Rice Miller Cluster in Ghana and Its Effects on Efficiency and Quality Improvement

This paper investigates the roles of industrial cluster on the efficiency of rice milling and the improvement of milled rice quality. The data were obtained in Kumasi area, central Ghana because the enhancement of domestic rice production is a urgent policy issue in this country, but little attention has been paid to the roles of clusters in post-harvest processing and marketing. Among 63 rice millers interviewed in the Kumasi area, 24 millers form a few clusters in the city of Kumasi, while others are scattered over 25 satellite towns around Kumasi, which enables us to examine the effect of the cluster. Regression analyses reveal that rice millers in the Kumasi clusters tend to adopt more advanced technology, and that the innovation increases milling efficiency and improves 1 milling quality. Moreover, it is found from the estimation of price determination functions that in the Kumasi clusters milled rice price is affected by milling quality namely the content of whole grain, while in the rural areas there is no clear relationship between milling quality and the price. This indicates that the clusters, probably because of the concentrated transactions, will foster informal quality grading system, which is critical for the market development. Therefore, the clusters in post-harvest industry will benefit not only the industry itself but also traders and producers, and in consequence will stimulate agricultural production.rice, miller, industrial cluster, efficiency, product quality, sub-Saharan Africa, Crop Production/Industries,

Analyses, calibration and validation of evapotranspirationmodels to predict grass-reference evapotranspiration in theSenegal river delta

Study region: Grass-reference evapotranspiration estimation by the Penman-Monteithmethod (PM-ETo) requires a number of climate variables which are not always availableat all weather stations. Different alternative ETo equations have been developed and theirutilization for various local climate conditions requires analyses of their accuracy as com-pared to the standardized Penman-Monteith method. There is a significant lack of data andinformation on this topic in the Senegal River Delta (SRD). Study focus: The objective of this study was to evaluate, calibrate and validate six EToequations ((Trabert, Mahringer, Penman1948, Albrecht, Valiantzas1 and Valiantzas2) forthe SRD. Although all six equations showed good agreement with the PM-ETo (R2\u3e 0.60)for daily ETo estimates, the Valiantzas2 equation was the best model for the Senegal RiverDelta and had the lowest root mean squared difference (RMSE) of 0.45 mm/day and thelowest percent error of estimate (PE) about 7.1%. New hydrological insights for the region: In the case of data limitations, the equationscalibrated in this study are recommended for ETo estimation in the Senegal River Delta. Theresults of this study could be used by agricultural producers, crop consultants, universityresearchers, policy makers for the agricultural, hydrological, and environmental studies aswell as proper allocation and use and forecasting in the SRD where lowland irrigated riceis predominant

AICCRA Scaling Vision: Mali

AICCRA-Mali scaling vision is to ensure that by 2030, 1,000,000 farmers, including 35% women use the CSA and CIS interventions developed, validated, or scaled by the project to enhance the security of income, employment and food including nutrition in the face of climate change. The short-term objective is to enhance the yield income, food, and nutrition security of 250,000 farmers including 35% women in the face of climate variability and climate change by December 2023 by adopting innovative partnerships and inclusive business models to ensure sustainability

Suitability For Parboiling Of Rice Varieties From Benin Through Assessing The Soaking Temperature And Rice Quality

The suitability of 10 different rice varieties cultivated in Benin for parboiling was assessed through physical, chemical and sensorial analysis. Paddy rice samples were soaked at three different water temperatures (60, 70 and 80°C) under laboratory conditions. Using these temperatures, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the chalkiness, hardness and grain homogeneity of the parboiled rice after milling. The paddy rice soaked at 80°C presented the best results: the majority of the parboiled grains were homogeneous (overall mean = 85.16%) and had favorable scores for hardness (overall mean = 8.99 kg) and chalkiness (score =1). In the field, At soaking temperature about 80°C the professional parboilers preferred NERICAL56, BERIS21 and IR841 as the most suitable for parboiling from the investigated rice varieties, due to the grain homogeneity (> 90 %), head rice ratio ( > 86.67 %) and low rate of broken grains after milling (<13.33 %). These three varieties were the most appreciated by the panelists before and after cooking, whereas BL19 and NERICA2 were the least. Findings from this work are important for guiding rice parboiling stakeholders in Benin and other countries in West Africa. NERICAL56, BERIS21 and IR841 were the suitable rice varieties for parboiling to be advised to the processors. To this end, passport data on the varieties suitable for parboiling will be produced and widely disseminated to the stakeholders for rice parboiling

Effects of Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation Regime and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Irrigated Rice in the Sahel

