SMART-IV presentation in Kumasi, Ghana

Sawah, Market Access, and Rice Technologies for Inland Valleys

SMART-IV

Dr. Sander ZwartProject leader SMART-IV projectAfrica Rice Center (AfricaRice)

2011 AfricaRice Science Week and GRiSP-Africa Science Forum12-16 September 2011, Cotonou, Benin

SSD Workshop, Kumasi, Ghana, 22-24 November 2012

SMART-IV

• Project overview• Research activities (results and plans)• Development activities (results and plans)• Creating impact


SMART-IV > Project overview

Project team consists of:Water management specialist (vacant)Soil scientist Dr. Shin AbeRemote sensing/GISs specialist Dr. Sander ZwartEconomist/impact specialist (vacant)Development specialist Dr. Youssouf Dembélé



Goal of the project:

To improve the livelihood of the rural poor by reducing imports of rice through augmenting the production of the inland valleys in SSA.

Therefore, the project aims to explore the potential of the Sawah system for increasing rice productivity in inland valleys of IVC member countries, while improving farmer access to markets and rice technologies.




Project is funded by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and forestry (MAFF)

Project started in October 2009 and will end in September 2014.

Year 2 is finished. Plans and budgets have been developed for year 3.

Annual budget is around 600,000 US$




The introduction of sawah systems in West Africa is not new. Japanese agencies are undertaking development projects to such systems in Nigeria (Bida) and Ghana (Ashanti).

The SMART-IV projects operates in the francophone countries in between: Togo and Benin.

SMART-IV is expected to benefit from knowledge and experience acquired during these projects.




Project partners are:

• Cellule Bas-Fonds (CBF) in Benin

• l'Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA) in Togo

• International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Ghana




Project structure:

1. Thematic interdisciplinary research (3 research sites):• Soil science and fertility• Impact assessment, economy, knowledge transfer• Water Management• GIS & Remote Sensing

2. Development activities in demonstration sites(10 development sites)



SMART-IV > Research activities

Soil science and fertilityGoal: How do different stages of sawah development affect rice

productivity and soil nutrient cyclingExperiment has been set up in Ouinhi area, Benin.Start of the experiment is 2011.Research focuses on the impact of various levels of sawah

development on crop yields.Method: investigate all possible combinations of leveling,

bunding, puddling versus traditional system of rice cultivation in inland valleys.




Water ManagementGoal: understanding various levels of water management on

rice production and nutrient cycling.Experiments set up in Bamé, Benin (2010) and in Mission Tové,

Togo (2011). Bamé is in third 3 season. Mission Tové is to start next month.

Evaluating:• water management (traditional, full irrigation, AWD)• different varieties• grain quality (important for market access)




Water Management (c’ned)Field level experiments (Bamé, Mission Tové)What is the impact of rice intensification on water quantity and

quality downstream? Impact assessment and scenario- analysis)

• Topo-sequences of inland valleys (PhD research to start in February 2012)

• River basins and national level (IWMI will start in November 2011). Evaluating the impact of large-scale investment in SSD on water, water users and the food sector.




Remote Sensing/GIS: spatial analysisGoal: development of maps of inland valleys in Togo and Benin

and their potential for development.Current activity: development of a cost-effective methodology

for mapping inland valleys using satellite images.Classification strategies, satellite image type.Spatial economic analysis to determine factors for successful

development (distance to roads, markets, etc.).Soil fertility and other bio-physical factors that determine

potential for development.


Mapping of inland valleys – stream flows

Mapping of inland valleys – inland valleys



Impact assessment, economy, knowledge transferGoals:3. understand the adoption mechanisms of sawah system

technology.4. Quantifying the impact of sawah development on the

livelihood of rice farmers. 5. Analyze the market access of rice farmers as a constraint for

development.Baseline studies have been carried out and sites have been

selected.



SMART-IV > Development activities

10 sites have been selected in Togo and Benin where Sawah systems will be developed in to rice farmers in a participatory approach.

Demonstration fields will be made operational by field technicians where farmers can see the performance of sawah.

Farmer groups will be guided in step-by-step development of inland valleys with sawah technologies.



SMART-IV > Development activities

Powertillers are an essential step in the land preparation.

Testing performed with farmers to assure suitability for IV’s.Constraints for SSD in certain areas may be:• Land tenure. Farmers are often not land owners + they

change plots between years/seasons.• Powertiller use. Maintenance + operational costs.



SMART-IV > Creating impact

Research serves the development

Soil science and fertility: Step-wise approach of sawah development is related to yield

increase increments. Which activity of development or combination has largest impact?

Water management:Which variety performs well under sawah conditions?Which type of water management is suitable?




Research serves the development

Water management (c’ned):Evaluation tool for assessing the impact of rice polices or rice

intensification/expansion. Different scales: national, basins, inland valleys.

Remote sensing/GIS, spatial analysisEvaluation tool for sucesfull development of inland valleys.




Impact assessment, economy, knowledge transferEfficient manners to disseminate knowledge on sawah

systems.

Final development products will include an instruction video on sawah system development




Involvement of the development sector in SMART-IV

- Slection of project sites where NGO’s or investment project are ongoing:

- VECO (Benin, Vredeseilanden, Iles-de-paix)- Islamic Investment Bank (Togo)- PAFIRIZ / PROTOS / Etc. (Benin)

Continuous and pro-active involvement of NGO’s


SMART-IV > Project ‘blog’

smartiv.wordpress.com


Thank you! Merci!

Center of Excellence for Rice Research


SMART-IV presentation in Kumasi, Ghana

Documents

Transcript of SMART-IV presentation in Kumasi, Ghana