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.
...Fulale Mbinga, an enterprising woman is one of 30 farmers mentored by her spouse, a lead farmer for the area. The lead farmer is happy that eight of the farmers he leads have adopted SRI, which helped him yield almost a tonne from plots that previously produced just about 500kg.
“One-one [SRI] is a game changer because we harvest more even with erratic rains which vanish too early for rice which requires adequate water,” he says. By following the tips from field officers deployed by Kaporo North Farmers Association, Sichali harvests up to 12 bags weighing 90kg each from plots dedicated to SRI.
The Adaptation Fund (AF) has just approved the “Scaling up Climate Resilient Rice Production in West Africa” (RICOWAS) project, during the thirty-seventh board meeting, held on October 19-21, 2021.
With a four-year implementation period, RICOWAS is the largest regional project funded by the AF in Africa with a total amount of $ 14 million and affecting thirteen ECOWAS countries; namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The project focuses on scaling-up SRI in combination with agro-ecozone specific Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLWM) practices, which is being coined as Climate-Resilient Rice Production (CRRP). The overall purpose of the project is to improve climate resilience and increase the productivity of the rice system of smallholder rice farmers in West Africa by adopting a climate-resilient rice production approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra7-7eAtQEM Here's the story of Mathew, one of the first System of Rice Intensification (SRI) farmers in Kenya. He has been successfully farming rice for 20 years in Mwea.
Les réalisations du Programme National pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et le Développement Rural des régions de l’Imbo et du Moso (PNSADR-IM) sont estimées à 90% dans la plaine de l’Imbo. Cela 10 mois avant sa clôture. Le Programme du Gouvernement financé par le FIDA, le GAFSP et les bénéficiaires, intervient depuis 2015 dans le renforcement de la sécurité alimentaire des populations des 9 communes de la région de l’Imbo et du Moso. « Que soit béni celui qui nous a enseigné le SRI », applaudit Jean Pierre Ndayishimiye, multiplicateur des semences de riz de la commune Mutimbuzi, province Bujumbura. Dans cette commune, le PNSADR-IM a réhabilité un marais de 808 hectares et a fait une extension de 202 hectares.
SRI-Rice's insight:
The achievements of Burundi's 6-year National Program for Food Security and Rural Development of the Imbo and Moso regions (PNSADR-IM), are estimated at 90% in the Imbo. "Blessed be he who taught us SRI," says Jean Pierre Ndayishimiye, a rice seed multiplier in Mutimbuzi commune, Bujumbura province where PNSADR-IM rehabilitated an 808 hectare marsh and extended it by 202 hectares. Before the PNSADR-IM intervention, Ndayishimiye harvested only 30-40 kg of paddy rice/ha. Since beginning to use SRI in 2019, the yield was 8 tonnes/ha. PNSADR-IM also made improvements in water distribution and regulation; provided storage structures, rice hullers, and credit access; and assistance with other crops.
An understanding of how the System of Rice Intensification method of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) has influenced sustainable solutions to smallholder paddy farmers’ challenges of poor yield and marketing in Kindia Prefecture, Guinea informed this study. Causal research design was used, involving a survey of 126 beneficiaries and 78 non-beneficiaries of WAAPP. Data were collected mainly on the farmers’ enterprise characteristics: improvement in productivity, sales, and income from paddy.
WAAPP- and non-WAAPP-participating farmers had >10 years of farming experience. Most WAAPP farmers (67.5%) achieved higher sales and income from paddy than in the past. The productivity of the WAAPP farmers was higher and significantly different from that of the non-WAAPP farmers. Farmers’ opinion of market prospects after waapp intervention and their age significantly influenced their change in productivity. The WAAPP increased paddy production.
SRI, as a green methodology, holds promise for food security, water savings, health and environmental benefits and improved productivity of rice in Africa. Over the past decade there has been a steady rise in adoption of SRI in five irrigation schemes in Kenya: Mwea, Ahero, Budalangi, West Kano and South West Kano. By December 2017, over 10,000 rice farmers had adopted SRI in the five schemes. The high adoption was driven by positive results. In Kenya, research has shown SRI increases rice yields by between 20% -100% depending on variety, with water savings of 25%-33%. The effects of SRI on mosquito breeding showed that all mosquito larvae died in paddies under SRI, while they remained alive and multiplied in conventional flooded paddies, indicating the methodology holds promise for reducing malaria prevalence. Furthermore, SRI produces a harder, better grain which has superior qualities on milling and marketing.