The objectives of this study were to investigate water saving strategies in the paddy field and to evaluate the performance of some of the newly released rice varieties. Field experiments were conducted at Fanaye in the Senegal River Valley during two rice growing seasons in 2015. Three irrigation regimes ((i) continuous flooding, (ii) trigging irrigation at soil matric potential (SMP) of 30 kPa, (iii) trigging irrigation at SMP of 60 kPa) were tested in an irrigated lowland rice field. Irrigation regimes (ii) and (iii) are alternate wetting and drying (AWD) cycles. Four inbred rice varieties (NERICA S-21, NERICA S-44, Sahel 210 and Sahel 222) and one hybrid rice (Hybrid AR032H) were evaluated under five nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg N ha-1). The results showed that rice yield varied from 0.9 to 12 t ha-1. The maximum yield of 12 t ha-1 was achieved by NERICA S-21 under AWD 30 kPa at 150 kg N ha-1. The AWD irrigation management at 30 kPa resulted in increasing rice yield, rice water use and nitrogen use efficiency and reducing the irrigation applications by 27.3% in comparison with continuous flooding. AWD30 kPa could be adopted as a water saving technology for water productivity under paddy production in the Senegal River Middle Valley. Additional research should be conducted in the upper Valley, where soils are sandier and water is less available, for the sustainability and the adoption of the irrigation water saving practices across the entire Senegal River Valley

Evaluation of sixteen reference evapotranspiration methods under sahelian conditions in the Senegal River Valley

Study region: Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) plays a key role in irrigation sys-tems design, water management under irrigated and rainfed production. Underthe sahelian conditions in the Senegal River Valley that receives less than 300 mmannual rainfall, rice crop water use should be estimated for the sustainability of theresource. Study focus: However the Penman–Monteith (PM) equation is revealed the mostaccurate one; it necessitates several climatic parameters that are not always avail-able mostly in the developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluatethe performance of 16 ETo equations against the ASCE-PM equation under thesahelian conditions at Ndiaye and Fanaye (Senegal) for alternate equation forETo estimation with less climatic parameters. The results showed that the Har-greaves, modified Hargreaves, Ravazzani and Tralkovic equations systematicallyoverestimated ETo with the highest percentage error of estimate (PE). In contrast,Makkink–Hansen, Oudin and Turc equations systematically underestimated ETo.Temperature based equations of Romenenko and Schendel performed relativelybetter at Fanaye with 5.5% and 9.6% PE, fitting slopes of 0.92 and 1.05, and meanratio (MR) of 1.00 and 1.14, respectively. Mass transfer equations of Trabert andMahringer also had good performance compared to the Penman–Monteith equa-tion. New hydrological insights for the region: Overall, Valiantzas, Trabert, Romanenko,Schendel and Mahringer equations were the promising equations that could be usedfor reference evapotranspiration estimation in the Senegal River Valley

Stakeholders prioritization of climate information services (CIS) in the rice-based production systems of Mali

This study used a stakeholder prioritization framework to assess and rank locally suitable climate information services (CIS) and implementation suitability with key stakeholders: Center for Mechanized Agriculture, seed companies (Faso Kaba), Green Innovation Centers, National Institute for Rural Economy, NGOs (GIE-GNELENI, JMI), Niger Office, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, Women Association and Youth Association. The prioritization was made in two steps for each of the four major rice production systems in Mali (irrigated lowland, rainfed lowland, rainfed upland, and submergence). The first step consisted of the review and evaluation of location-specific CIS based on their contribution to increasing farm productivity, reducing yield loss due to climatic risks, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The second step consisted of the evaluation of the implementation feasibility, gender inclusivity, readiness to scale, cost of implementation, and demand by the market. In all the four production systems, the overall CIS performance score was more determined by the ability of the CIS to increase resilience than to increase productivity, income and to enhance gender inclusivity. In the irrigated lowland, the CIS technologies with a high score include cropping calendar construction, cold occurrence and duration, flooding occurrence and duration, information on dam water level, pest and disease occurrence, and suitable area for rice cultivation. In the rainfed lowland, the CIS technologies with a high score include flooding occurrence and duration, suitable area for rice cultivation, onset and cessation of the rainy season, cropping calendar construction, and pest and disease occurrence. In the rainfed upland, the CIS technologies with a high score include onset and cessation of the rainy season, pest and disease occurrence, seasonal rainfall amount, cropping calendar construction, and drought occurrence and duration. In the submergence system, the CIS technologies with a high score include suitable area for rice cultivation, pest and disease occurrence, flooding occurrence and duration, and cropping calendar construction. The framework used in this study provides a decision support tool for policymaking in adaptation and mitigation activities in the rice-based sector at the local level

Stakeholders prioritization of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the rice-based production systems of Mali

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. This study uses a stakeholders prioritization framework to assess the locally suitable interventions in the diverse rice-based production systems in Mali. The prioritization was made in two steps. First, all interventions were 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 were evaluated based on their implementation feasibility (technical feasibility, cost, gender inclusivity, demand by the market, and alignment with the social and cultural context). The technologies’ CSA performance indicator was more determined by their ability to increase farm productivity and income, while their implementation feasibility was more driven by their technical feasibility and cost of implementation. Best bet CSA technologies and practices with high CSA performance indicator and high implementation feasibility score were RiceAdvice, submergence tolerant varieties, integrated rice – vegetable, and mechanical thresher in the irrigated lowland; submergence tolerant varieties, drought-tolerant varieties, RiceAdvice, and ASI thresher in the rainfed lowland; drought-tolerant varieties and RiceAdvice in the rainfed upland, and submergence tolerant varieties and RiceAdvice in the submergence system. This study shows the potential of using a stakeholders prioritization framework to inform investment in climate change adaptation and mitigation at the local level