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SENEGAL

Summary

The first SRI trials in Senegal were done in 2003 at the initiative of Dr. William Settle (FAO) who reported control plots yields of 4 and 5 t/ha vs. SRI plot yields of 9 and 11 t/ha, respectively. In 2006, Peace Corps Volunteer Carrie Miner had some initial success introducing SRI to women farmers in the Kolda region (see New Farm article).

During 2007-2009, Tim Krupnik and colleagues at FAO and the Africa Rice Center did a series of evaluations that included adapted SRI practices in the Senegal River Valley and in the Podor region. Their research during 2008-2009 showed that adapted SRI practices resulted in significantly higher yields than farmer practices and were as good or better than recommended management practices. However, while farmers appreciated the yield and water saving benefits of the adapted SRI approach, they were concerned by the increased labor requirements, especially for weeding activities that coincided with labor needs for the horticultural crop.

These findings resulted in further experimentation with a hybrid system that incorporated elements of the recommended practice and the adapted SRI practices (maintaining intermittent irrigation, increasing crop density and following a single round of mechanical weeding with localized herbicide applications). The hybrid system was able to reduce weed biomass, labor, and input requirements (including herbicides) and gave the highest net profits in nearly all sites for the 2009 wet and dry seasons.

During 2012, a delegation from Senegal at the Regional Workshop on System of Rice Intensification of (SRI) in Burkina Faso reported that trials evaluating SRI methods (comparing them with farmer practice under rainfed conditions) in the northeastern part of the country began in 2008 at 4 sites, and increased to 6 in 2011. The trials, which were conducted under the Agricultural Development Project in Matam (PRODAM), reported that SRI yields averaged 53% higher than farmer-practice results.

Progress and Activities

2012 Updates
  • arrowSRI Progress in Senegal Noted at West Africa SRI Workshop in Burkina Faso (July 2012)

    The SRI experience in Senegal was presented at a Regional Workshop on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on July 26 and 27, 2012. A video interview (below, at right) was given at the workshop by the Ernest Asiedu, Senegal participant and workshop co-organizer from WECARD/CORAF. The event was organized by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), the National Center of Specialization for Rice (WAAPP Mali) and SRI-Rice (Cornell University) within the framework of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP).

    A presentation on Senegal, prepared by Madiama Cisse (ISRA), Baye Salif Diack (SAED), and Abdoulaye Sy (ANCAR), was also made at the workshop. The delegation from Senegal reported that trials evaluating SRI methods comparing them with farmer practice under rainfed conditions in the northeastern part of the country began in 2008 at 4 sites, and increased to 6 in 2011. The trials, conducted under an agricultural development project in Matam (PRODAM), showed SRI yields averaging 53% higher than farmer-practice results, with rainfed SRI yield as high as 6.25 tons/ha. The delegation reported also that evaluations of SRI under irrigated management had started in one irrigated zone in 2002, expanding to 6 zones by 2007. In 2008, the area under irrigated SRI management totaled 30 ha, while in 2011, the SRI area was up to 80 ha. However, no data on yield were reported to the workshop.

2010 Update
  • arrow 2008-2009 SRI Evaluations Reported at Tropentag Conference in Switzerland

    Tim Krupnik reported at the Tropentag conference in Switzerland (September 14-16, 2010) on three seasons of on-farm experiments in three locations in the Senegal River Valley that he conducted together with colleagues from FAO and the Africa Rice Center (see paper abstract). During the 2008 dry season, farmers' (FP) and recommended management practices (RMP) were compared with a locally adapted version of SRI (ASRI), which included all principles, but substituted compost with mineral fertilizer. Across sites, they found yield increased for RMP by 20% and ASRI by 31% relative to FP. Krupnik reports that while farmers appreciated the yield and water saving benefits of the adapted SRI approach, they were concerned by the increased labor requirements, especially for weeding activities that coincided with labor needs for the horticultural crop.

    After the first season, farmers designed and implemented a fourth system that hybridized RMP and ASRI, by maintaining intermittent irrigation, increasing crop density and following a single round of mechanical weeding with localized herbicide applications. This hybrid system was generally successful in reducing weed biomass, labor and inputs, and returned the highest net profits in 2 of 3 sites. RMP, ASRI and hybrid yields were all significantly greater (25%, 25% and 19%) than the farmer practices in the 2008 wet season.

    In the 2009 dry season, the Senegalese State discontinued herbicide subsidies. The hybrid approach reduced herbicide use by 38% and 57% compared to FP and RMP, and was most profitable at all sites. While the economic impact of water savings imply that scaling up by the entire irrigation system could be beneficial, constraints noted by farmers presented problems to system-wide adoption. Krupnik and colleagues believe that future research should incorporate farmer ideas and circumstances before designing experiments rather than comparing pre-defined cropping systems that may or may not be relevant to local conditions.

2007-2008
  • arrow SRI Evaluations Proceeding in Cooperation with the African Rice Center (WARDA)

    senegal trialsTim Krupnik, PhD candidate at University of California, Santa Cruz, (currently with CIMMYT) carried 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 evaluated agronomic productivity, soil, water and pest management practices, and alsoassessing socio-economic tradeoffs. On-station trials were 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 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).

2003-2006
  • arrow New Farm Article Documents Peace Corps Experiences with SRI in Kolda Region

    Peace Corps Volunteer Carrie Miner working at village level in Kolda region has had some initial success introducing SRI to farmers in 2006. Miner's experiences are written up in an article by Nathan McClintock in Rodale Institute's on-line magazine, The New Farm.

  • arrow FAO-Initiated SRI Trials Result in Doubling of Yield in 2003

    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.

Reports and Articles

Videos

Presentations

Photo Collections

  • Page 2 of Tim Krupnik's 2007 interim report contains photos of his SRI trials in Senegal.

  • The photos in the SRI-Rice Senegal collection, which is embedded in the summary section at the top of the page, were provided by Tim Krupnik. If you do not have Flash installed, click here to see individual photos which are made available on Picasaweb.

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