Grain quality evaluation: supporting rice technology development in Africa

Rice is unique because unlike other cereals, the harvested product cannot be eaten directly as food and the quality of the milled grain is determined more by the starch properties than by the protein amount and quality. “Milling” in rice refers to the removal of the husk and polishing of the bran layers while in other cereals, “milling” is simply “grinding” or “size reduction”. Rice grain quality has two main dimensions – the physical quality and cooking properties. At AfricaRice, these aspects are determined in its Grain Quality Lab and the information is passed on to the plant breeders to help them develop rice varieties that are higher yielding, stress tolerant as well as endowed with acceptable grain qualities. The Grain Quality Lab at AfricaRice carries out research and provides technical support to AfricaRice researchers in developing the ARICA rice varieties that are in the pipeline for release. Podcast credit: R.Raman, Savitri Mohapatra, AfricaRice