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Progress and Activities

• SRI Evaluations Proceeding in Cooperation with WARDA

Tim Krupnik, PhD candidate in environmental studeis and agroecology at University of California, Santa Cruz, is carrying out an evaluation of SRI methods under the auspices of the African Rice Center (WARDA) in cooperation with key Senegalese agricultural research institutions and with FAO Global Integrated Production and Pest Management Facility. He is evaluating agronomic productivity, soil, water and pest management practices, and also assessing socio-economic tradeoffs. There are on-station trials being conducted, including varietal trials, at two locations in the Senegal River Valley, and also on-farm trials in the Podor region. An interim report on the research is now available in English or French. (Additional photos are contained in Krupnik's 2007 report). The picture at right shows the new cono weeder that the project is evaluating. (Click on pictures to enlarge).

• The first SRI trials in Senegal were done in 2003 at the initiative of Dr. William Settle (FAO), with two sets of side-by-side comparison trials. Yield on the control plots was 4 and 5 t/ha, while that on the SRI plots was 9 and 11 t/ha, once again showing that a doubling of yield can often, not necessarily always, be obtained with SRI methods. Senegal has been included along with six other West African countries in a large FAO project receiving Dutch funding, and complementary GEF funding, for work on ecologically-sustainable agriculture. The project has provided for the training of 30,000 farmers in SRI concepts and methods. Peace Corps Volunteer Carrie Miner working at village level in Kolda region has had some initial success introducing SRI to farmers there. Her and their experience is written up in an article by Nathan McClintock in Rodale Institute's on-line magazine, The New Farm.

Reports and Articles

Krupnik, Tim, and Makfousse Sarr. 2008 (Aug/Sept.). Current Research and Evaluation Efforts of the System of Rice Intensification in the Senegal River Valley. (unpublished report) 10 p. (pdf)

Krupnik, Tim, and Makfousse Sarr. 2008 (Aug/Sept.). Recherche en cours et efforts d’évaluation du Système d’intensification du Riz dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal. (unpublished report) 11 p. (pdf)

McClintock, Nathan C. 2006. Sustainable in Senegal: Profiles in Senegalese Regenerative Agriculture - Diabou Balde, Rice Farmer, Manthiankaning, Kolda region. March 9, 2006 posting in The New Farm (online). Rodale Institute. http://www.newfarm.org/international/senegal/0306/index.shtml.