NIGERIA

Summary of SRI in Nigeria

Trials with the System of Rice Intensification were undertaken at the Sabon Gari station of Ahmadu Bello University in 2006-07, and farmer trainings and trials were done in Ondo State in 2007, but the results were not well-documented. In 2010, the Nigerian NGO Green Sahel-RDI began promoting SRI in Jigawa State after sending participants to an SRI event sponsored the USAID-funded IICEM/E-ATP Expanded Agribusiness Trade Promotion project in Mali in 2010. In July 2011, Green Sahel Agricultural and Rural Development Institute (GSARDI) conducted a training program on SRI and organic methods with support from E-ATP project in Jigawa State. According to a 2012 USAID PowerPoint, farmers trained by the E-ATP SRI events in Nigeria have gotten yields up to 10 tons/ha. Subsequent trials are ongoing. A 2013 article about the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) in Kano State reports adoption of SRI among rice farmers in project areas where SRI is being extended resulted in an average yield increase from 2.7 to 3.6 metric ton per hectare. Nigeria is included in the project Improving and Scaling up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa (SRI-WAAPP), a regional World Bank-financed effort to increase rice productivity throughout a 13-country Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that was formally launched during January 2014. On February 7, 2014, an SRI initiative under the WAAPP-assisted Rice Value Chain Innovation Platform was launched in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state. The SRI-WAAPP field sites as of 2016 are shown in the map at right. During 2018, the Institute for Agricultural Research of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria embarked on a project by training 1,000 Bakolori farmers in System of Rice Intensification methods.

Progress and Activities

2018 Updates
  • arrow Ahmadu Bello University Student to Study GHGs and Soil Quality in NIgeria’s Sudan Savanna Agroecological Zone[May 8, 2018] According to an article on the Climate Change, Agirculture and Food Security (CCAFS) website, Abubakar Halilu Girei, a student at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, is the recipient of a grant for scholars to study low emissions in agriculture. He will do his short-term research at CIAT, focusing on soil quality and greenhouse gas emissions under SRI practices in Kadawa, Sudan savanna agroecological zone of Nigeria.
  • arrow Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Trains Bakolori Farmers in System of Rice Intensification Methods[January 18, 2018] An article in the Daily Trust reports the Institute for Agricultural Research of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is training 1,000 Bakolori farmers in System of Rice Intensification methods for sustainable rice production. Professor Sunday T. Abu, who presented a paper at an inception workshop on innovative research for testing and promotion of rice intensification practices organises for Bakolori rice farmers, said the research program and training is intended to upgrade farmers knowledge so that they can increase their productivity and profitability. He said one of the objectives of the project is to teach the farmers how to use cost effective, accessible and environmentally-friendly tools instead of those causing adverse effect to the soil. “We learnt that the yield for rice production is decreasing over the year for problems that have to do with poor quality of seeds and management of field water for irrigation. The over-use of water on farming lands is making the land saline and toxic and farmers would always abandon the lands for another. So we are coming up with new methods that would make their production sustainable,” he said. Professor Abu further explained that the some of the main objectives of the program are to assess agronomic soil and water practices and to pilot new rice intensification approaches supported by small scale farming tools. “Under the new method, farmers will be employed and become the implementers of the techniques under trial and selected extension agents will closely work with rice farmers; each extension agent will be assigned to 62 rice farmers. Seven hectares will be cultivated using the new techniques,” he added. In his remarks the Project Manager, Bakolori Irrigation Scheme Mallam Muhammad Lawan Maidoki said the scheme is a welcome development especially that it has worked in some African countries. (See Daily Trust article for complete details.)
2015
  • arrow Agriculture Graduates in Niger State Collaborate with WAAPP to Promote SRI[February 17, 2015] An article on the News Agency of Nigeria website reports that an agro-entrepreneurial group, the Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN), has successfully piloted a three-cycle rice production program in Niger State to increase rice seeds available to Nigerian farmers. AGAN, which consists of a private sector-driven extension program of agriculture graduates and young farmers, reportedly achieved this by introducing an organic farming system using SRI.The Improving and Scaling Up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa Project, an initiative by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), uses SRI to improved yield, reduce the cost of production, improve rice quality and ensure sustainable cropping/mitigation measures. According to the AGAN leader, Mr. Hassaini Ilyasu, the journey towards sustainable food security began with a successful collaboration with the WAAPP-Nigeria and a few other supporting partners like the Niger State Agricultural Mechanisation Agency (NAMDA). He noted that the association piloted three cycles of a rice production which increased the rice yields from the usual two tons to a new high of 5.5 tons per hectare. They also started promoting community seed production to make improved seeds available and affordable to farmers, as the provision of free seeds by the government did not meet farmer demand. He acknowledged the special contribution of WAAPP-Nigeria to their projects in terms of supply of improved rice seeds, which had enabled them to attain their present level of success. (See the News Agency of Nigeria article for details.)
2014
  • arrow Agribusiness Service Provider Announces Plans to Invest in SRI in Ondo State[September 16, 2014] According to an article in This Day Live, a specialized agribusiness service provider, WEMS Agro Companies Limited, plans to invest about $2.2 million in largescale rice cultivation ‎using SRI in Nigeria. Rotimi Akinsola, the company’s executive director, said that the 25,000 hectare farm located in Akotogbo, Ondo State, will provide job opportunities for about 2,500 people in the community.‎ The company also has plans to inject about 3,300 megawatts of electricity into the national grid using rice husks and straws which he said, which reportedly has the capacity to produce about 4,300 megawatts of electricity. (See article for details).
  • arrow Workshop for West Africa SRI Scaling Up Project Held in Kpalimé, TogoW. Africa SRI technical manual[August 12, 2014] Nigerian participants attended 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. A Technical Manual for SRI in West Africa, which will be used in SRI-WAAPP-affiliated projects was released.
  • arrow SRI Initiative Assisted by the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Launched in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State[February 8, 2014] According to an article in the Daily Trust, the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme (WAAPP) launched a rice value chain initiative on February 7, 2014, aimed at increasing farmers’ rice yields in Nigeria. A System of Rice Intensification (SRI) initiative under the WAAPP-assisted Rice Value Chain Innovation Platform was launched in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state. According the Communication Officer of WAAPP, Matthew Haruna, the initiative is intended to make agriculture more productive and sustainable and to promote innovations in technologies, institutions, processes, organizations and markets. (The planning and launching workshop of the wider regional project ‘Improvement and Scaling up of SRI in West Africa‘, of which Nigeria is a part, was held February 17-19, 2014, in Porto Novo, Benin.)
  • arrow Regional Project to Scale Up SRI Formally launched[January 1, 2014] The project Improving and Scaling up the System of Rice Intensification in West Africa was formally launched during January 2014. This is the 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 three year project, which includes Nigeria, is part of the larger West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP), which is funded by the World Bank. SRI-Rice is the technical lead partner on the project, working in close collaboration with the coordinating institution, CNS-Riz, in Mali. The SRI National Facilitator for Nigeria is Emmanuel Abo, NCRI. Check the project’s Nigeria page and the Nigeria SRI-WAAPP map n the coming months for updates.
2013
  • arrow Positive Results with SRI and Other Innovations Extended through the CADP Project in NigeriaAccording to an August 1 article in This Day Live, over three thousand farmers have benefited from the World Bank-assisted Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) in Kano State, which included SRI among the innovations being extended. Kano is one of the five Nigerian states in which the $150 million project is being implemented. The World Bank Senior Operations Specialist and Task Team Leader of the project, Dr. Lucas Akapa, said that adoption of SRI among rice farmers resulted in an average yield increase from 2.7 to 3.6 metric ton per hectare. The CADP, which commenced on July 30, 2009, and is expected to close on December 31, 2014, is expected to impact on 10,000 small and medium commercial farmers while many households will benefit indirectly through access to farm access roads, energy and market through spillover effects in the state. The article is no longer online, but reference to the article and further links are provided on the SRI-WAAPP website.
2011-2012
  • arrow NGO Green Sahel-RDI Presentation at Regional SRI Workshop Highlights SRI Progress in NigeriaInformation on SRI in Nigeria was presented at a Regional Workshop on System of Rice Intensification of (SRI), which was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on July 26 and 27, 2012. The workshop was organized by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), the National Center of Specialization for Rice (NCOS Mali) and SRI-Rice (Cornell University) within the framework of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP); Oxfam America sponsored participation for civil society representatives. At the regional SRI workshop, Muhammad Ahmed Adamu, Executive Secretary, NGO Green Sahel-RDI, Nigeria, gave an interview (right) about how he began promoting SRI after attending an SRI event by the USAID-funded IICEM/E-ATP Expanded Agribusiness Trade Promotion project in Mali. A PowerPoint presentation gives additional information on recent SRI activities in Nigeria.

