CAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN THE MARGINAL LANDS CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY IN THE SAHELIAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES: AN EVIDENCE FROM THE BAS-FOND RICE PRODUCTION IN MALI

To improve national food security, successive Mali governments have always focused on expanding and intensifying production in the government-managed irrigation schemes (Office du Niger), which account for about 50% of domestic rice production. Because the cost of expanding and rehabilitating those schemes is high, the government is looking for complementary cost-effective ways to achieve this goal. The government could increase domestic rice supply by investing in improving the farmer-managed inland valley swamps. Although the government has paid little attention to those marginal lands, farmers have been growing rice in these areas using traditional technologies. This paper used data from a survey of 334 bas-fond farmers and secondary data to examine the potential contribution that these undeveloped bas-fonds could make to improve food security and rice exports in Mali. The study found that, if fully developed, the bas-fonds and flooded plains could produce more rice than is currently being supplied by the Office du Niger, or imported through commercial imports or food aid. As expected, rice yields in the bas-fonds are lower than in the Office du Niger. However, bas-fonds rice production is both financially profitable and provides a higher return per day of family labor than the competing upland crops (maize, sorghum/millet and cotton). In addition, the estimated domestic resources cost ratios show that, compared to the Office d u Niger, bas-fond rice production represents a better use of domestic resources, both for producing rice for home consumption and for the market.Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use,

Evaluation des performances agromorphologiques de neuf varietes ameliorees de riz de bas-fond (05 nerica et 04 sativa) au sud-ouest de la Cote d’Ivoire (Departement de Gagnoa, region de goh)

Le riz est la première céréale consommée en Côte d’Ivoire. La production nationale, estimée à 683 671 tonnes de riz blanchi en 2008, ne couvre que  la moitié des besoins de consommation. Pour combler ce déficit, de nombreuses variétés de riz plus performantes ont été créées ou sélectionnées.Les travaux d’expérimentation ont porté sur l’évaluation de 09 variétés améliorées de riz. Ils se sont déroulés sur la station de recherche du CNRA à Gagnoa. Le dispositif utilisé est de type split-split plot, comportant 4 niveaux d’azote (0, 30, 60, et 120 kg N ha-1), trois niveaux de phosphore (0, 13, et 26 kg P ha-1) et 10 variétés de riz de bas-fond (5 variétés de Nerica, 4 variétés de Sativa améliorées et une variété traditionnelle Djoukèmin). Les variétés testées ont des cycles culturaux variables et compris entre 112 Jours Après Semis (JAS) Nerica L19 et Nerica L41) et 147 JAS (Djoukèmin). Les variétés Nerica L60 et Nerica L20, avec une moyenne respective de 170 et 160 talles/m² ont présenté un bon tallage. Les variétés Nerica L60, Nerica L41 et Sativa FKR19 ont eu un rendement de grains de plus de 3,3 t/ha sans apport d’engrais. Mots-clés : Riziculture irriguée, rendement, Sativa, Nerica, Côte d’Ivoire English title: Evaluation of agro-morphological performance improved varieties of lowland rice Rice is the first cereal consumed in Côte d’Ivoire. National production, estimated at 683,671 tonnes of milled rice in 2008, covers only half of  consumption needs. To fill this gap, in addition to the development of irrigated rice production, many rice varieties with good characteristics have been created or selected. Thus, experimental work on the evaluation of 09 improved rice varieties were carried out at the CNRA research station in Gagnoa. The device used is a split-split plot type, with 4 nitrogen levels (0, 30, 60, and 120 kg N ha-1), three phosphorus levels (0, 13, and 26 kg P  ha-1) and 10 lowland rice varieties (5 varieties of Nerica, 4 improved Sativa varieties and a traditional Djoukèmin variety). The varieties tested have variable crop cycles and range from 112 days after sowing (JAS) (Nerica L19 and Nerica L41) to 147 JAS (Djoukèmin). The varieties Nerica L60 and Nerica L20, with an average of 170 and 160 tillers per square met with good tillering respectively. The varieties Nerica L60, Nerica L41 and Sativa FKR19 had a grain yield of more than 3.3 t/ha without fertilizer. Keywords: Irrigated rice cultivation, yield, Sativa, Nerica, Côte d’Ivoir

ON THE USE OF PRODUCTIVITY-INCREASING TECHNOLOGIES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: THE CASE OF INLAND VALLEY SWAMP RICE FARMING IN SOUTHERN MALI

