Effects of mid-season drainage on iron toxicity, rice yield, and water productivity in irrigated systems in the derived savannah agroecological zone of West Africa

Context: Increasing rice yield is crucial for meeting the demand of the fast-growing population in sub-Saharan Africa. Mid-season drainage can reduce iron toxicity, which is one of the major constraints to rice production in this region, and increase rice yield and water productivity. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of mid-season drainage on iron toxicity, rice yield, and water productivity and identify the factors that favor rice yield in the fields with mid-season drainage relative to continuous flooding. Methods: Experiments were conducted during the wet season over two years in 30 farmers’ fields in two irrigated schemes in the region of Bouake, central Cˆ ote d ′Ivoire. Each farmer’s field was subdivided into three plots consisting of three water management practices: continuous flooding, mid-season drainage at 25 days after transplanting followed by two drying phases of seven days each separated by a flooded phase of three days or by alternate wetting and drying. Results: Large variations in soil properties, management practices, iron toxicity score (based on leaf bronzing), rice yield, and water productivity were observed in farmers’ fields. Under continuous flooding, lower rice yield was associated with higher iron toxicity, and this was observed in the fields with higher soil organic carbon, and in which farmers applied lower amounts of phosphorus fertilizer. Mid-season drainage practices significantly reduced iron toxicity, irrigation water amount, and relatively increased water productivity. On average across farmers’ fields, rice yield was not significantly different among water management practices. However, when data at the individual field level were considered to calculate differences between the treatments, gains in rice yield in the fields with mid-season drainage at 25 days after transplanting followed by alternate wetting and drying relative to continuous flooding were associated with higher soil organic carbon, earlier application of the second split of fertilizer, and a large reduction in the iron toxicity score in the fields with mid-season drainage at 25 days after transplanting followed by alternate wetting and drying compared to continuous flooding. Conclusions: Mid-season drainage at 25 days after transplanting followed by alternate wetting and drying combined with appropriate fertilizer management could be recommended to the smallholder farmers to reduce iron toxicity, and increase rice yield and water productivity in fields with high soil organic carbon and iron toxicity. Significance: This study addressed a gap in the literature concerning the potential of mid-season drainage to reduce iron toxicity, and increase rice yield and water productivity and the suitable domains for its application

Flood Hazard Assessment in Agricultural Areas: The Case of the District of Pélébina in the Municipality of Djougou, Bénin

Flood is a natural disaster and causes loss of life and property destruction. Its impacts are large on agriculture especially in West African countries where smallholder farmers account for 80% of all the farms. The objective of this study was to assess flood risks in the inland valley of Dosir located in the district of Pélébina, northern Benin. Rainfall, discharge and water level in the riverbed were monitored using rain gauge, acoustic current meter and pressure sensors, respectively. The hydrological functioning of the inland valley was simulated using the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS) model. The calibration was done based on the land use map (GlobalMap) and the soil water holding capacity map (UNEP). Our study demonstrated the existence of a high flood hazard in the inland valley of Dosir which reacts very quickly to rainfall solicitations. The IFAS model has shown a good performance in simulating the runoff in the riverbed of the inland valley with a coefficient of determination of 0.65. The IFAS model can be used to design a flood management system in the district of Pelebina. Further studies are needed to assess the exposure and vulnerability of farmers to flood risk

Strengthening multi-stakeholders innovations platforms in Mali

Most of the smallholder farmers in Mali are confronted with multifaceted challenges, which include low productivity, post-harvest crop losses, underdeveloped markets, vulnerability to climate change, and gender inequality affecting the distribution of resources. These problems require interventions such as institutional reforms that facilitate efficient rural service delivery, development of markets, creation of physical infrastructure, and supportive government policies while ensuring a stable and conducive political environment. In an attempt to enable discussions, negotiations, and joint planning between stakeholders from the rice-based systems, AICCRA-Mali established multi-stakeholders platforms (MSP) in the inland valley sites of Finkolo Ganadougou, Blendio, and Loutana in Sikasso, southern Mali, identified capacity building needs, and conducted training sessions to strengthen the capacity of MSP actors for optimal and sustainable performance. MSP actors were dealing with issues such as a lack of input, information, and finance, as well as competing for the use of inland valley resources. Based on needs assessments, training in contract farming, trust building, and consensus building over the use of multiple inland valley resources was provided to the MSP actors, and indicators for monitoring the performance of the MSPs were defined by the actors. The framework used in this report can be employed to inform planning and adaptive management, demonstrate performance, and inform the design of new interventions in MSPs

Training report in Climate-Smart Agriculture and Climate Information Services Prioritization

Agriculture, food and nutrition security, and the livelihoods of millions of people are affected by climate change. Given the scarce resources of most of the West African countries, there is a need to prioritize the technologies that need to be taken at scale to mitigate the climate change impacts. AICCRA-Mali developed a stakeholders prioritization framework to assess the locally suitable interventions in the diverse rice-based production systems in Mali. The prioritization is made in two steps. First, all interventions are evaluated by stakeholders based on their climate-smart performance indicator (ability to increase farm productivity, income, and resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emission). Second, the interventions are evaluated based on their implementation feasibility (technical feasibility, cost, gender inclusivity, demand by the market, and alignment with the social and cultural context). A training session was organized to capacitate stakeholders in the implementation of the prioritization framework for identifying locally relevant CSA and CIS interventions that can be taken to scale

Training Report in Safe Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation Method for Rice Cultivation with Less Water Use

Management practices that simultaneously enhance rice yield, water productivity, labor productivity, and grain quality are needed for improving crop production and mitigating the negative impact of water scarcity on food security. Among the water-saving technologies that were developed in recent decades, the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) method of irrigation is widely advocated for its potential to increase water productivity while maintaining rice yield compared to continuous flooding. Under AWD, fields are subjected to intermittent flooding where irrigation is interrupted, and water is allowed to subside until the water table falls down to a threshold below the soil surface, after which the field is re-flooded. Previous studies indicated an increase in water productivity under AWD compared to continuous flooding with other co-benefits including a decrease in methane emissions, a decrease in the concentration of arsenic in grains, and an increase in the internal phosphorus use efficiency. However, yield reductions were also reported under AWD particularly when the drying phase occurs during the flowering stage, or water recedes below 15 cm soil depth. The safe AWD was developed to ensure similar or higher rice yield and grain quality under safe AWD compared to continuous flooding. Despite the benefits of safe AWD, the technology is new, and not known by many stakeholders in Mali. AICCRA-Mali strengthened the capacity of 18 staff from Niger Office including 6 women in the implementation of safe AWD for producing rice with less water and less greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining rice yield and grain quality compared to the farmers’ practices of continuous flooding