Rice consumption in Angola, like in many other African nations, is rising due to shifts in eating habits and population growth. The surge in consumption combined with low domestic production and productivity has led to a consistent rise in rice imports. In 2021 the State Treasury of Angola spent over US$260 million on rice imports.
During a February 2024 African Paddy Rice Greenhouse Gas Mitigation workshop, Eng. Carlos Francisco Canza, Angola's focal point within the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) from the Rural Extension Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, learned about SRI methods.
Elielda Lopes Fernandes, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) Manager for Food and Agriculture in Angola, was also interested in SRI, and with SRI-2030 knowledge materials they transplanted the rice seedlings in early July 2024 following SRI principles, marking the first known experimentation of SRI methods in Angola.
French language System of Rice Intensification (SRI) video from World Bank-funded PRéCA (Projet de Résilience et Compétitivité Agricoles -- Agriculture Resilience and Competitiveness Project) in Burkina Faso
Video: La plaine rizicole de Karfiguéla s'est transformée grâce au projet « Eau, CLÉ du Développement Durable » (ECDD). Autrefois désespérée en raison du changement climatique et de pratiques agricoles inefficaces, cette région prospère à nouveau. Le projet ECDD a expérimenté avec succès des pratiques agroécologiques sur une superficie de 500 m². Des agriculteurs témoignent de l'impact positif sur leurs rendements et la qualité de leurs cultures. Le projet, mis en œuvre par l’Organisation néerlandaise de développement (SNV) et l’ONG World Waternet.
SRI-Rice's insight:
English: The rice-growing plain of Karfiguéla has been transformed thanks to the “Water, Key to Sustainable Development” (ECDD) project which successfully experimented with agroecological practices, including SRI. Farmers testify to the positive impact on their yields and the quality of their crops. The project, implemented by the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) and the NGO World Waternet.
El arroz climáticamente inteligente, desarrollado por el Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias de Chile (INIA) junto al sistema SRI (System of Rice Intensification, por sus siglas en inglés) e impulsado por el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) en las Américas, tiene como características salientes ser producido con hasta la mitad del agua que necesita el tradicional, un 80% menos de semillas y una reducción de emisiones de metano a través de la siembra directa e innovaciones como el riego subterráneo y por goteo.
SRI-Rice's insight:
In the Americas, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is promoting the salient characteristics of the climate-smart rice developed by Chile’s Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) drawing on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology.
This study undertook to identify a ‘best-bet’ version of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for conditions in northwestern Nigeria, considering what is feasible for farmer use. Two years of experimental data from 260 farmer-managed rice plots evaluating four of the SRI practices in Zamfara State were analyzed. The variables evaluated were seedling age at transplanting, plant density, irrigation schedule, and fertilizer application. Farm budget analysis showed that the best-bet SRI practices most productive given the natural environment and farming system were transplanting 11-day-old seedlings at 25 cm × 25 cm spacing, with alternate wetting-and-drying of fields, as well as providing full compost plus some inorganic fertilization.
Net economic returns were found to be highest with best-bet SRI practices and ranged from USD 1450–2120 ha−1. While rice production was profitable under both SRI and more conventional management, the return on investment was at least 40% higher with SRI practices than with the other practices evaluated. Based on our data and analysis, we recommend that the Nigerian government and its development partners prioritize and expand the testing and promotion of SRI in the northwest and other regions of the country. This initiative can significantly enhance farmers’ incomes and, ultimately, bolster food security.
In Saint Louis, northern Senegal, farmers have had to buy extra rice to feed their families for as long as anyone can remember. “Normally, people can only live off the rice they grow for a few months,” according to Abdoulaye Sy, director at the government’s National Agricultural and Rural Advisory Agency (ANCAR). The rest of the time, people buy rice from wholesalers, hoisting 20-kilogram (44-pound) burlap sacks onto communal minibuses or horse-drawn carts for the long ride home.
But since officials at ANCAR introduced a new method for growing rice, called the “system of rice intensification” (SRI), yields have more than doubled. For the first time, according to ANCAR, families can live off their own crop and make money from the surplus.to
The official launch of the RICOWAS project « Scaling up climate-resilient rice production in West Africa », took place on January 18, 2023 in Bamako, Mali. The project is financed by the Adaptation Fund (AF) and implemented by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) with the collaboration of the Regional Center of Specialization on Rice, hosted by the Institute of Rural Economy of Mali (CRS-Riz/IER), the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD) and the Cornell University, for a 14M USD budget over a 4-year period. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a major component of the project.