There is no improved seed-fertilizer technology available that can generate the needed growth in agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa to meet food demand by the rapidly increasing population. This paper identifies factors associated with inland valley swamp rice farmers' decisions to adopt "improved" varieties and/or fertilizer. To achieve this objective, input-specific logistic models were estimated using survey-generated data collected from a random sample of 221 rice plots (one per farmer) selected from a purposive sample of 12 Mali-Sud bas-fond villages during the 1995-96 cropping season. The model estimation results show that the farther the village is from the closest market, the lower the probability to adopt the "improved" variety, increasing the size of the rice plot will decrease this probability, and men are more likely to adopt "improved" varieties than women because men have access to credit through CMDT, and more alternative sources of income to finance input purchases than women. For fertilizer, the use of "improved" varieties, the presence of water control infrastructure, and the village experience in cotton production increase the likelihood that a farmer will apply this input. The significance of the village experience in cotton production and women limited access to credit suggests that one of the constrains to a wider use of modern inputs is the absence of a reliable source of these inputs and/or seasonal credits. The significance of village distance to the closest market and the presence of water control the likelihood of using these inputs suggests that there exits some technological payoff associated with well-functioning markets and road improvements because such investments reduce the effective distance between the farm and the market.Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Effet de la fertilisation azotée et phosphorée sur le développement de la Panachure jaune en riziculture aquatique en Côte d’Ivoire

La crise mondiale du riz survenue en 2008 a montré l’impérative nécessité pour les pays tributaires des importations comme la Côte d’Ivoire, d’assurer leur autosuffisance. La fertilisation minérale figure parmiles cinq axes stratégiques définis pour l’accroissement de la production rizicole en Côte d’Ivoire. Sachant l’effet stimulateur de l’engrais azoté sur le développement de certaines maladies telle que la Pyriculariose duriz, un essai a été conduit dans le but de savoir l’influence d’une application optimale de l’azote sur l’épidémie de la Panachure jaune du riz ou Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV). L’étude a été réalisée selon un dispositif expérimental en SPLIT-PLOT comportant quatre niveaux d’azote (0 kg N Ha-1, 30 kg N Ha-1, 60 kg N Ha-1, 120 kg N Ha-1), trois niveaux de phosphore (0 kg P Ha-1, 13 kg P Ha-1, 26 kg N Ha-1) et 10 génotypes de riz irrigué. Les résultats ont montré que le phosphore et l’interaction NxP n’ont aucun effet significatif sur l’épidémie de RYMV. A l’opposé, les analyses ont mis en évidence un effet significatif de l’azote sur l’incidence de la Panachure jaune à des doses comprises entre 0 et 30 Kg N Ha-1. Cet intervalle de doses étant en deçà de celui des doses recommandées en Côte d’Ivoire, l’intensification de la riziculture aquatique par unefertilisation azotée optimale, n’aura pas d’incidence significative sur le développement de la Panachure jaune. Il faudra cependant sensibiliser les riziculteurs sur l’intérêt d’appliquer des doses d’engrais recommandées dans la lutte contre la virose.Mots clés: Riz irrigué, fertilisation minérale, épidémie, RYMV, incidence

Characterization of maize producing households in the dry savanna of Mali

Maize is one of the three most important staple foods in Mali. Zones in the country with high potential for producing maize are limited to areas where the probability of drought risk is between 20 and 40%, meaning that recurring droughts have long handicapped maize production. In an attempt to alleviate drought stress on maize production, a household survey was conducted in the two Local Government Areas of Bougouni and Koutiala, both in the Sikasso Region, during the 2007/2008 production period. These two districts were selected following an environmental characterization of drought zones in Mali. The survey was mainly oriented towards maize based farming systems. Six sample villages were selected within each of the two districts. The sample population was defined as maize farming households. A total of 150 households were randomly selected and interviewed with structured questionnaires. Interviews were conducted by trained enumerators using a formal household survey. The purpose of the study is to provide both quantitative and qualitative feedback from farmers to researchers and to the B&MGF on the impact that improved maize varieties developed in the past have had upon the livelihoods of households and to provide a detailed database for the projection of expected outcomes with the deployment of new drought tolerant maize varieties under the B&MGF drought tolerant maize project. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were used to extract from our set of variables those orthogonal linear combinations of the variables that best captured the common information. Most successful was the one proposed by Filmer and Pritchett (1998; 2001) called the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). To assess the variables affecting the adoption of improved maize varieties, the Tobit model was used. The results show that 99% of household heads are male. The size of a household is 22 persons, on average. About 47% of the household’s members are available for farm work. About 59% of household heads are illiterate, an important factor concerning the adoption of new technology. These household heads make decisions about 84% of farming activities; 86% of the households involved in the study belonged to at least one farmers’ organization in order to have easy access to inputs