Summary of SRI Progress in Togo

SRI AFRICA May 21, 2021 0 Comments

  • Jean Apedoh, of the NGO GRAPHE, first learned of SRI from a presentation by Erika Styger at the ECHO annual conference in Ouagadougou in 2011, and came back determined to spread SRI in Togo. He undertook a series of visits to villages in the evenings to screen the World Bank Foundation video on SRI, ultimately reaching about 1,200 farmers, primarily the Zio River Valley, just north of Lomé. (See 2011 GRAPHE report). Apedoh’s success resulted in technical exchanges during 2012 and 2013 for farmers to see actual SRI fields. Kokou Joseph Adokanou and his Peace Corps volunteer counterpart, Veronica Mazariegos, attended the Peace Corps SRI training in Benin during September 2012, where Jean Apedoh was one of the trainers. Their trials at Joseph’s farm near Kovié, in the Zio River Valley went well, and he has expanded his area under SRI management and began testing maize using SRI principles as well.

    During May 2-4, 2012, USAID’s E-ATP program organized a training of trainers in Kpalimé, a few hours northwest of Lomé. Participants included GRAPHE, ETD/D’Entreprises de Services et Organisations de Producteurs (ESOP), ITRA/ICAT (the Government’s agricultural research and extension services), the NGO RAFIA, and International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) (see report). In September 2013 Joseph worked with Jean Apedoh and Peace Corps staff to carry out a national SRI training with participants from throughout Togo. (See report.) Weeders were fabricated for each cluster of participants to take one home. In March and April 2014, Peace Corps hosted two follow-up trainings to compliment the September 2013 training, which will focus on adaptation to non-irrigated rice production, and fabrication of compost.

    During January 2014, a regional World Bank-financed project, Improving and Scaling up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa, began. The project, which includes Togo, is part of the larger West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP). The project’s first major SRI “training of trainers” and technical exchange workshop, which had participants from 12 West African countries, was implemented in August 4-10, 2014, in Kpalimé, Togo. A set of farmer trainings were completed. The map at left shows the SRI-WAAPP project field sites (blue markers) as of 2016. The orange markers show the sites for the 2015 trainings (for 1,502 farmers) noted in the training report authored by GRAPHE; see item below). During 2019, Jean Apedoh authored an article in ECHO West Africa Notes covering the history of and instructional material for SRI in Togo.

Progress and Activities

2019 Updates
  • arrowSRI Continues to Improve Lives in Zio Prefecture[November 27, 2019] Three years ago, rice farmers from Togo’s Zio Prefecture participated in System of Rice Intensification (SRI) trainings. An article in Togo Breaking News recently followed up with some of the farmers. Padawi Siou (right), one of the first rice producers of Agbélouvé Center to adopt this system after attending trainings through the NGO GRAPHE via the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP), credits SRI with his improved financial conditions. He reports that he is now able to afford to cover cost of his son and nephew to attend university, cover medical expenses, help other family members, and has been able to finance a number of other projects, including a pigsty and a flour mill in his house. Siou is now planning to add a well and other buildings on his land.

    GRAPHE technical assistant Kokou Agbeko Tsogbe relayed that despite difficulties during the first year of the trainings in Agbélouvé, 90% of rice producers associated with the Agbélouvé Center have adopted SRI, which now gives an improved return: 4.95 tons of rice per hectare against 2.49 tons per hectare for the conventional method. In Agbélouvé, trainers continue to carry out practical training sessions. Producers have also procured a huller to market a high quality product. Abra Mafili, manager of the processing unit, credits the increase in rice yield to the WAAPP approach in the extending SRI, which is being coupled with the use of drought tolerant seed varieties. (See French language article for details.)