A la demande de la coopérative Gouantina en début de campagne, la DreamTeam Douna piloté par Albert COMPAORE met en place un champ école de riziculture intensive dans l'optique de mieux enseigner les bonnes pratiques culturales de production de riz. La coopérative Gouantina est une coopérative composée de 65 femmes productrice de riz. Pour le champ école l'agent à terrain Albert à mis deux parcelles de 200m2. Sur la première parcelle les bonnes techniques de production du riz en système de riziculture intensive (SRI) ont été mise en place...
SRI-Rice's insight:
At the request of the Gouantina cooperative (made up of 65 women who produce rice) the "DreamTeam Douna" of the NGO PlantVillage set up a SRI field school for SRI. On a plot of 200m2 the traditional practice yielded 20kg (exptrapolated to 2t/ha) while the SRI plot yielded 35kg (extrapolated to 3.5t/ha). As they saw the profitability associated with SRI methods, the women in the cooperative decided to adopt the methods.
The Community of Hope Agriculture (CHAP) in Liberia has extended operations in neighboring Mano River countries (Sierra Leone and Guinea). Together with Guinean partners, a new CHAP project, entitled "FEED La Guinea," has kicked off with SRI trial plots on two hectares in Kalako, Guinea, with over 100 smallholder farmers coming together to learn SRI methods. The first rice was transplanted July 15, 2022. The vision of feeding Guinea with home-grown rice is resonating with key stakeholders. Most of the farming groups are women-dominated and eager to learn more about SRI for the first time. To ensure that what farmers produce is bought in a timely manner, CHAP is working on launching the “I love Guinea Rice” and “Feed la Guinea” campaigns to get a buy-in from consumers for local home-grown rice.
...Between July and August, 2022, The World Food Program (WFP) and FAO Identified and trained 150 farmers in 15 villages in Gabú, Bafatá and Quinara regions on the principles of the System of Rice Intensification technique (SRI). This technique allows smallholder farmers to increase rice crop productivity while decreasing the quantity of water, seeds and chemicals used. Previously tested in Guinea-Bissau by local agronomists, SRI led to a four-fold increase in yields compared to traditional techniques. Through this pilot, funded by the SDG Joint Fund, WFP and FAO wish to further test SRI with local communities to appraise its potential for rice production in the country.
SRI-Rice's insight:
This is the first report we've had from Guinea-Bissau, so we were very glad to hear of the four-fold increase in yield!
Rebecca-Alexie Langard en mission pour Esperanza joie des enfants à Imerina-Imady rencontre soeur Joséphine qui exploite la rizière Sainte-Anne dont l'exploitation a été transformée selon le modèle du "système de riziculture intensive". Nouvelle gestion de l'eau, du repiquage, de la rotation des cultures... autant de changements dans les méthodes traditionnelles qui permettent sans apports chimiques ni mécanisation d'obtenir un rendement bien meilleur.
SRI-Rice's insight:
English translation: Sister Josephine explains that the Sainte-Anne rice fields in Imerina-Imady, Madagascar, have been transformed by using the "System of Rice Intensification.” New management of water, transplanting, crop rotation... so many changes in traditional methods that allow a better yield without chemical inputs or mechanization.
Inades-Formation Burundi, pour augmenter la production du riz dans les marais aménagés, a introduit la technique du « Système de Riziculture Intensif (SRI) » au sein des 3 coopératives rizicoles qu’il accompagne à Maramvya en commune de Mutimbuzi à l’ouest du pays, à Kabo et Kibaba en commune Nyanza-lac au sud du pays. Cent vingt riziculteurs, membres de ces 3 coopératives rizicoles, ont ainsi été formés à la technique du SRI. Alors que le rendement moyen du riz par hectare sans le SRI était inférieur à 4 tonnes à l’hectare selon les localités, Le rendement moyen du riz obtenu avec la technique du SRI était de 6,5 tonnes à l’hectare...Eu égard aux bons résultats obtenus lors des premiers essais du SRI, le nombre d’adhérents aux coopératives n’a cessé de croître, et le nombre de riziculteurs ayant adopté le SRI est passé de 165 à 587.
SRI-Rice's insight:
To increase rice production in the developed marshes, Inades-Formation Burundi introduced SRI in the 3 rice cooperatives in Maramvya in the west, and in Kabo and Kibaba in the south. 120 rice growers were originally trained in SRI in 2018-2019. Average rice yields rose from 4 to 6.5 ton/ha with SRI. The number of rice growers who have adopted the SRI has since increased to 587.
