Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., an agricultural technology company focused
on products that benefit the environment and human health, and the African
Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), a not-for-profit organisation
focused on the access and delivery of new agricultural technologies for
African smallholder farmers, have entered into a licensing agreement for the
use of Arcadia?s technologies to develop rice varieties that will be
available royalty-free to smallholder farmers in Africa.
Under the agreement, AATF receives a license to Arcadia?s Nitrogen Use
Efficiency (NUE) and Salt Tolerance technologies for use in African rice. As
part of Arcadia?s stated commitment to agricultural and environmental
improvement in the developing world, the company will not receive monetary
compensation for the research and commercial rights granted in the
agreement. In addition, Arcadia will complete the early-stage research and
development work for the project and will provide improved rice lines to
African research collaborators for field-testing.
Rice is one of the largest and most important food sources in Africa.
Rice consumption in West Africa is growing by almost 10 percent annually,
while production is only growing by about 4 percent. Rice consumption on the
entire African continent is growing by 6 percent annually and has created an
annual shortage of 6.5 million metric tonnes, which is imported at a cost of
about $1.7 billion. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa produce between 12 and 17
million metric tonnes of rice annually. Most of this rice is produced and
consumed by small-scale farmers.

The problem for Africa goes beyond high demand and low yields for
rice. Many African soils have inherently poor fertility because they have
been farmed for very long periods of time without adequate nutrient
replenishment. A report presented at the 2006 African Fertiliser Summit
states that land use and management practices, and a lack of nutrient
inputs, have led to a decline in productivity, increased soil erosion, and
salinisation in many parts of Africa.

The goal of the agreement between Arcadia and AATF is to increase rice
productivity, improve profitability for African farmers, and benefit the
environment. Having demonstrated that NUE Rice can achieve high yields with
50 percent less nitrogen fertiliser than conventional rice, and that Salt
Tolerant rice may reduce the demand for scarce fresh water supplies, NUE and
Salt Tolerant African Rice can have a major positive impact on African rice
farming, food security, and human health.

?The availability of new agricultural technologies to African farmers
has historically been slow because of issues around development costs and
intellectual property ownership. The partnership between Arcadia and AATF is
designed to solve both of these issues,? said Eric Rey, President and CEO of
Arcadia. ?Plant yields respond to nitrogen fertilisation, but plants are
generally inefficient absorbers of nitrogen. Because of this, farmers in
highly developed countries often apply more fertiliser than plants are able
to absorb. In Africa, the on-farm price of nitrogen fertiliser is very high
due to importation and supply chain costs. Because of this, the amount of
nitrogen fertiliser required to significantly improve yields is
cost-prohibitive for many African farmers. Similarly, fresh water is a
precious and scarce commodity in Africa, and the ability to irrigate crops
with salty water can improve productivity, reduce irrigation costs, and make
more fresh water available for human consumption. We believe that NUE and
Salt Tolerant African Rice will provide substantial economic benefits to
smallholder African farmers by reducing total input costs and increasing
yields. This can all happen without increasing the environmental footprint
of rice production.?

?Strategic partnerships between public and private sector
organisations are key to setting in motion the process of access, adaptation
and delivery of technologies that will raise the productivity of smallholder
farming systems,? said Mpoko Bokanga, Executive Director AATF. ?The license
granted by Arcadia presents an opportunity for smallholder farmers to access
technologies that will address low rice productivity characterised by low
soil nitrogen and high soil salinity and AATF will share these technologies
with research institutions and seed multipliers in Africa to ensure that
farmers benefit from these technologies,? he added.

After Arcadia completes the transformation of NUE and Salt Tolerant
African Rice, AATF will work with its regional development partners to breed
rice varieties that are most effective for local environmental conditions
and then distribute to local growers.

Arcadia and AATF expect NUE and Salt Tolerant African Rice to be first
available by 2016.

About Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
Based in Davis, Calif., with additional facilities in Seattle, Wash.
and Phoenix, Ariz., Arcadia Biosciences is an agricultural biotechnology
company focused on the development of agricultural products that improve the
environment and enhance human health. For more information visit
www.arcadiabio.com.
About AATF
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is an
African-led charity designed to facilitate and promote public/private
partnerships for the access and delivery of appropriate proprietary
technologies with potential to increase the productivity of resource-poor
smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (www.aatf-africa.org).