Scaling Up Climate-smart Rice Production in

West Africa

Dr. Erika Styger, SRI-Rice, Cornell UniversityFebruary 11, 2016

Issues in African Development Weekly Seminar

• Domesticated ca 3500 years ago in the Niger Inner Delta• Subsequently spread throughout West Africa

African Rice - Oryza glaberrima

Contribution of Rice to Calorific Intake in West Africa

Rice production in Sub-Saharan Africa

Each dot represents 20,000 tons Data: FAO,2006

Rice production 2006

64% of rice is produced in West Africa

Nigeria, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali

Ref: Warda (2008) Africa rice trends 2007

1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006

Rice production and consumption in SSA from

1961-2006

Production

Consumption 40% imported

West African Rice Offensive by ECOWAS Commission

Regional rice production – In 1980: 3.2 million tons– In 2010: 11.5-12.7 m t– Needs in 2020: 21-24.5

million tons (350 m consumers)

• Goal of Rice Offensive: double rice production (2010-2020)

• Built around National Rice Development Strategies (NRDS)

Strategic Policy Paper on the Regional Offensive for Sustainable Rice Production in West Africa

2012

Rice production basins in West Africa

Bulletin club du sahel-AO: Enjeu Ouest Africain N°2 Juin 2011

Major Rice SystemsSlash-and-burn rainfed Rice

Rainfed Upland Rice Rainfed Lowland Rice

Irrigated Rice

Yield: 1-2.5 t/haArea: 31%Production: 24%

Yield: 1 t/ha Area: 44%Production: 21%

Yield: 5-6 t/haArea: 12-14 %Production: 38%

Plowing

How is irrigated conventional rice grown?

Plowing – puddling – leveling – bunding the fields

Conventionally managed rice nurseries

Plowing

Flooded nurseries – uprooting in the water, seedlings ready for transport to field to be transplanted – 30-60 days old

Transplanting of seedlings3-5 seedlings/hill, 30-60 days old, 15 cm distance between hills

Use chemical fertilizer Herbicide use / hand weeding

Continuous Flooding (from planting time to harvest)

Climate-Smart Agriculture

Implemented through agro-ecological approaches:• Conservation agriculture• Agroforestry• System of Rice Intensification • others

http://www.fao.org/climatechange/climatesmart/en/

Triple Win

Productivity Adaptation Mitigation

What is SRI?• The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is an

agro-ecological and climate-smart methodology – For increasing the productivity of rice and other

crops– By changing the management of plants, soil, water

and nutrients, while reducing external inputs• Developed in Madagascar in the 1980s• SRI provides principles, guidelines and ideas – to be

adapted to local environment

http://sririce.org

Young seedlings (8-12 days) 1 seedling/hill Wide spacing 25x25cm and more

Older seedlings (30-60 days) 3-5 seedlings/hill Close hill spacing 10x15 cm

Conventional rice cultivation

SRI cultivation practices

Continuous flooding Use chemical fertilizer Herbicide use / hand weeding

Conventional rice practicees

SRI cultivation practices

Alternate wetting and drying Organic matter as base Mechanical weeding, IPM

in IRAQ’s Al-Mishkhab Research Center, Najaf: SRI on left, Non-SRI on the right

SRI practices induce a phenotypical change in rice

SRI Conventional SRI SRI Conventional Conventional

Roots are deeper, longer, double the volume and weight/ hill

Non SRI - flooded SRI – AWD conditions

Thakur, A.K et al (2011) Effects for rice plant morphology and physiology of water and associated mgt practices of SRI and their implications for crop performance, PAWE 9:13-24

Thiyagarajan et al. (2009) Principles and Practices of SRI in Tamil Nadu

Yield performance• More/similar number

of panicles/ m2 • Longer panicles

(+20%)• More grains/panicle • Fewer empty grains • 1000 grain weight is

heavier Non-SRI SRI

Increased Yields (often >50%)

Non-SRI SRI

Summary of Benefits • Yield Increase: often >50%• Water savings: 30-50% • Seed reduction: > 90%• Chemical fertilizer reduction:

20-40% (-100%)• Improved tolerance: pests and

diseases, drought, storms• Often production cost reduction• Income increase (>30-100%)

http://sririce.org

Sheath blight disease

Mali

Extension and Adoption of SRI in 201657 countries in 2016, 8-10 million farmers on 3.5 million hectares in 2013 or

2% of global rice area

Scaling up SRI in West Africa – What is the experience so far?

