System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Mali

Location: Timbuktu Region, Mali

Northern Mali’s Timbuktu region is one of the most food insecure regions in the Sahelian nation. Agriculture depends on the floodwaters of the Niger River and highly variable rainfall that averages less than 200 mm per year. Annual rice yields average less than one ton per hectare, and irrigated rice yields average four tons per hectare. Using the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which requires wider spacing, transplants, and organic amendment such as manure or compost, the NGO Africare and local farmers have obtained yields as high as nine tons per hectare—more than twice the conventional irrigated rice in the area. Overall revenue from rice produced using SRI earned farmers double that of conventional irrigated rice.