The controversy over the origin of rice is oscillating between India, China, and Africa. Africa is the origin for Oryza glaberrima, which is one among the three domesticated rice species. The other two domesticated rice species are O. indica and O. japonica. Africa has been designated as one of the centers of origin as it is an embodiment of rich diversity of land acres of rice. Many ethnic foods are developed from every part of Africa from these traditional grains in combination with pulses, oil, and fish.
“In many African countries, locally milled rice is of variable quality and it has a high percentage of broken grains. Sometimes, unhusked grains, as well as bran and husk fractions are found in the milled rice. The inferior quality of local rice makes it less competitive against imported rice on the market. Thus, African rice farmers find it so difficult to sell their rice because locally produced rice is widely perceived as being of poor quality.”