“Dating back to the 1500 B.C., Africans domesticated wet rice, known as Oryza glaberrima, in the middle of the Niger River Valley. Trade with the Far East exposed West Africans to a less common variety of rice known as Oryza sativa.” Read More: http://www.foodasalens.com/2013/02/rice-culture-and-rice-pudding.html