SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) IN MALI

Communities located along the Niger River have very little rainfall—averaging only 150 to 200 mm annually (averages in
coastal countries in West Africa are about 1600 mm1
). Moreover, high climatic variability can significantly raise or lower these
levels. Because rice and other crop production depends primarily on the recessional floodwater of the Niger and its branches,
food security suffers dramatically in dry years. Annual rice yields under this recessional production system average less than
one ton per hectare. In contrast, controlled irrigation systems—where water is pumped or diverted via canals into a paddy—
produce considerably higher yields—an average of four tons per hectare.
Africare has been active in the Timbuktu region since 1997. Working with villages in the cercles (or districts) of Goundam
and Diré, the NGO has helped develop village-based, small-scale irrigation schemes, or Perimètres Irrigués Villageois (PIVs) of
about 35 hectares, each irrigated with a small diesel-powered pump. Because the area is shared by as many as 100 farmers,
each household on average has access to only a third of a hectare (0.83 acres) on which to produce rice under controlled
irrigation conditions. With this small share of the PIV, most farmers also rely on recessional production. Still, boosting yields
on these small, irrigated parcels enables the farmers of Goundam and Diré to create a food security buffer in dry years.

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