1. Early work on SRI In West Africa 2001-2006

• Benin 2001: 1 farmer, Echo intern: SRI 7.5t/ha • The Gambia 2002-2005: Research with farmers: SRI 5.4-8.3

t/ha• Guinea 2003: Chinese SRI research with hybrids: 9 t/ha• Senegal 2003-2009: Rodale Institute; Dissertation with

AfricaRice• Sierra Leone 2004: World vision, USAID, CRS: SRI 5.3t/ha vs

2.5t/ha• Burkina 2006: 6 farmers: SRI 7t/ha vs 3.5t/h a

SRI field trials remain isolated with no expansion beyond local level

2. Mali Experience with SRI (2007-2010)

Africare Food Security Project in Timbuktu in 2007• Small-scale irrigation

schemes at village level

• First test with SRI with one volunteer farmer

First SRI test in Mali in 2007

Mahamadou Hamadoun, Imam of Douegoussou village, Circle of Goundam, Region of Timbuktu, Mali 2007

First SRI farmer trial in Timbuktu, Mali, 2007Side-by-side comparison – 1 field onlyConventional (6.7 t/ha) – SRI practices (9 t/ha)

Timbuktu farming community evaluates the first SRI test

• Africare and Government agriculture extension service• 60 farmers in 12 villages in the Timbuktu region

60 farmers evalute and SRI in Timbuktu in 2008

60 farmers evaluate and adapt SRI in Timbuktu, 2008

Results from 60 farmers• Yield increase: +66 % à 87% • Less seed required: 85% à 90%:

Quantity used for SRI: 6.1 kg/ha Quantity used under usual farmer practice: 40-60 kg/ha

• Reduced fertilizer use: 30%• Reduced irrigation water use: 10% • Reduced production costs / kg paddy: 30%• Increased revenue per hectare: more than double

(Styger, 2008)

Technical Manual Detailed Technical Report Blog of Field Activities

Sharing the knowledge and experience 2008

Ministry of Agriculture, National Research Institution, USAID, World Bank, NGOs followed the blog, visited the farmers, read the reports, used the manual following year

Expanding from 1 to 5 regions in Mali in 2009

• TimbuktuNEW: 17 villages, 92 farmers‘OLD’: 21 villages, 250 farmers

• Gao– 8 villages, 39 farmers

• Mopti– 6 villages, 44 farmers

• Segou– 2 villages, 37 farmers

• Sikasso– 3 villages, 10 farmers

57 villages, 472 farmers

Africare, IICEM (USAID funded), Syngenta Foundation, IER (Nat. Research), Min Agriculture

First National SRI Conference in Bamako, February 2010

SRI yields Mali 2009

Expanding from 1 to 5 regions in Mali in 2009

• TimbuktuNEW: 17 villages, 92 farmers‘OLD’: 21 villages, 250 farmers

• Gao– 8 villages, 39 farmers

• Mopti– 6 villages, 44 farmers

• Segou– 2 villages, 37 farmers

• Sikasso– 3 villages, 10 farmers

57 villages, 472 farmers

Africare, IICEM Project (USAID funded), Syngenta Foundation, IER (National Research), Ministry of Agriculture

First National SRI Conference in Bamako, February 2010

3. SRI expands to West Africa Region 2010-2016

• Since 2010-2012: regional trainings by USAID projects IICEM, Mali and regional E-ATP in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Benin, Togo

• 1st West Africa ECHO Conference in Burkina Faso, 2010: followed by new SRI initiatives, e.g. Togo

• Increasing numbers of contacts between interested and SRI practicing West Africans and SRI-Rice

• 2012 SRI-Rice trip to West Africa to develop regional initiative: World Bank showed interest through West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP)

Improving and Scaling Up SRI in West Africa Project (2014-2016)

• Part of the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP)

• Coordinated by Regional Rice Center in Mali (CNS-Riz)• SRI-Rice, Cornell: Technical partner to regional coordination• Project developed through participatory process over 1.5

years with representatives from research, extension, farmers from 13 countries– First workshop in Ouagadougou, July 2012

• National WAAPP coordination • National Facilitator and focal Institution• SRI Champions (can be anyone: farmers, technicians etc)

SRI-WAAPP organizational structure

(NY, USA)

CORAF CNS-Riz

Funded by the World Bank

Each country has its own plan and funding for implementation through WAAPP

Institutional set up and implementation

• National WAAPP program• National research institute• Ministry of agriculture• National NGOs• Farmer organizations• Bilateral projects (USAID, JICA)• International NGOs• Private sector companies• Peace Corps• Others

