Home

 News

 Methodology

 Advantages

 Origins

 Countries

 Research

 Articles

 Extension Info

 CIIFAD Report

 Proceedings

 Discussions

Overview

Willem Stoop began investigating the advantages of introducing SRI into Mali and other West African countries in 1999 while working at West African Rice Development Association (now the African Rice Center), which temporarily relocated to Mali when conditions in the Ivory Coast became unproductive. Although Norman Uphoff had discussions with World Vision/Mali and the government's Institute for Economic Research (IER) on setting up SRI trials in Mali in 2003, substantial progress with SRI began only in 2007 when Africare, an NGO working on agricultural and rural development, initiated SRI demonstration trials in the Timbuktu region. The experiments were managed by farmers in the Goundam district with technical assistance from Erika Styger, who learned about SRI while doing her PhD thesis research in Madagascar with CIIFAD. During the 2007/2008 cropping season, Africare undertook a first demonstration of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in two villages. The yield increase using SRI was remarkable: 8.98 tons/hectare, 34% more than the best use of farmers’ rice planting methods (see report). During the 2008/2009 season, average SRI yield of 53 farmers in 12 villages reached 9.1 t/ha. On average SRI yields were 66% higher compared to the control plots with 5.49 t/ha and 87% higher compared to the surrounding rice fields with 4.86 t/ha (see report). Duirng 2009, adaptations of SRI methods to wheat production (SWI) potential for significantly increasing yields levels, by developing better direct-seeding techniques, reduce the spacing between plants, and by targeting the optimal planting time (see report).

Progress and Activities

2007-2009

System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) Trials Begin in Timbuktu Region
Three village leaders, among the SRI pioneers in the Timbuktu region, decided to adapt the techniques used in SRI to their off-season crop wheat: i) application of organic matter at 10-15 tons/ha, ii) seeding or transplanting one plant/pocket using 25 cm x 25 cm spacing in a square pattern  iv) use of a cono-weeder, and v) reduced irrigation during the vegetative growth period. SWI was compared to the conventional practice, which is based on: i) covering seeds with topsoil brought in from outside the plot, ii) seed broadcasting, iii) hand weeding, and v) irrigation that is sufficient but does not incur water stagnation. 

Wheat yield for SWI direct seeded (SWI DS) was 2.2 t/ha, or 13% higher compared to the control, which obtained 1.97 t/ha. Transplanted SWI (SWI TR) showed a 29% yield decline over the control with 1.4t/ha. Low yield levels are explained with the late planting of the crop, under which wheat maturation coincided with the hot winds and rising temperatures. On the other hand, yield parameters of SWI were remarkably superior compared to control, such as the number of tillers/plant, number of panicle/plant, % of fertile tillers, panicle length, number of grains/panicle, and the thousand-grain weight. Importantly, labor requirement and amount of irrigation water used for SWI was reduced by 35-40% and 25-30%, respectively.

Despite the limited yield increases in this first year, there seems to be much potential for significantly increasing yields levels, by developing better direct-seeding techniques, reduce the spacing between plants, and by targeting the optimal planting time (see report).

New SRI Manual Produced in French
Based on its work in the Timbuktu region of Mali, Africare has prepared an illustrated manual in French language for the dissemination of SRI methods on a wider basis in Mali and the Sahel. The document was drawn up in collaboration with the Goundam (Timbuktu region) sector office of the Government of Mali agriculture extension service, with financial support from the Better U Foundation of Los Angeles, Califronia.

SRI Making Excellent Progress in Timbuktu during 2008-2009
During the 2007/2008 cropping season, Africare undertook a first demonstration of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in two villages. The yield increase using SRI was remarkable: 8.98 tons/hectare (t/ha), 34% more than the best use of farmers’ rice planting methods. Based on this success, the Better U Foundation provided a grant to Africare for a much larger project: to assess the performance of SRI with 60 farmers in 12 villages during the 2008-2009 growing season in the circles of Goundam and Dire, which are among the most food insecure areas in Mali. Sixty farmers worked with Africare entirely on a volunteer basis, and received on-going technical support, no other material support, except two simple mechanical weeders for each village (see report).

The SRI plots were planted over a two-month period from June 26th to September 2nd, and were harvested from October 21st to December 23rd, 2008. According to the report, average SRI yield of 53 farmers reached 9.1t/ha, with lowest yield being 5.4 t/ha and highest being 12.4t/ha. On average SRI yields were 66% higher compared to the control plots with 5.49t/ha and 87% higher compared to the surrounding rice fields with 4.86t/ha. All yield parameters were superior in SRI compared to the control plots. Although SRI plots contained from 3.5 to 5 times fewer plants per square meter at the time of transplanting, at harvest the number of panicles/m2 was 31% higher than in the control plots. Also, the one-plant SRI pockets produced an average of 50% more tillers than the three plants per pocket in the control plots.

Although production costs per hectare were slightly higher for SRI -- 15% and 25% compared to the control and farmer practice plots, respectively-- SRI revenues were 2.1 and 2.4 times higher. Under SRI, only 6 kg of seeds were used per hectare compared to 40-60 kg under farmers’ practice, a reduction of 85-90%. With the application of organic matter, chemical fertilizer inputs were reduced by 30%. Irrigation was reduced by 10%, which is not yet an optimal result, as reductions of 25-50% were achieved elsewhere in the world.

