Rice is Nice! Rice is set to become a major food staple in Africa, as urbanization and population growth has seen demand for rice grow rapidly over recent decades. The younger generation are eating more rice in place of traditional foods, for a number of reasons. Rice is easy to prepare, requires less energy to […]
Prof. Bancy Mati is the convenor and manager of the SRI-Africa knowledge portal. She ensures that information, publications and happenings in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) nexus in Africa is collated and uploaded on the website. Prof. Mati is credited with introducing SRI in Kenya in 2009. From humble beginnings, she worked diligently with […]
A new report from the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) describes the results from “the largest System of Rice Intensification (SRI) project ever undertaken in the world,” according to technical lead for regional coordination Dr. Erika Styger. It reveals higher yields for rice farmers in West Africa using SRI. SRI is an adaptable rice farming methodology for reducing the need for […]
SRI Introduction: The spread of SRI in East Africa This is an introduction to a series of 4 training videos and details how IFAD has promoted the spread of SRI from Madagascar to Rwanda and then Burundi. Malagasy farmers went to Rwanda to share their knowledge and Burundian farmers then visited the same Rwandan farmers […]
The first System of Rice Intensification (SRI) trial in Zambia, and possibly the first in Southern Africa, was initiated in late 2005 by Henry Ngimbu, voluntary agricultural advisor to the Esek Farmers’ Cooperative Society. Their 12.5 x 12.5 meter plot yielded 96 kg of dried paddy (6.144 t/ha) in Solwezi, North-Western Province, an area where […]