Technical approach

Samuel Bimba, with his SRI field in Liberia, 2014

Climatic and agro-ecological zones of the project

Arid

Semi-arid

Semi-humid

Humid

Climate

Group a: Experienced Countries• Mali• Benin• Burkina FasoGroup B: Intermediate Countries• Ghana• Nigeria• Togo• Senegal • Sierra LeoneGroup C: Countries with little/no experience• Niger• Guinea• Gambia• Liberia• Cote-d’Ivoire

In 2014

General SRI-WAAPP Manual Adapted manuals for technicians and farmers

Year 1

Adapted manuals by climate zone and rice cropping system

Year 2 and 3

In Country Target Zones: • Tracking of yields, number of farmers, surface area, income• Trainings on SRI• Institutional capacity development • Publications • Participation in national rice innovation platforms

Monitoring and Evaluation System

Online data collection and mapping platform

www.sriafriqueouest.orgwww.sriwestafrica.org

Project websites:NewsletterInnovation NotesAdvocacy Notes

(in PDF and print)

Closed Facebook group,

WhatsApp group

SRI-WAAPP Regional Communication

SRI Activities 2014: training and field sites Improving and Scaling up SRI in West Africa

Burkina Faso

Côte d'Ivoire Ghana Mali Niger Nigeria Sénégal Average0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

4.1

4.91

2.02

4.55

5.07 5.13

4.3

6.25

6.92

3.34

8.2

6.95

7.48

10.5

7.09142857142857

Conv. Yield (t/ha)

SRI Yield (t/ha)

52%

41%

65%

80%

37%

105%

65%

tons/ha

Average rice yields (t/ha) per countryIrrigated Systems, West Africa

SRI WAAPP Project Data from 2014 22 Sites

Bénin Burkina Faso

The Gambia Ghana Guinée Nigeria Sénégal Sierra Leone

Togo Average0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

5.77

2.72

3.50

1.81

2.44

1.83

1.32

2.07

3.172.74

9.37

3.74

4.57

3.24

4.62

3.77

2.60

5.92

4.85 4.74

Conv. Yield (t/ha)

SRI Yield (t/ha)

SRI WAAPP Project Data from 2014

74 Sites

62%

38%

31%

79%

106%89%

186% 53%73%

97%

tons/ha

Average Rice Yields (t/ha) per countryLowland Rainfed Systems, West Africa

First SRI plot in Liberia, Dec 2012 by Community of Hope Agriculture Project (CHAP) Paynesville, Monrovia

First SRI test by Robert Bimba

President Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF opens a SRI field day, 2014

Paynesville, Monrovia

Liberia

SRI WAAPP Sites in all rice ecologies

Consortium of four partners:• ICAT: Ministry of Agriculture:

National facilitator• ITRA: national research institution • National NGO Graphe • National NGO ETD

SRI started in Togo in 2011 by Graphe• working in 4 villages

2014: 815 farmers trained2015: 1502 farmers trained in 60 villages through the Consortium

Togo

SRI-WAAPP• Focused project target zone: Fatick, Kaolack and Kaffrine regions – rainfed rice• 5,163 farmers to be trained in 2015• Exchange visits to PRODAM in Sep 2015• Trainings in Casamance and SRI-WAAPP target zone in Feb / Mar 2015

SenegalPRODAM

Casamance

SRI-WAAPP

• SRI activities since 2002• PRODAM – Large irrigated

IFAD project in NE; increasing to 2,000 hectares in 2015/16; yields 10-13 t/ha SRI, vs. 5.5-6 conv.

• Peace Corps• Cornell MPS students• Limited trials in Casamance

Some Difficulties with SRI-WAAPP project

• Multi-institutional collaboration within countries

• Timely disbursement of funding for field activities

• Data collection and reporting• Demand for SRI surpasses current capacity

and funding

Wider and long-term impact

• SRI to be included in the national rice development strategies in Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Ghana and Mali

• ECOWAS: SRI to be included in the Rice Offensive• Network of Farmers' and Agricultural Producers'

Organizations of West Africa for rice (ROPPA): committed to actively scale up SRI in West Africa

Conclusions• SRI practices can increase yields by >50% in irrigated and

rainfed rice systems across West Africa• Broad range of actors in 13 ECOWAS countries acquired

capacity and expertise to adapt the SRI practices to their national rice systems

• Ministries of Agriculture in all countries are on board• Large geographic coverage achieved - but SRI adoption still

needs to go to scale• Political commitment is further needed• Diversified technical and financial partnerships are needed

Thank you!

Contact Erika: eds8@cornell.edu