Many lessons have been learned from this evaluation, but most importantly that the yield and economic improvement of SRI compared to the control plots were significant across all locations. At the end of the season, farmers were excited and enthusiastic about SRI, stating they are ready to adopt SRI practices at an increased scale next year. Farmers listed many advantages, from reduced seed use, reduced water use, less weeding time, better and faster plant development, and most important, increased yields. Overall, farmers did not find any real disadvantages with SRI, although they mentioned constraints, mostly to do with increased labor for land preparation and for transplanting, and as SRI becomes more popular, the likely lack of sufficient animal manure for all the fields.

Responding to these constraints, it is essential to further adapt SRI practices to local conditions, and improve technical feasibility for farmers to expand the area under SRI. Among the most important topics are:

• the in-situ production of compost to generate quality organic matter for fertilization
• to improve soil preparation techniques by testing and introducing small machinery for tilling and leveling
• to improve transplanting techniques,
• to evaluate locally available Oryza glaberrima varieties and NERICA varieties under SRI
• to rigorously examine the reduction potential for irrigation, in order to generate solid technical recommendations for the Timbuktu region.

The challenge remains to introduce SRI across the region where farmers who have not yet seen rice perform under SRI, and to assist all interested male and female farmers to carefully apply the SRI techniques, in order to take full advantage of the synergies and the production potential of SRI.

SRI Introduced in Timbuktu Region (2007-2008)
Africare, an NGO working on agricultural and rural development in the Timbuktu region on the edge of the Sahara desert, initiated SRI demonstration trials in 2007 managed by farmers working with its food security in the Goundam district (shown below; click on photo to enlarge). Erika Styger, who learned about SRI while doing her PhD thesis research in Madagascar with CIIFAD, provided the technical assistance -see 2007 seasonal report (English version or French version) as well as the SRI Timbuktu website. The control plot average was 6.69 t/ha, well above the usual yields in the area due to very good management, but the SRI yield averaged 8.98 t/ha, 34% higher. Since this was achieved without access to a soil-aerating mechanical weeder, now received, it appears that still greater yield improvement would be possible. Africare has prepared plans for expansion of the demonstration trials in the next season and hopes to incorporate this effort into a longer-term project with USAID funding and Rodale Institute technical cooperation.

Erika earlier reported on a two-day field program that Africare organized for farmers in October which included field visits organized to see the SRI crop with training sessions and a video on SRI produced in Madagascar.

By coincidence, the Regional Director from the Ministry of Agriculture in Timbuktu paid an unannounced visit at this time and saw the fields and video and participated in the discussions. He said he was pleased with the interaction and would like more regional personnel to visit the plots. Although there were no crop harvest results yet, the phenotypical effects of SRI practices were impressive. One SRI plant had 63 tillers compared with 49 from a clump of several plants in the control plot. Crop performance could have been better as there was no access to a mechanical hand weeder, so weeding had been done by hand, with no soil aeration and irrigation applications had been less well managed than expected. The group ended the program with considerable enthusiasm for a next round of trials and demonstrations.

Styger writes: “An anecdote was told by an elder of the group, a very wise and respected man, who was encouraging the experimentation to its fullest. He reminded everybody to be open to making changes in some practices and to really put all their energy into doing it right. He said that he is convinced about SRI as he himself, when he was a kid and working with his dad, had some experience in that direction. It happened that when the moment for transplanting came, most of their nursery was demolished, and there were very few seedlings left. They planted single rice plants with large spacing, he said (he wasn’t sure about the age of seedlings), and indeed they got a better harvest than their neighbors. Unfortunately they didn't continue experimenting with this observation. At the end I told him, if things would have turned out a bit differently, he might have become the first SRI farmer, and we would have watched a movie not from Madagascar, but from Mali.” Styger will be visiting Goundam at the end of the season to assist in the harvest and will post a report on results on this page when available.

(See Mali Archives for SRI activities prior to 2007)

Reports and Articles

• Styger, E. and H. Ibrahim. 2009 (July 7). The System of Wheat Intensification (SWI): First Time Testing by Farmers in Goundam and Dire, Timbuktu, Mali 2009. Timbuktu Food Security Initiative (TFSI), Africare and USAID, Bamako, Mali. 20 p. (962 KB pdf)
• Styger, E. 2009. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) - Community-based evaluation in Goundam and Dire Circles, Timbuktu, Mali, 2008/2009. Africare, Bamako, Mali. 35 p. (4.02 MB pdf)
  French version: Système de Riziculture Intensive (SRI) - Évaluation communautaire dans les Cercles de Goundam et de Dire, Tombouctou, Mali, 2008/2009. 50 p. (4.04 MB pdf)
• 2008. First Experiences from Timbuktu - Mali. Farmer-led SRI Test in Goundam - 2007/2008, GFSI Project, Africare, Mali. 8 p. (see also French version).
• 2003. The System of Rice Intensification from Madagascar: Myth or Missed Opportunity?, Report on a study visit by Willem A. Stoop to the "Hauts Plateaux" region of Madagascar, March 3-15, 2003. 16p.

Extension Material

• Styger, Erika, M.A. Attaher, H. Guindo, H. Ibrahim, I. Abba, M. Diaty, M. Traore and M.S. Mahamar. 2009. Fiche Technique pour le Système de Riziculture Intensive (SRI) à Tombouctou, Mali. Africare, Bamako, Mali. 27 p. (1.89 MB pdf)