SRI International Network and Resources Center

MALI SRI ARCHIVES (1999 - 2012)

Progress (2013-2019)	Practical Information	Slide Presentations
Activity Archives (1999-2012)	Timbuktu Blog (2008-2009)	Videos
Reports / Evaluations	Timbuktu Website	Photo Collection

SRI Activity Archives (1999-2012)

(for more recent news, see main SRI Mali page)

2012

• Scientific Article on SRI in Mali Published in the ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science

  [September 2012] SRI research undertaken by Dr. Minamba Bagayoko, plant nutrition and soil scientist at the Niono Regional Agronomic Research Center, Segou Region, was published in the ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science during August 2012. Bagayoko, who was the first researcher in Mali to conducted long-term studies on SRI there, worked closely with farmers during his research. His paper, "Effects of plant density, organic matter and nitrogen rates on rice yields in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in the "Office du Niger" in Mali," detailed experiments to determine the influence of combined application of farmyard manure and different levels of inorganic fertilizer on growth, yield and yield components with SRI methods in Mali. The results indicated significant yield benefit of the SRI system and significant interaction between row spacing and soil fertility level occurred showing that row spacing as wide as 30cm x 30cm can be used in SRI system when soil fertility is high. However, when soil fertility level is low, better results were obtained with row spacing of 25cm x 25cm or narrower. Although good yield was obtained using farmyard manure, the studies showed the addition of mineral fertilizer still increases rice yield indicating that combination of organic and inorganic fertilizer should be considered for sustaining rice yields.

  During July 2012, Dr. Bagayoko presented some of his SRI findings at the First West Africa SRI workshop, which was attended by researchers and other participants from 13 West African countries. (See YouTube interview with Bagayoko).

• NCOS Mali Co-Organizes West Africa SRI Workshop in Burkina Faso

  Information on SRI in Mali was presented at a Regional Workshop on System of Rice Intensification of (SRI), which was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on July 26 and 27, 2012. The workshop was organized by the National Center of Specialization for Rice (NCOS Mali), the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) and SRI-Rice (Cornell University) within the framework of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP). Oxfam America sponsored participation for civil society representatives.

  Dr. Gaoussou Traoré, workshop leader and coordinator of the National Center of Specialization on Rice of Mali (NCOS/WAAPP), elaborated on the background and goals of the event in a video interview (shown at right). The objective of the workshop, which attracted 60 participants from 13 West African countries, was to define an approach for the integration of SRI in research and extension programs in the 15 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries by 2015.

  For more information on the workshop, see ChronicleOnline article, PowerPoint presentations, workshop agenda, photos and video interviews with (See YouTube interviews with three of the workshop participants from Mali: Gaoussou Traoré (workshop coordinator), Minamba Bagayoko (scientist), and Mamadou Sissakom (farmer).

• Africare Projects Carry On in Spite of Unrest in Northern Mali

  Since March 2012, armed groups have occupied Mali's North, forcing Africare to flee from the sustainable projects in Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. Africare's operations, including the SRI efforts, were relocated to a region South of Timbuktu called the Kilukuru in the districts of Nara, Ouagadou and Dilly, where internally displaced persons from the North are settling and finding refuge. Even with the setback, the farmers working under the USAID funded project Timbuktu Food Security Initiative (TSFI) have reportedly yielded a better crop than projected this year. According to accounts from the conflict area, cooperatives established to support the smallholder farmers have come together to protect grain stocks against looting by armed groups, going as far as storing them in individual households.

2011

• Sub-Regional Training on SRI Organized by Africare Mali in Goundam

  A sub-regional workshop training on SRI took place November 114-18, 2011, in Goundam, which is in Mali's Timbuktu Region. Organized by Africare Mali, the workshop included representatives of Africare from Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali; Department of Agriculture technicians and researchers; representatives from several farmers' organizations in Timbuktu and Gao regions, the head of the rice sector for the Integrated Initiatives for Economic Growth in Mali (IICEM) and the mayor of Goundam (see enlargeable photo at right). The overall objective of this workshop was to strengthen the participants' technical capacity to implement SRI at the field level and to ensure better dissemination of the technique in Mali. (See French language report for more information).

