In 1998, Côte d’Ivoire released four lines for rainfed uplands from AfricaRice’s earlier WAB (WARDA/ADRAO-Bouaké) breeding program. At the same time, another WAB was released for the rainfed lowlands.

A series of lowland varieties, named WITAs (WARDA at IITA) because they were originally developed at AfricaRice's Nigeria Station, have been released in various countries of the West and Central Africa, mainly for their improved grain yield, resistance to diseases (blast and rice yellow motle virus), and tolerance to drought and iron toxicity.

Meanwhile, “Cisadane” from the lowland breeding program was released in Nigeria for its resistance to African rice gall midge (AfRGM), which devastates rice crops in the southeast of the country.

Several high-yielding sativas from the WAB series have proven popular among rainfed-upland farmers, where yield, quality and disease resistance are important attributes.