmers continue to value African Rice. African Rice has an important association with 'sokoihun' (forest enclaves). These enclaves - written in the history of the landscape - became once again important as war swept over rural communities in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in the 1990s. The 'sokoihun' teach a lesson about innovation under adversity. War-affected rural populations might benefit from improving African Rice through genetic contribution from Asian Rice, reversing a mainstream institutional breeding strategy. In general, it is concluded that pro-poor plant improvement would benefit from careful contextual analysis and prior consultation with the food-insecure