• Africare Wins Best Practice Award for Natural Resources Management and Adaptation to Climate Change

  On May 4, 2011, InterAction, an worldwide alliance of NGOs, announced its award winners for the third round of the Best Practices and Innovations (BPI) Initiative. This initiative is designed to boost the efficiency and impacts of field programs in the rural livelihoods and food security, promote information sharing of effective program approaches, and improve practice standards. Africare won the Best Practice Award for Natural Resources Management and Adaptation to Climate Change for its System of Rice Intensification (SRI) project that "aims to alleviate poverty through strengthening the social and economic status of women and their families so that they can become active members of civil society in Mali." Working in the Timbuktu Region, the project achieves food and livelihood security by increasing food production, boosting rural incomes, improving health and nutrition, increasing gender equity, and strategically managing natural resources. In addition, women are becoming more active participants in rice production and are now able to contribute to the overall household income and are now seen as active contributors to the well-being of the family. Africare's project, along with the other four BPI winners, is highlighted on InterAction's food security aid map.

2009-2010

• Regional and Bilateral USAID Team Leaders Receive Award for SRI Promotion

  According to an article on the USAID West Africa website, USAID efforts in promoting SRI in one of Mali’s rice-growing regions have been recognized with the presentation of awards to a regional and a bilateral team leader. Kokou Zotoglo, the rice value chain leader for USAID/West Africa’s Expanded Agribusiness and Trade Promotion (USAID E-ATP) program, and Djiguiba Koyaté, his counterpart at USAID/Mali’s Integrated Initiatives for Economic Growth in Mali (USAID IICEM), were given the "Tiwara" ("Lion of Work" in Bambara) award from government and civil society leaders in the Circle of San in the Ségou region for their collaboration in introducing SRI techniques into the region. USAID learned about SRI from Africare's work with SRI Tombouctou in 2007. At a February 2010 national workshop on the findings of the experimental use of SRI, Kokou recommended to IICEM that the process be taken out of the experimental arena and into the experiential setting of Mali’s natural rice-growing fields.

  The results were presented at an August joint USAID E-ATP and USAID/Mali IICEM workshop, attended by rice stakeholders from across West Africa who were taken into the fields to see for themselves the effects of SRI. Farmers were so pleased that they claimed they didn't need any more agricultural advisors.

• Two Journal Articles and a Poster Highlight SRI Experiences in Timbuktu

  Erika Styger and her colleagues in Mali recently published an article in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. "The system of rice intensification as a sustainable agricultural innovation: introducing, adapting and scaling up a system of rice intensification practices in the Timbuktu region of Mali" was published online in Februrary in an issue on sustainability in Africa. A second article, " Application of system of rice intensification practices in the arid environment of the Timbuktu region in Mali" is now available in an online version of the journal Paddy and Water Environment. A related poster, Impact of SRI practices in cropping system resilience to fluctuating climate conditions in Timbuktu Region, Mali, was presented at the 3rd International Rice Congress, held in Hanoi, Vietnam during November 2010.

• USAID Project Shows Success with SRI in Gao, Mopti, Timbuktu andSikasso

  Following up on the promising results obtained with SRI by Africare in the Timbuktu region, USAID’sIntegrated Initiatives for Economic Growth in Mali (IICEM) project introduced SRI concepts and practices to farmers into the regions of Gao and Mopti, and several locations not already covered by Africare in Timbuktu as well as testing adaptations of SRI principles to the rainfed rice cropping systems in the Sikasso region (see report). Together with the national agriculture research institution (IER), the Regional Agriculture Service (DRA) and local NGOs, a team of 25 field technicians worked with 118 farmers in 21 villages across the four regions.

  For the irrigated systems, SRI yield performance was superior to the control plots and the yield average of the irrigation perimeters (PIV) was increased by 40% to 68% in all three regions despite a one-month delay in the onset of the rainy season. Planting in the irrigated systems in Gao, Mopti, Timbuktu and rainfed systems in Sikasso - 2009/2010 was monitored by Erika Styger for Abt. Associates Inc. Average SRI yields for all farmers were 7.0 t/ha in Timbuktu and 7.84t/ha and 7.85t/ha in Gao and Mopti, respectively, with yields on the PIVs somewhat lower. All yield parameters were superior for the SRI plots compared to the control plots. The best yielding longer cycle varieties produced 8-10t/ha of rice grain in all three regions. Farmers began to adopt certain SRI practices for their control plots as well and also reduced their fertilizer application by 50% in Gao, 63% in Mopti and 72% in Timbuktu. The report, which concludes that SRI practices present an economic and environmentally friendly alternative to current rice cultivation practices in northern Mali, is confirmed by farmers’ enthusiasm in all three regions regarding field performance of the rice crop and associated economic and food security benefits for the farmers themselves.