 

 

  • arrow Green Sahel Agricultural and Rural Development Institute (GSARDI) Begins SRI Evaluations in 2011SRI plot in Jigawa, Nigeria23 DAT SRI field originally planted with 10 day old seedlingsIn July 2011, a promising start for SRI evaluation and demonstration was made in Ganuwar Kuka, Auyo LGA, Jigawa State. The NGO Green Sahel Agricultural and Rural Development Institute (GSARDI) conducted a training program on SRI and organic methods with support from the Expanded Agribusiness and Trade Promotion (E-ATP) project of USAID. The photos show rice plants 23 days after transplanting that were originally transplanted when 10 days old. FYM was applied with integration of half doses of inorganic fertilizer and weeding was done using rotary weeder; there was zero application of any crop protection product. The plots recorded an excellent yield of 10 tons/ha.A farmer from Lagos State, Nigeria, who attended a training program the SRI methodology in Jigawa State under GSARDI, subsequently recorded a yield of 3.8 tons/ha with SRI. While below the 10 ton yield from the training area in Jigawa Sate, the outcome was much better than his average yield with standard practices of 0.8 -1.0 t/ha
2006-2009
  • arrow SRI Gets Off to a Slow Start in NigeriaThere were trials reported from the Sabon Gari station of Ahmadu Bello University in 2006-07, but these were not satisfactorily documented. In 2007, there was SRI training reported from Ondo State but the results of farmer trials were not reported. In 2009, contacts were made with agronomy faculty at Ahmadu Bello University and University of Ibadan who are interested in SRI, but programs have not yet started at these universities to our knowledge.

Reports and Articles

Videos.

Presentations (PowerPoint)

  • Status of SRI in Nigeria 
    Powerpoint by Abraham Attah Shaibu, Abdulrazak Shaibu and Muhammad Ahmad Adamu presented at the West Africa SRI Workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on July 26-27, 2012.presented at the West Africa Regional SRI Workshop, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, July 26-27, 2012. 21 slides.