"No module named _cffi_backend" while using rpy2 package

Question

I installed rpy2 package in a conda environment using the following command.

conda install -c r rpy2 

The installation did not give any error. However, when I try to import from the rpy2 package, it gives an error: "No module named _cffi_backend" 

from rpy2.robjects.packages import importr

How can I fix this error? 

Answer 1

You need to install cffi to get rid of the error message. Run the following command in your conda environment, and it should fix the error.

conda install cffi