A major technological turning point is coming for Ivorian rice farming. Indeed, the Agency for the Development of the Rice Sector in Côte d'Ivoire (ADERIZ), created in January 2018 to implement government guidelines for the development of the rice sector, formalized its partnership with the BARAN Group through the signing of a memorandum of understanding. The objective is to build an integrated national paddy drying system powered by solar energy.

This initiative is part of a broader dynamic. The National Rice Development Strategy 2 (SNDR 2), in force from 2024 to 2030, aims to transform Ivorian rice farming from a traditional subsistence model towards a competitive and environmentally friendly market sector. Ivory Coast, whose rice production increased from 550,000 tonnes in 2011 to more than a million tonnes in 2023, intends to reach a decisive milestone in terms of post-harvest quality. Drying management indeed represents a critical link; poorly controlled drying leads to grain splitting and significant losses during machining. Thus, by solarizing this process, ADERIZ and the BARAN Group want to simultaneously reduce post-harvest losses, improve the quality of local rice and offer producers a sustainable and economically viable energy solution. renewables as levers for structural transformation of its agricultural sector.