A Holistic Lens on Rice Value Chain Pathways in Senegal; Application of “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food” Framework

The contribution and impacts of rice – like any and all agricultural products – to the livelihoods of
people has far greater significance to human (and the earth’s) welfare than is captured by yields
or production statistics alone. We introduce a few of these considerations here, but they are as
well the overall focus of this report.
Rice is produced around the world by millions of small-scale family farmers, often through
complex social relationships. The act of growing rice remainsin most countries, labour-intensive,
with “green infrastructure” built and maintained by generations of farmers, working together.
Rice paddies sculpting the land, often serve as a form of water storage and supply, and erosion
control. Water supply for rice comes from rivers and streams; irrigation flows through the same
ancient river ways. Flooded fields provide an environment that controls weeds, but the water is
not then entirely used or transpired by the rice crop, nor is it all evaporated. Water is let out of
the field during the growing season, adding it back to downstream flows; thus, rice crops are not
nearly as water-consuming as they are often perceived to be (Bouman 2009; Mutters, n.d.)

View article here: https://teebweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Senegal-Rice-LC-FINAL.pdf