The mission of SRI-2030 is to scale up SRI and the complementary agroecological farming practices around it. The challenge, as so often, is not what to do, but how to bring about change at scale and speed. This is why we’re partnering with organisations and governments across Africa that are already engaged in this work. We’re helping them make faster progress by funding a dedicated Breakthrough Facilitator, whose role is to train up extension workers and farming communities.
Our newest partnership is with Cercle International pour la Promotion de la Création (CIPCRE), a dynamic NGO that’s advancing agroecology in Cameroon. Last week I visited CIPCRE to meet up with our Breakthrough Facilitator, agroecology expert Charlin Tsaffo. Together we travelled to Bafoussam in the Central Province, where CIPCRE is based. There we met the organisation’s General Director, Rév. Dr. Jean-Blaise Kenmogne, before joining the main agriculture team.
In the discussions I gave a brief presentation on SRI-2030’s mission and highlighted some of the technical aspects of SRI. CIPCRE’s agriculture program coordinator outlined their own agroecology projects along with their approach to disseminating information among smallholder farmers. Julius Fileshi, the first person in Cameroon to be trained in SRI by Zambian expert Henry Ngimbu, shared his experience of implementing SRI in the country’s North-Western Province. Afterwards we launched a brainstorming session with two key objectives. First we had to identify the priority zones where Charlin would begin his work. We chose four areas – Bangourain, Santchou, Koutaba and Bamendjou – all in the country’s Western Region, within a two-hour drive of CIPCRE’s headquarters. Next we worked out a methodology which integrated CIPCRE’s agroecological approach with the SRI promotion strategy used by Julius in the North-West.
Bamenjou was chosen as a priority zone despite it having no tradition of rice growing. What it did have were strong farmer links with the CIPCRE team, who’d been promoting agroecology in the area for eight years. The zone included a lowland valley currently planted with maize for which it was poorly suited. In our view it presented a great opportunity to introduce rice under SRI. One big advantage was that in this non-rice area farmers wouldn’t have to unlearn traditional rice-farming practices, which should make adoption of SRI smoother. Also the area relied on rain-fed agriculture, so SRI rice could be introduced without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, as would be the case with irrigation flooding. Compared to low-yielding maize, rice could offer real economic benefits.
We got a warm welcome from the farmers. They seemed intrigued by the prospect of growing rice without continuous flooding, which was in stark contrast to traditional ideas. We took a walk to the lowland area currently growing maize intercropped with beans. It clearly had great potential for SRI rice. The high soil moisture made it problematic for maize growing but was a real plus for rice. During the rainy season excess water could be managed effectively through drainage into the nearby stream.
Later in Koutaba we were greeted by two elderly farmers and the village chief. The area was already in rice production, with over 3,000 hectares available, though owing to labour shortages only 700 hectares was currently being cultivated. We discussed with the farmers their present practices, which included the use of herbicides, 21-day-old seedlings with close spacing and season-long inundation. Julius and I then introduced SRI, highlighting the benefits of early transplanting, wider spacing, reduced water use and organic weed control. Julius shared his high-yield success stories, which greatly impressed the Koutaba farmers.
The final day of the visit was taken up with strategic planning. Working with the CIPCRE agriculture team, we developed a three-month calendar for Charlin’s actions, flexible enough to allow for the start of the rains. We also drew up a rough plan for the next nine months together with a provisional budget to cover planned activities. At the end of an intense day of planning, we reconvened in a local bar to celebrate the launch of our collaboration. We’d had a warm welcome, built good relationships and made exciting plans for the year ahead.