La Côte d’Ivoire s’engage à réduire ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre de 30,41 % d’ici à 2030, selon son ministre de l’Environnement et du développement durable, Jean-Luc Assi. M. Assi a fait cette déclaration, mercredi à Glasgow (Ecosse), lors d’un panel de haut niveau portant sur la présentation des nouvelles ambitions des pays dans un contexte de révision générale des contributions déterminées au niveau national (CDN)...
...Les commerces, les transports et les industries figurent également sur cette liste de même que la promotion de pratiques agricoles intelligentes face au climat, la mise œuvre à grande échelle du système de riziculture intensif (SRI), la mise en œuvre de décharges modernes et de centres de valorisation et d’enfouissement technique avec récupération de méthane, sont également au nombre des actions prévues par l'Etat ivoirien.
SRI-Rice's insight:
Côte d'Ivoire is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30.41% by 2030, according to its Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jean-Luc Assi. ...Commerce, transport and industries are also on this list as well as the promotion of climate-smart agricultural practices, the large-scale implementation of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), the implementation of modern landfills and recovery and technical landfill centers with methane recovery are also among the actions planned by the Ivorian State.
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is an environmentally sustainable farming method which has enabled growers from the Kapunga Village in Tanzania’s Mbarali district to boost their income and nutrition. Under the Capacity Building Related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements project in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries-Phase III (ACP MEAs 3) funded by the EU, the FAO project aims to support local farmers by training them in adopting SRI.
The initiative encourages smallholders to participate in Farmer Field Schools (FFSs), offering them group plots of land and SARO 5 seeds to practice SRI. ACP MEAs 3 helps farmers transition to more resilient and productive agrifood systems by offering training and capacity building in ecosystem-based practices that promote the sustainable resource management, protect the environment, and improve food security.
The regional training of trainers’ workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Climate-Resilient Rice Production (CRRP) took place in Grand-Lahou on Friday, April 5th, 2024. Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra, OSS Executive Secretary, expressed his gratitude towards the authorities of Côte d’Ivoire for hosting the event, highlighting National Rural Development Support Agency (ANADER) and its excellent agricultural mechanization training center in Grand-Lahou. He also thanked Dr. Erika Styger and Dr. Karim Traore for training of the future Master Trainers who will play a significant role in the RICOWAS project. [See also French version.]
SRI-Rice's insight:
The first regional RICOWAS training of trainers workshop was hosted by ANADER in Côte d’Ivoire. It included 45 experts from 13 West African countries belonging to the regional Scaling up Climate Resilient Rice Production in West Africa (RICOWAS) project, a four-year, $14 million effort funded by the Adaptation Fund to apply principles of SRI and Climate-Resilient Rice Production (CRRP). RICOWAS is overseen by the Sahara and Sahel Observator (OSS).
... Over a period of four years (2016–2019), we quantify the benefits accrued to the uptake of SRI among smallholder farmers in Oluch irrigation scheme western Kenya. Our comparisons are in reference to a baseline study conducted prior to the full-scale promotion of SRI in the study area. Our study findings reveal that the uptake of specific SRI practices increased by at least 30–80%, and acreage under rice farming increased by 50%. Although SRI required more production costs per acre (as much as 63% increase), SRI had at least 28.6% higher return per shilling invested. Our findings underscore previous results in the literature that SRI is associated with not only productivity but also economic benefits justifying the need for scaling especially among smallholder farmers.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) has trained Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) and farmers on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) activities under the RICOWAS scaling up climate resilient rice production in West Africa project. Dr Issah Sugri, Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-SARI and Project Monitor, said the four-year RICOWAS project, was funded by Adaptation Fund supported by Observatoire Du Sahara Et Du Sahel Sahara and Sahel Observatory. The project, implemented by CSIR-SARI, is to strengthen human and institutional capacity in climate-resilient rice production (CRRP) and also to assist farmers to scale-up CRRP...
SRI-Rice's insight:
The USD 14 million RICOWAS project will be operating in 13 countries in West Africa during the next four years. We also found articles recently on the RICOWAS efforts getting going in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Discover the inspiring story of Zambian entrepreneur Henry Ngimbu and how he’s making a difference in rural communities in his home country through the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Learn about the four key areas he believes are paramount to growing SRI in Zambia and the potential for SRI adoption in the country. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HENRY"S JOURNEY, READ HERE: www.sri-2030.org/blog-post/henry-ngimbu-zambia-sri-story
FAO video from Tanzania: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a rice farming technique that uses less, water, fewer seeds and produces higher yields. SRI benefits environmental conservation and increases farmers income. [The FAO-assisted activities described in the video are connected to the EU-funded Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP MEAs 3)].
