Arcadia Biosciences Contributes Technology License to the African Agricultural Technology Foundation to Develop Nitrogen Efficient and Salt Tolerant African Rice

-- Technology Donation to Foster Environmentally Sustainable Increase

in Food Security and Productivity of African Farmers --
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 organization

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 tons

which is imported at a cost of about USD 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 tons 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 Fertilizer 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 salinization 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 fertilizer 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

fertilization, but plants are generally inefficient absorbers of

nitrogen. Because of this, farmers in highly developed countries often

apply more fertilizer than plants are able to absorb. In Africa, the

on-farm price of nitrogen fertilizer is very high due to importation and

supply chain costs. Because of this, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer

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."
"Ëœ´Strategic

partnerships between public and private sector organizations 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. "Ëœ´The

license granted by Arcadia presents an opportunity for smallholder

farmers to access technologies that will address low rice productivity

characterized 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.
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).