Therefore, this research aimed to identify potential genotypes and suitable traits of upland rice germplasm for breeding programmes. Forty-three genotypes were evaluated in a randomised complete block design with three replications. All genotypes exhibited a wide and significant variation for 22 traits. This proposition was severely criticized in the 1960s and 1970s by scientists belonging to various disciplines. However these were not noted, although they had been published in respectable publications. Various aspects relating to the time and place of origin, and the search for ancestral species are reviewed and discussed in detail. Evidence from various biological and social science disciplines of relevance to the origin of rice are presented. They indicate that African rice arose from the Asian rice, O. sativa after it was introduced into the region during the 8th – 12th centuries CE. It is further shown that the annual African wild rice O. barthii might be a hybrid derivative of the two cultivated rices.