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.
The share of countries that referenced rice cultivation actions in new and updated National Determined Contributions (NDCs) has increased since the previous round of NDCs. Among the top 10 countries with the highest mitigation potential for rice cultivation, 4 countries mentioned rice mitigation actions. Seventeen countries quantified measures for rice cultivation in their new and updated NDCs, for the first time. ... 56% of countries mentioning adaptation actions in rice prioritized water management (10 of 18 countries), 33% mentioned System of Rice Intensification (SRI) (6), and 33% mentioned variety development (6). [An online spreadsheet linked to this article notes how many countries mentioned SRI by name in their NDCs with rice-related adaptation or mitigation (or both) plans (9 of 29 countries): Mitigation that included SRI: Dominican Republic, Senegal, and Mali and Adaptation that included SRI: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Togo]
SRI-Rice's insight:
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of these long-term goals. NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The pathway to sustainable rice in Congo’s Great Lakes region continues thanks to the PICAGL programme, funded by the World Bank and facilitated by Rikolto.
Since May 2019, 330 Farmer Field Schools have been set up in the provinces of South Kivu and Tanganyika. The objective was to improve rice productivity, reduce production costs and improve rice quality and sustainability through the dissemination and implementation of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM). The fields of each FFS were subdivided into plots where three different farming techniques were applied (the SRI, ISFM and farmers' normal practices).
250 FFS were set up and 7,687 rice farmers involved in the South-Kivu region
80 FFS set up and 2,000 rice farmers involved in the Tanganyika region
This is a presentation about the SRI efforts by the LINKS program, Catalysing Economic Growth for Northern Nigeria. It was authored by Tetra Tech International Development, who is implementing SRI activities in Jigawa and Kano States in order to raise farmer incomes by increasing yields while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, seed utilization, and water consumption in a commercially and environmentally sustainable manner.
La création de rizières écoles est une composante importante du projet Graines de Changement. Pour initier ce volet, Naturevolution s’est associée à l’association Tefy Saina pour effectuer une étude de faisabilité dans l’objectif d’étudier la possibilité de mettre en place un Système de Riziculture Intensive (SRI) dans les villages du pourtour du Makay. Cette initiative vise avant tout à sensibiliser et convaincre le plus d’agriculteurs possible de l’intérêt de ces nouvelles pratiques. Il est notamment question d’illustrer le gain en rendement afin que l’ensemble des rizières du village puissent être cultivées avec cette technique.
SRI-Rice's insight:
The development of a new rice cultivation technique is an important component of the Seeds of Change project. In order to initiate this component, Naturevolution joined forces with Tefy Saina, a Malagasy association created in 1990 by Laulanié's father to promote the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
SRI increases yield and profitability in West African rice farming, especially when locally adapted. Farmers adjust SRI to fit lowland rice farming, where water cannot be controlled and to address labour constraints. Additional labour for transplanting (instead of broadcasting) – coinciding with an existing labour bottleneck – constrains SRI adoption. SRI is mainly practised by marginal and accumulating farmers and to a lesser extent by medium farmers. Accumulating farmers invest in agriculture, farm profit-oriented and overcome labour constraints by hiring. Thus, they can practise SRI on larger scale and their absolute benefits are higher. Nevertheless, they rely on hired labour to do so, which strengthens workers' bargaining position. Consequently, SRI benefits all: accumulating farmers who employ as well as marginal farmers and hired labourers. Contrary to findings from Asia, SRI seems to be relatively pro-poor in West Africa.
Rice farmers in Jigawa state have received climate-smart training on a system of rice intensification (SRI), a new approach to rice production that increases crop productivity and reduces methane emissions by at least 22 per cent to a maximum of 64 per cent. The training was part of a tripartite partnership between the Foreign and Common Wealth Development Office (FCDO) of the British Government through its intervention on investment promotion under the LINKS Project, the Jigawa state government, and a leading commodity trading firm Silvex International Limited.
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More details of this project can be found on the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) site and a Dec. 2022 Cornell Chronicle article.