  In Sikasso, which has several variations of rainfed rice cultivation, tests were run on two research stations and in three villages. Direct-seeded rice was thinned to one plant/hill (planted in rows) with 25cm x 25cm spacing, application of organic matter and use of a cono-weeder used if the soil conditions permitted. Water could not be controlled in these non-irrigated plots. Adapted SRI plots showed consistently improved performance along the landscape gradient with the lowest response in the uplands and highest response in lowland zone. SRI plots in the lowland low zone obtained yields of over 5 t/ha compared to the uplands, which was 3t/ha. The best-performing variety produced 6.6 t/ha with SRI, which is more than double the 3t/ha often cited as a high yield in the Sikasso region. The next step should be to test SRI techniques using wide range of varieties in each of the four systems.

• Africare's Extends SRI Methods to 28 Villages in Timbuktu during 2009/2010 Season

  Participation of volunteer farmers in Africare's Timbuktu SRI projects, which began in 2007, more than quadrupled from 60 farmers in 2008 to 270 farmers in 2010, and extended from 12 villages to 28 villages. During 2009-2010, Africare collaborated with the Government Agriculture Technical Service at the local and regional level, and with the private firm CAFON. Village communities developed a farmer-to-farmer approach to assist the new farmers in correctly implementing the various SRI practices. Average SRI paddy yield for 130 randomly selected farmers (out of the 270 farmers) was 7.71 t/ha compared to 4.48 t/ha in farmers’ usual practice fields, which represents a 72% yield increase. Congruent with previous results, all measured yield parameters were superior in SRI plots compared to farmers’ fields. Even under sub-optimal conditions caused by delayed rains, SRI farmers were still able to produce acceptably high yields (6-8 tons), being less vulnerable to climate variability. An irrigation test showed that under SRI practices, water savings can be expected to be at least 32%.

  Trials with 15 varieties, long- and short-cycle improved varieties as well as seven indigenous O. glaberrima varieties, showed which performed best with SRI, though all had better yields with SRI than conventional methods. Though less productive, farmers maintain their traditional varieties, as they are highly important for food security, have a preferred taste, and are hardy under adverse environmental conditions. These traditional varieties will be included in future trials (See report for details).

• Mali Participation in SRI Knowledge Sharing Videoconference

  The World Bank Institute, in collaboration with several World Bank entities in Africa and the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) organized a series of knowledge exchange events related to coping with climate change in agriculture water management, in general, and applications of innovative agriculture practices with potential for climate adaptation, in particular (see flyer). The conference, Climate Adaptation: Producing More Crops per Drop of Water and with Less Input - Knowledge Sharing on System of Rice Intensification (SRI), took place on February 9, 2010. The event consisted of a 3-hour local workshop in Bamako, Mali, and 3-hour videoconferencing session linking participants from Bamako, Mali; Antananarivo, Madagascar; Chennai, India; and Washington, DC . More information and slide presentations from the videoconference are available on the World Bank Institute's site on South-South Knowledge sharing on SRI (event 2).

2008-2009 ACTIVITIES

• 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, California.

• 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.

2007

• SRI Introduced in Timbuktu Region During 2007

  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 subsequently planned for expansion of the demonstration trials in the next season, hoping to incorporate their 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 wrote: “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.”

1999-2003

• Early Expressions of Interest in 2003

  In November 2003, Norman Uphoff visited this country for CIIFAD in connection with its collaboration in the West African Water Initiative of USAID, the Hilton Foundation, World Vision and other partners. World Vision/Mali and the government's Institute for Economic Research (IER) both expressed interest in trying out SRI methods in this country, which has a large irrigated area in the Office du Niger project. No results have been reported from Mali.

• Willem Stoop Begins SRI Investigations in 1999

  The West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) -now the African Rice Center- which relocated to Mali when conditions for research in the Ivory Coast became unproductive, undertook evaluation research on SRI at its Ivory Coast location beginning in 1999. Though the early on-station results were been as good as generally seen on farmers' field, the physiological effects of SRI practices on tillering, leaf area and other indicators of productivity have been documented. (see WARDA results for 1999, 2001 and 2002). In 2003, Dr. Willem Stoop, who had been supervising the WARDA evaluations, visited Madagascar to observe SRI practices and results in their original location (see Stoop trip report). The African Rice Center is continuing evaluation work on SRI.