Achieving Food Security while using water and land resources in a sustainable manner is a major challenge to any country. Agriculture’s success is therefore hinged on effectively using innovation to increase productivity and ensure profitability while managing natural resources. With this in mind, ARIFU, an educational technology company in conjunction with JKUAT’s Prof. Bancy Mati came up with a digital System of Rice Intensification (SRI) training app for rice farmers in Kenya. The app is an important source of information for the farmers on practices towards an increase in rice water productivity.
The ARIFU platform is an interactive chatbot that offers agronomic advice and financial skills training to farmers through mobile phones, giving them access to much-needed information. “This app will be accessible to anyone with a mobile phone and will be important in providing up-to-date information to farmers on the new and improved farming practices,” said Prof. Mati who also Chairperson of the Association of Irrigation Acceleration Platform (AIAP).
SRI-Rice's insight:
A longer account of the digital app, with insights on its success, can be found in Prof. Mati's extended post on the SRI-Rice website: tinyurl.com/3t97632c.
In Tanzania, social capital was a key contributor to the success of the implementation of System of Rice Intensification (SRI), as part of the activities the Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT) implemented in the framework of the Farmers’ Organizations for Africa, Caribbean, and the Pacific Programme. Recently the adoption of this method has achieved exponential gains. As this experience illustrates, forging positive relations between farmers was a critical component.
The Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT) took great care in creating the conditions that would ensure as many people as possible could benefit from adopting SRI. One important aspect was the farmer-to-farmer approach. ACT implemented a participatory and inclusive approach. Participation was open to anyone interested and the farmer-to-farmer approach was adopted.
The study assesses agricultural water productivity (AWP) values for paddy farming in terms of both physical (Kg/m3) and economic (US$/m3) in the conventional transplant and flooding system (CTFS), the system of rice intensification (SRI), and the Kilombero Plantation Limited (KPL) mechanized system. Findings showed that rainfed systems have good (AWP), leading the authors to recommend a rollout of rainfed SRI to secure local food security and downstream ecosystem services, although the authors believe that adoption of SRI will require intensive demonstration that needs public financing.
The results showed that SRI systems have better AWP due to high yields and low water uses. In addition, it was found that irrigation does not have a substantial leap in harvests in the wetland areas being studied. Hence, rainfed systems score better values, especially SRI, providing a plural benefit that includes downstream ecosystem integrity. Furthermore, due to early planting in rainfed SRI, farmers secure competitive market prices in early harvests hence better economic water productivity (EWP). The authors suggest that farmers should be trained and encouraged to practice SRI (especially rainfed), which secures better AWP and serves more for downstream uses, reducing water use conflicts and sustaining the ecosystem.
Water scarcity and nutrient availability for rice farming have become great matters of concern in the contexts of climate change and land use change globally. The objective of this study was to understand the on-farm potential response of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP) to water management practices in rice farming within the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Soil samples were collected from three villages at four depths. Four water management regimes: A = traditional flooding (rainfed) without intensification of rice farming; B = traditional flooding (rainfed) involving a system of rice intensification (SRI); C = alternative wetting and drying (AWD) involving SRI for one cropping season; D = abandoned fields (fallow); and E = AWD involving SRI for two cropping seasons, were investigated as regards their impact on SOC, TN, and TP. There were significant (p < 0.05) effects of water management regimes on SOC, TN, and TP. AWD involving SRI for one cropping season indicated a positive effect on SOC and TN across all depths as compared to other practices. We conclude that water management practice that involves AWD with SRI for one cropping season is a plausible approach to maintaining high SOC and TN, with the potential for increasing crop production while minimizing water consumption.
More and more rice farmers in Africa are turning to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). This technique is beneficial to them because it reduces production costs and provides higher yields. The benefits of this technique have allowed producers such as Marcel Yao Kouakou to become known as a model rice producer in Côte d'Ivoire. In 2013, he was awarded the Excellence Prize for best national producer in irrigated rice production in Cote d'Ivoire and in 2015, he was awarded the second Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit medal at the "Salon de l'Agriculture et des Ressources Animales."
Africa-Press – Liberia. A recipient of UNDP’s agricultural grants has launched commercial seed rice, which is expected to increase local rice production and reduce reliance on rice imports. The Community of Hope Agriculture Project (CHAP) received a grant to produce climate smart agriculture seed rice in Montserrado and Lofa counties using a methodology known as System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Speaking at the launch, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Programme Violet Baffour stressed the need to scale up support to small farmers and cooperatives as part of efforts to eliminate extreme poverty, and end hunger and malnutrition in Liberia.
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