Ivorian rice farmer Francois Kasse Yao has struggled to make ends meet with only one harvest per year before he planted a new variety, resistant to unpredictable weather conditions and capable of producing larger yields.

The grain, introduced as a part of a programme designed to increase output of the regional staple food and cut dependence on imports, allows rice growers to get two harvests per year, with a yield of up to 5 metric tons per hectare.

This shift signals a potential boost for local farmers and the nation as a whole, which could reduce its reliance on foreign rice imports.

Before the introduction of the new programme that includes better irrigation, mechanization and improved short-cycle drought-resistant seeds, farmers struggled to produce one metric ton per hectare in some areas.

"Today's yields are better ... This time we've started with a new variety, so today we're doing just fine," the 52-year-old farmer harvesting rice in the village of Subiakro, over 14 km from the Ivorian capital Yamoussoukro, told Reuters.

A farmer from another village, Hermane N'Guessan Kouame, praised the new variety's scent and flavour as well as its capacity to resist frequent water shortages - the qualities that make the grain highly prized on the local rice market.

The average price for this type of milled rice is 650 CFA francs ($1.09) per kilogram, Kouame said.

"When you plant it, no matter how the weather changes, it's always intact... It adapts to all climates," said the 50-year-old who farms a 44-hectare plot in Zatta located 20 km from Yamoussoukro.

SELF-SUFFICIENT

Ivorian production of local white rice currently stands at 1.4 million metric tons, far below the national consumption of 2.1 million, according to a managing director of the Agency for the development of the rice sector (Aderiz).

To fully cover domestic demand, Ivory Coast imports rice mainly from countries such as India, Thailand and Pakistan.

A decision by India to curb its exports last year has raised shortage concerns in several African countries.

But Aderiz says the latest investment of 330 billion CFA francs ($551.38 million) made by the state, its partners and the private sector, will enable the country to be self-sufficient in three years.

Production could reach 2.2 million tons by 2027, Yacouba Dembele said.

"We're going to make progress. We're going to go fast, especially with the system we've put in place," he added.