Burkina Faso SRI activities - the System of Rice Intensifcation

Burkina Faso

Progress and Activities

Preliminary SRI trials underway in Burkina Faso

Soil sampling in SRI field Timothy J. Krupnik, PhD student in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) reports that preliminary SRI trials are being carried out during this rainy season in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The 6 volunteer SRI farmers have previously participated in the FAO Farmer Field School Integrated Pest and Production Management program in the Valée du Kou irrigation scheme and are accustomed to experimenting with new production methods. Their results will be compared with 6 matched farmers using standard recommended farmers practices (FP) which are relatively input-intensive. Tim Krupnik and Brema, a Burkinabe farmer, are shown above taking soil samples at the evaluation site in Valle du Kou.

SRI results will be compared with those from conventional FPs in the study area, which currently give a reported average yield of 3.5 t/ha, quite good for West Africa. Despite the reported yields by farmers in this irrigation scheme, national rice production figures in Burkina Faso are much less encouraging: per hectare yields are 2.6 tons, below the global average, and up to 15% of the harvest is regularly lost to pests. In the Valée du Kou, recommended FPs include applying up to 300 kg of mineral fertilizers per ha; transplanting at 2-3 weeks after nursery seeding, with up to 5 seedlings/hill and around 15 cm spacing. Conventional methods also include ample use of herbicides and pesticides and maintaining at least 5 cm of water throughout the cropping season, when available.

The SRI trials include application of about 360 kg of composted cattle manure/ha, transplanting single seedlings at 10-12 days, with 25 cm spacing in a grid pattern, and limited irrigation. Push weeders are available in the study area and will be employed to manage weeds at least twice during the cropping season. Both sets of trial plots are on similar iron-rich soils, with plot sizes of 500 m2.

Iron concentration in irrigation water In addition to measuring yield components, the study will examine a number of additional factors. The potential for SRI water management practices to reduce soil iron toxicity (a common problem in tropical African soils) through paddy dry-downs will be examined in tandem with basic hydrologic estimates of water savings. Farmers already know that iron toxicity is mitigated by draining the paddy fields. The photo at right shows iron concentration on irrigated paddy soils in Valle du Kou.

In the research, paddy dry-downs are hypothesized as potentially advantageous in the control some of the more difficult pests encountered in West African rice production. For example, the primary pest of Burkanabé rice, the African rice gall midge (Orseolia oryzivora), thrives in the humid environment normally found in flooded and dense rice crop canopies. By altering this microclimate, SRI techniques may narrow the midge’s available niche and reduce infestations. Similar effects will be examined for stem-borer complexes.

However, these practices may entail some ecological or social trade-offs. Consequently, the development of weed populations will be regularly monitored throughout the cropping season. Even though this first year’s study is preliminary, the relative economic costs and benefits that may result from the alternative cultivation practices will be examined.

More detailed work is expected to continue during the 2007-2008 cropping season comparing SRI, farmers’ practices and best management practices, guided by the results of this year’s assessment and by farmers’ interests and ideas for adapting SRI practices to better fit Burkanabé farming systems. Additionally, plans are currently under way to do paired experiments in both Burkina Faso and Benin with researchers at the Africa Rice Center (WARDA)/Centre du riz pour l’Afrique (ADRAO). This should permit a robust comparison of the experimental results.

Currently, this research is supported by the Department of Environmental Studies at UCSC, the FAO Farmer Field School Integrated Pest and Production Management program in Burkina Faso, and the Burkanabé Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles.

For more information, contact Tim Krupnik by e-mail or US phone: (001) 831-227-6437; Burkina Faso phone: (226) 70-39-00-41; Skype instant messaging: timothy_krupnik; Skype phone and voice mail: 831-706-2652.