Abstract
The "System of Rice Intensification"(SRI) represents a sustainable alternative to improve household yields and incomes. This study aimed to evaluate the yields and the profitability of the SRI and the Traditional Practices (TP) in Ziguinchor district, Senegal. A directed sampling based on criteria for selecting the system used and the cultivated varieties common to both systems was applied to collect the yield parameters and yields of paddy rice. Thus, 18 producers in the Badiate, Essyl, and Fanda sites were selected, nine per system and four 1 m2 yield squares were installed in each selected producer plot. A total of 72 yield squares, 36 per system, were installed, and an individual questionnaire was randomly administered to 55 producers using at least one of the systems to collect data on rice production and costs. The yield parameters including the number of fertile tillers per m2, the number of spikes, the weight of the 1000 grains are significantly higher (p<0.05) in the SRI including yield compared to the traditional system. Transplanting density and plant duration are higher in TP (26±5.6 plants/m2 and 26 days) than in SRI (16±0.4 plants/m2 and 16 days). The lower the transplanting density, the higher the yield parameters and the yield. The economic profitability, determined based on the benefit/cost ratio, is higher in SRI (1.5) than in TP (1.2). The SRI required a lot of technicality in its implementation and generated more cost of production. However, SRI was more productive and economically more profitable than the traditional system.
Highlights
Rice is a cereal that plays an important role in food security
In Senegal, despite the efforts noted in terms of improving rice yields, production remains insufficient in relation to the need of a population that is constantly growing and is only asking to produce more (Fall &Dièye, 2008)
It is based on some essential practices: transplanting young plants (1 seedling/pot) from 08 to 15 days, intermittent water management, organic amendment, reduction of competition between plants and weeding (Gathorne-Hardy et al, 2016), which could be an effective alternative to increasing rice yields in Basse Casamance (Ziguinchor Province) where small rice farms have difficulty in reaching the two tonnes per hectare (SÈNE, 2018; Jouve, 1992)
Summary
Rice is a cereal that plays an important role in food security. It is the staple food of more than half of the world's population and remains the most widely grown cereal for human consumption (Pascual and Wang, 2017). In Senegal, despite the efforts noted in terms of improving rice yields, production remains insufficient in relation to the need of a population that is constantly growing and is only asking to produce more (Fall &Dièye, 2008) These deficiencies in production are linked to a lack of material resources, poor technology transfer and dissemination and non-compliance with good rice production practices (Poussin and Boivin, 2002; Zingore et al, 2014). As the expansion of arable land is less and less possible, the increase in production would require the adoption of new agricultural practices and technologies, which would maximize yields and adapt to climate variability and to rainfall irregularities This system of rice intensification (SRI) is a combination of the relationship of the soil-water-plantlight elements in a harmonious way that allows the plant to express its production potential hidden by inappropriate farming practices. It is in this perspective that this work aims to study the yields and evaluate the profitability of the SRI compared to the Traditional Practices (TP) in Basse Casamance
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