OFFICE OF THE IRRIGATED PERIMETER OF BAGUINEDA: THE RICE OF COUNTER-SEASON TO SERENALLY START THE CAMPAIGN

The wintering is in the process of settling in the country. In places, significant amounts of rainfall are recorded, which augurs an early start of the rainy season. Ten days ago, the capital Bamako was abundantly watered and the runoff caused significant material damage and loss of life. This situation corroborates Mali-Météo’s seasonal forecasts, which predicted this year rainfall variability. Also, the May-June-July period will be close to normal in the whole country, except for the northern parts of Kayes, Koulikoro, where it will be in deficit with normal tendency.

The irrigated perimeter of Baguinéda is part of the Koulikoro region. On the lands of the Baguinéda irrigated perimeter office (OPIB), the peasants (for those who have committed themselves) are busy completing their off-season rice crops. The off-season campaign is in full swing. The crops are heading-maturation, according to the general observation made by our team that went last Thursday on the perimeter to see the status of activities. “The 2019-2020 crop year promises to be promising and the Baguinéda Irrigation Area Office (OPIB) is already ready,” Interim Director Mamadou Togola said during his visit to the rice fields.
OPIB’s main objective is to improve and secure agricultural production. It is within this framework that several activities are carried out by the structure to improve the yield of agricultural producers in the area. During the winter season, production activities focused on cereals and legumes (groundnuts and cowpeas) and during the off-season, producers are mainly interested in market gardening with an average of 1600 hectares of area all speculations combined. .
The fields visited sufficiently testify to the efficiency of the methods used during the off-season in the OPIB area. In the field of Dramane Diallo and many others, the cultivation method used is the intensive rice farming system (IRS). According to the interim director, this system boosts production, increases production and saves water. It is used by producers only during the dry season. It has already produced results at the level of desire. The owners of the fields using this system have shown their satisfaction and the observation shows the success. According to Dramane Diallo, this system allowed him to make two off-season campaigns with a good return. He first produced maize in the first place before sowing the rice on the same plot before wintering. He plans to harvest quickly before preparing the plot on a larger area this time for the winter season that starts. If the first field awaits the final maturation to be harvested, this is no longer the case in one of its neighbors. Indeed, a few steps away, at the Nouhoum Kanté plot, it was time to thresh the rice harvested on an area of ​​0.37 hectare.
The intensive rice cultivation system (IRS) has been very successful thanks to the commitment of the leaders of the OPIB. Adama Daou, head of the agricultural sector advisory and promotion division, also pointed out that, thanks to the SRI, off-season producers are able to increase their yield. Moreover, at OPIB, a cooperative called “SRI Waati sera” was created to promote this system that improves productivity. Regarding the 2019-2020 crop year, it intervenes in a context of safeguarding achievements, the pursuit of actions, strengthening the capacity of management, the intensification of the main crops in the perimeter. The target for this 2019-2020 crop year is to eventually produce 25,153 tons of cereals, of which 18,341 tons of paddy rice, 6.