At a time when Africa's food security stands threatened, Realizing Africa's Rice Promise provides a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art research and recommendations for dealing with future challenges. With contributions from the key scientists working on rice in Africa, this volume addresses policy, genetic diversity and improvement, sustainable productivity enhancement, innovations and value chains. The book is useful for researchers, policy makers, agricultural ministries, donors, regional and sub-regional organizations, non-governmental development organizations and universities.

The book is designed to provide a review on the methods and current status of conservation of the tropical plant species. It will also provide the information on the richness of the tropical plant diversity, the need to conserve, and the potential utilization of the genetic resources. Future perspectives of conservation of tropical species will be discussed. Besides being useful to researchers and graduate students in the field, we hope to create a reference for a much wider audience who are interested in conservation of tropical plant diversity.

'Biopiracy' refers either to the unauthorised extraction of biological resources, such as plants with medicinal properties, and associated traditional knowledge from indigenous peoples and local communities, or to the patenting of spurious 'inventions' based on such knowledge or resources without compensation. Biopiracy cases continue to emerge in the media and public eye, yet they remain the source of considerable disagreement, confusion, controversy and grief. The aim of this book is to provide the most detailed, coherent analysis of the issue of biopiracy to date.The book synthesises the rise of the issue and increasing use of the term by activists and negotiators in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to form a critical understanding of the themes, implications and politics of biopiracy. Taking a case-study based approach, derived from interviews and fieldwork with researchers, government, industry, local farmers, healers and indigenous people, the author sequentially documents events that have occurred in biopiracy and bioprospecting controversies. Implications and ethical dilemmas are explored, particularly relating to work with local communities, and the power relations entailed. Detailing international debates from the WTO, CBD and other fora in an accessible manner, the book provides a unique overview of current institutional limitations and suggests ways forward. Options and solutions are suggested which are relevant for local communities, national governments, international negotiators, NGO and interest groups, researchers and industry.

The relationshup between Oryza and other grasses; Species relationships within the genus Oryza; Nemenclature of Oryza species; The evaluation and uses of wild rices; Use of wild rices for evaluation, breeding, or experimental purposes; Choosing wild rice germplasm for evaluation and plant breeding; Sources of wild rice seeds, their germination, and culture; Areas of future endeavor; Oryza species descriptions; O.alta, O. australiensis; O. barthii; O. brachyantha; O. glaberrima; O. grandiglumis; O.latifolia; O. longiglumis; O.meridionalis; O. minuta; O. nivara; O officinalis; O. punctata; O. rhizomatis; O. ridleyi; O. rufipogon; O sativa; Oschlechteri; Genera related to Oryza; Sources of information for species descriptions.