  • arrowArticle on SRI in Togo Published in ECHO West Africa Notes[July 22, 2019] During 2019, Jean Apedoh, authored an article published in ECHO West Africa Notes covering the history of the System of Rice Intensification in Togo and instructional material for carrying out SRI methods there. Apedoh, Togo’s first SRI promoter and trainer, began testing the methods in 2010 after learning about SRI in an ECHO Forum in Ouagadougou. Shown at right in this ECHO photo, he went on to popularize the SRI in Togo, Benin and some countries of the under West African region.
2016
  • arrowSRI training program was launched in 15 villages of Agbélouvé and Bolou in Zio Prefecture[September 28, 2016] According to an article in Le Temps, a 32-month long SRI training program was launched in 15 villages of Agbélouvé and Bolou in Zio Prefecture. This program is being facilitated by Elevage et Solidarité des Familles au Togo (ESFT) and Groupe Chrétien de Recherche Action pour la Promotion Humaine (GRAPHE), with a focus on the use of animal manures in SRI rice production on small land holdings. By the end of the program, it is hoped that beneficiaries will have improved capacity in SRI, livestock raising, the production of organic fertilizer, and value-added opportunities. Farmer Field Schools and a union of cooperatives for processing and marketing rice are also being established. [See article in for details.]
  • arrow Field Sites for the SRI-WAAPP Project Reach 116 in Togo[May 2016] The inventory of field sites for both irrigated and rainfed areas throughout Togo has been updated for the project on Improving and Scaling up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa (SRI-WAAPP). The 116 sites can be located on the SRI-WAAPP Togo map. (SRI-WAAPP is a regional World Bank-financed project to increase rice productivity throughout 13 countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) area. See SRI-WAAPP feature article for overview).
2015
  • arrowSRI-WAAPP Trainings Take Place in Maritime and Plateaux Regions of Togo[June 2015] GRAPHE reported on SRI trainings involving 1,502 farmers that were undertaken June 21-26, 2015, for the SRI-WAAPP Project. The activities were conducted in the Maritime and Plateaux regions, were done conjunction with the NGO GRAPHE, the producers’ organization ETD/D’Entreprises de Services et Organisations de Producteurs (ESOP), and ITRA and ICAT (the Government’s agricultural research and extension services). The training sites are shown as orange markers on the on the map, shown above in the summary section. Details are available in the French language report.
2014
  • arrowWorkshop for West Africa SRI Scaling Up Project Held in Kpalimé, Togo[August 12, 2014] The first major SRI “training of trainers” and technical exchange workshop was implemented in conjunction with the project on Improving and Scaling Up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa. The regional workshop, which was held August 4-10 in Kpalimé, Togo, included participants from 12 West African countries. SRI-Rice staff Erika Styger and Devon Jenkins, who co-organized the workshop, released a Technical Manual for SRI in West Africa at the event. The manual is available online in English and French.
  • arrowPeace Corps to Host Two Follow-up SRI Trainings[April 10, 2014] In March and April, 2014, Peace Corps planned two follow-up trainings to the September 2013 training, to be held in Kpalimé and Dapaong (in the far north of Togo). Feedback from the 2013 training showed that participants from outside of the Zio River Valley (where the training was held) needed more assistance adapting SRI to non-irrigated conditions, and all participants expressed a desire to learn about compost fabrication. The Peace Corps training report summarizes the events of the training, which include the SRI principles, allowing farmers to share their experiences with SRI, and to improve capacity for composting.
  • arrowImproving and Scaling Up SRI in West Africa Project Begins Its First Phase[January 2014] Improving and Scaling up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa is the 3-year first phase of a regional World Bank-financed project to increase rice productivity throughout a 13-country Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) area. The project, which includes Togo, is part of the larger West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP). The WAAPP project has four collaborating organizations in Togo: the Institute Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA) is responsible for researching adaptations for each agroecozone; Institut de Conseil et d’Appui Technique (ICAT) is responsible for the technical follow-up at the level of the producer; while Entreprises Territoires et Développement (ETD) and Groupe Chrétien de Recherche – Actions pour la Promotion Humaine (GRAPHE) are responsible for action research and farmer engagement in their respective target zones throughout Togo. In an effort to create synergy, the NGOs will benefit from the support of ITRA in implementing technologies at the level of the producer. A monitoring and evaluation mechanism involving all partners will be established collaboratively under the guidance of ETD. ITRA will work on four experimental test sites in irrigated and lowland rice producing area, and evaluate adaptations of SRI in collaboration with one farmer/parcel per site. The Focal Point for implementation and coordination of this project in Togo is based at ETD.
2012-2013
  • arrow SRI Featured on Togo National Television Show[December 20, 2013] SRI was featured on the Togo National Television show late in 2013. The French language feature on SRI has been made available on the Peace Corps Togo YouTube channel. The Peace Corps Togo playlist also has a number of interviews and technical videos available. These are listed in the video section below and on the Peacecorps Togo YouTube channel.
  • arrowNational SRI Training Takes Place in Tsevie[September 2013] Due to the success of initial trials by Kokou Joseph Adokanou on his farm in the Zio River Valley, he has expanded the area under SRI management, and began testing maize using SRI principles as well. In September 2013 Joseph worked with Jean Apedoh and Peace Corps staff to carry out a national SRI training with participants from all over Togo. Weeders were fabricated for each cluster of participants to take one home. (See report from this training).
  • arrow SRI Makes Progress in the Zio River Valley
  • As Jean Apedoh’s earlier trainings on behalf of GRAPHE in Togo had generated some enthusiasm, during 2012 and 2013, he organized technical exchanges so some of these farmers could travel to see actual SRI plots in the field. (See GRAPHE SRI report). Among the farmers whose fields he visited was Kokou Joseph Adokanou, the counterpart of a Peace Corps volunteer, Veronica Mazariegos. Both Joseph and Veronica attended the Peace Corps SRI training in Benin during September 2012, where Jean Apedoh was one of the trainers. After the training, Veronica and Joseph began trials at Joseph’s farm near Kovié, in the Zio River Valley.
  • arrowUSAID’s E-ATP program organized a training of trainers in Kpalimé[June 2012] On May 2-4, 2012, USAID’s E-ATP program organized a training of trainers in Kpalimé, a few hours northwest of Lomé. The training included 35 participants (including seven women) from six organizations: (1) ETD; (2) the Groupe Chrétien de Recherche-Actions pour la Promotion Humaine ; (3) IFDC-Togo; (4) the NGO Recherche, Appui, Formation aux Initiatives d’Auto-Développement; (5) the Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique; and (6) the Institut de Conseil Agricole Togolais . According to USAID’s final report, ensuing “cascade” trainings reached 629 participants (including 201 women). Additional information on the event can be found on the GRAPE website).
2010-2011
  • arrow GRAPHE’s Jean Apedoh Sets Out to Bring SRI to TogoJean Apedoh, of the NGO GRAPHE, first learned of SRI from a presentation by Erika Styger at the ECHO annual conference in Ouagadougou in 2010, and came back determined to spread SRI in Togo. He first tried organizing a training for farmers in Togo’s primary irrigated rice area, the Zio River Valley, which is about 1 hour north of Lomé near the town of Kovié. Frustrated with farmer requests for per diem and free seed/fertilizer, he decided instead to do a series of visits to villages in the evenings to screen the World Bank Foundation video on SRI, which he did for over 1,200 farmers. (See 2011 GRAPHE report).

Reports and Articles

National/Regional Workshops and Trainings

Presentations

 

Videos

A series of videos made by Peace Corps volunteers in Togo.

Photos

  • The SRI-Rice Togo Photo Collection contains photographs of SRI fields provided by Jean Apedoh and Devon Jenkins