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Summary

History of SRI in Afghanistan:

Interactive Map of SRI Activities in Afghanistan

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Although several efforts were made by CIIFAD as early as 2003 to get SRI methods evaluated in Mazar-e-Sharif and Ajrestan (see report), there was no evident SRI uptake in Afghanistan before the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) began working with the methods in a systematic way in 2007; AKF trials in 2009 were successful, as were trials and outreach efforts every year since then. In May 2008, Humayun Kabir, agricultural advisor to the Metta Development Foundation in Myanmar, traveled to Taloqan District in Takhar Province to review German Agro Action (GAA)'s SRI activities which began in 2007. While the trials were not completely successful, one farmer recorded a yield of 490 kg from 500 sq.m. area (9.8 tons per hectare), and at least 50 farmers agreed to participate in 2008 SRI trials (see report). However, GAA reportedly withdrew due to security problems in later years. [Click on the interactive map below and drag curser to find blue SRI sites referred to above. Then click on the blue site marker for SRI information].

Aga Khan Foundation - Afghanistan Experience: In 2007, the Participatory Management of Irrigation Systems program (PMISP) of the Aga Khan Foundation began introducing SRI in the northern provinces of Baghlan and Takhar. AKF brought in Parcha Kishan Rao, an SRI farmer-trainer in Andhra Pradesh, India, to instruct farmers in three locations on the new methods. These first trials were not successful because the crop was planted one month late and the area has a short growing season. Still, farmers were impressed by the SRI tillering that they saw, and some were willing to continue with evaluations.

In 2008, on-farm comparison trials of six farmers and a research station along the Jangharoq and Kelagai Canals gave very good SRI results, with average yields of 10.13 t/ha, compared with 5.41 t/ha on the adjacent control plots (see 2008 report). There were also significant water savings. Expanded trials were undertaken in 2009, with 42 farmers doing control trials in 3 districts of Baghlan and Takhar provinces (an unreported number of other farmers dropped out of the evaluation because of threats from the Taliban). Average SRI yields were 9.3 t/ha, 66% more than the yield with traditional methods, 5.6 t/ha. Experienced farmers (those in their second year of trials) increased their land size under SRI and improved their SRI yield by + 27 % over their first-year SRI yield (see 2009 report and manual prepared by AKF).

During 2010, the total number of participating farmers in three districts of Baghlan and Takhar provinces was 150% higher than in the 2009 program, despite having to withdraw (due to security issues) from activities in Baghlan district of Baghlan province, which was the main project area during 2009. In Doshi and Taloqan districts of Baghlan and Takhar provinces, 104 farmers averaged SRI yields of 8.8 t/ha, compared to 5.6 t/ha using their standard methods. Farmers in their second year with SRI had 11.5% higher yields than they had in their first year. During 2011, the number of farmer participants increased to 114 with average yields increasing tof 10.01 t/ha. Technical support increased in both districts, though no new farmers were added in Doshi due to budgetary contraints.

Yearly Progress and Activities

2011-2012
2010-2011
2009 Updates
2009 SRI Campaign Results, Recommendations and Manual Disseminated

In 2009, 42 farmers, including 7 resource persons (RP) and 35 new volunteers, applied SRI methods to rice cultivation in 3 districts of Baghlan and Takhar provinces as part of the Participatory Management of Irrigation Systems (PMIS) project managed by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) program in Afghanistan (see report). A practical manual explaining SRI principles and detailing recommended techniques was also prepared by the PMIS project.

The 2009 average SRI yield for the 42 farmers in the 3 districts of Baghlan and Takhar provinces (Baghlan, Doshi and Taloqan) was 9.3 t/ha average, 66% higher yield than they obtained with traditional methods. Experienced farmers have increased their land size under SRI and have improved their SRI yield by + 27 % in comparison to their first trials in 2008. The higher SRI yield was mainly associated with an increase in the number of grains per panicle (+ 47 %) and in number of tillers per m2 (+10 %). Results ranged from 6.6 t/ha average with one weeding to 13.4 t/ha with 4 weedings.

In addition to the on-farm trials, the PMIS team conducted various experiments in the research farm of the Baghlan Agriculture Faculty on: 1) organic and inorganic fertilizers (for the same transplantation date and same variety), 2) the impact of different transplanting dates (for the same fertilizer application and same variety) and 3) the use of different varieties (for same transplanting date and same type of fertilizer application).

Research plots results showed that early transplanting was the most significant factor for getting higher yields, although farmer trials were not as conclusive. While no superiority of animal manure vs. chemical fertilizer was demonstrated in the experiments, it was noted that animal manure contributes more to soil fertility in the middle to long term. More experiments are suggested with the Loog variety as this, despite relatively late transplanting, managed to get reasonable results. Since Loog is an early-maturing variety, it could be attractive for farmers doing double cropping and who harvest their wheat late. FAO has also introduced an new early-maturing variety named Kunduz-1 in Kunduz Province, which should be tested and compared with Loog.

Lessons from the 2009 season will be incorporated into next year's PMIS SRI project. Better-built weeders, labor-saving methods for transplanting, and direct seeding will be investigated in the coming year. Increases in spacing (30x30 cm and 40x40 cm) were planned as this would require less labor than the usual SRI spacing of 25x25 cm and might give as good or better yield. As green manure and compost are expected to improve upon the already high SRI yields, a specific training module may be provided so that interested farmers can apply green manures instead of chemical fertilizers. As SRI principles are starting to be better understood by farmers, the methods could be tested also with other crops. For example, SWI (System of Wheat Intensification) could be of interest to numerous farmers in Takhar, Baghlan and Badakhshan provinces.

2003-2008 - see Afghanistan activity archives

Reports and Articles

Practical Information

Presentations

0847 System of Rice Intensification in Afghanistan
View more presentations from SRI.CORNELL.

Photo Collection

The Afghanistan SRI photo collection was supplied by Ali Muhammad Ramzi and other colleagues in Afghanistan. (Click on the inidividual photos showing in the slideshow in the Afghanistan summary section at the top of the page to enlarge them). If you do not have Flash installed, click here to see individual photos which are made available on Picasaweb.

Additional photos of the Aga Khan Foundation SRI work in Afghanistan can be found in nearly all the reports listed in the Reports and Articles section above.

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