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Progress and Activities

2008-2009 UPDATES

Report on 2008 SRI Trials
The Natural Resource Management team of the Aga Khan Foundation-Afghanistan working in Baghlan Province has compiled a report on the 2008 season. Its first-year trials in 2007 were not very successful, as the SRI crop was transplanted one month late and given the high altitude (1700 m) with cool temperatures and a short growing season, the SRI plants gave disappointing yields (3 tons/ha compared to 6.5 tons/ha for the controls). The SRI plant tillering was impressive, however, so six farmers volunteered to do carefully-controlled and monitored trials in 2008. This year, the situation was quite reversed, with SRI yields averaging 10.13 tons/ha and the controls yielding 5.41 tons/ha. A photo of transplanting 11 day old seedlings is shown at right (see larger photo). One farmer, Juma Gul, calculated his yield at 11.56 tons/ha. The seasonal report was compiled by Ali Mohammed Ramzi on behalf of the AKF-A team. (See also smaller size report without photos).

• A New Season of SRI Trials Underway in Baghlan Province
Ali Muhammad Ramzi reports that the 2008 SRI tranplanting for Aga Khan's PMIS farm in Baghlan province began on May 21 (see reports with photos of seedbed preparation and marking/transplanting). During a subsequent farm visit with Juma Gul, an SRI volunteer farmer in the Kelagai Project Canal, 133 tillers were counted on a single plant transplanted 72 days earlier (at right)-- which the Kelagai farmers found astonishing.

• Kabir reviews German Agro Action Progress in Taloqan District
During May, 2008, Humayun Kabir returned to Afghanistan's Taloqan, Takhar Province, to review German Agro Action (GAA)'s SRI activities carried out in conjunction with their Project on Social Management of Water (SMWA). SRI was introduced by the project in 2007 as part of its food security strategy with particular attention to efficient use and management of water by the farmers. While the initial efforts were not completely successful, one of the farmers got a yield of 490 kg from 500 sq.m. area (9.8 tons per hectare), which is considered a good achievement for a SRI beginner. After identifying the weaknesses in the original project, at least 50 farmers from 7 clusters are expected to participate in SRI trials duirng 2008 (see report for details).

2007
• Encouraging First-Year Trials and Demonstrations
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) program operating in the north of the country has sent in a seasonal report from the first year of trials and demonstrations in Baghlan and Takhar provinces. The plant growth achieved was impressive ­ as many as 120 tillers per plant at 96 days ­ but transplanting was done too late to capitalize upon the crop potential given the short growing season there. AKF organized visits and training for dozens of farmers involved in its programs and in that of the German NGO Agro-Action, so there was both much interest and concrete plans were set for an expanded and better-timed effort in 2008. (An agricultural engineer working with the German NGO Agro-Action, Fazlullah, has previously reported plans to introduce and evaluate SRI methods in Kunduz, a northern community in Afghanistan).

• Update on AKF SRI Trials and Trainings in Baghlan Province
With support from the Aga Khan Foundation, SRI colleague in India Parcha Kishan Rao, has trained farmers in Baghlan Province who have started demo-trials in three locations. Field supervisor Ali Muhammad has sent a report (July '07) to AKF/Afghanistan coordinator, Atanu De, which is now available for anyone interested in following this initiative. (See also May '07 field report). Weeding emerged as the most significant difficulty; however, weed problems have been handled by combining manual and mechanical weeding. Neighboring farmers who were skeptical about transplanting such tiny seedlings are now impressed by plant growth. The number of tillers at 42 days after transplanting has reached 48 in some SRI plants. A subsequent report (August '07) said that some SRI plants had reached a total of 120 tiller.

2003
• SRI Introduced into Ajrestan
In July 2003, Humayun Kabir, agricultural advisor for the Metta Development Foundation in Myanmar, visited Afghanistan for 10 days to introduce SRI to farmers in Ajrestan, a relatively peaceful area in the central part of the country. The visit was arranged by Mohammed Daoud, a prominent member of that community who wants farmers in the area to have better options for use of the limited water supply available from their irrigation system. While in Kabul, Kabir also met with a consortium of NGOs that are working on agricultural development in Afghanistan and that showed much interest in SRI possibilities. (As of 2007, however, we had no information on results from the 2003 initiative to introduce SRI methods in the Ajrestan area).

• SRI Introduced to NGO in Mazar-e-Sharif
Cornell PhD student Mark Henning has also introduced SRI to an NGO, Joint Development Associates International, working around Mazar-e-Sharif in the north. We hope that SRI can be made use of in Afghanistan as this country has great need for improving its food security without relying on external inputs.

Workshops/Trainings

• An SRI training was undertaken in Ajrestan during Humayun Kabir's 2003 visit to Afghanistan.

Reports and Articles

• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2008 (Nov. 9). SRI Final Report for 2008 . Communication from Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan PMIS social organizer/NRM officer to V. Thomas.
  [version with photos, 6 p., 824 KB pdf]
  [version without photos, 5 p. 82 KB]
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2008 (May 20). PMIS/NRM/SRI Marking the plots & transplantation 2008. Communication from Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan PMIS socialorganizer/NRM officer to V. Thomas. 4 p. (785 KB pdf)
• Kabir, Humayun. 2008 (May 1-19). Report on Short-term Technical Assistance to German Agro Action (GAA) for its Project on Social Management of Water in Afghanistan (SMWA), Taloqan Province, Afghanistan. Unpublished field visit report. German Agro Action (GAA). 14 p. (256 KB pdf)
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2008 (May 09). SRI Seed soaking, seedbed preparation & seed broadcasting (PMIS/NRM/SRI practical work for 2008) . Communication from Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan PMIS social organizer/NRM officer to V. Thomas. 3 p. (364 KB pdf)
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2007 (Aug.). Final Report on SRI Practices in Baghlan and Takhar Provinces, 2007. Report to Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan by the PMIS social organizer/NRM officer. 9 p. (619 KB pdf)
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2007 (Aug) Update on SRI demo-plots in Baghlan Province. Report to Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan by the PMIS social organizer/NRM officer. 3 p. (542 KB pdf)
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2007(July 23) . PMIS/NRM: Brief report on SRI demo-plots in Baghlan Province. Report to Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan by the PMIS social organizer/NRM officer. 5 p.(480 KB pdf)
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2007.Brief report on SRI farmers and agriculture students' field visit. Report to Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan by the PMIS social organizer/NRM officer.. May 9. 3 p. (430 KB pdf)
• Kabir, Humayun. 2003. Introduction of SRI into Afghanistan, a July 2003 trip report by the agricultural advisor for the Metta Development Foundation in Myanmar (308 KB pdf)

Presentations

• Photos of the Aga Khan Foundation SRI work in Afghanistan can be found in nearly all the reports listed under in the Reports and Articles section of this web page.
• Ramzi, Ali Muhammad. 2007. System of Rice Intensification Presentation - PMIS Project. PowerPoint presentation (saved as pdf) for farmers by the Aga Khan Foundation/Afghanistan PMIS NRM officer. 15 slides. (2.12 MB pdf)