Presentation by: Gerald Aruna, ENGIM Country Rep., Sierra Leone Title: 1609 - Experiences Introducing the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) to Resource-Limited Farmers in Sierra Leone Venue: Cornell University Date: September 12, 2016 Sponsor: SRI-Rice, IP-CALS, Cornell University

1. Gerald Aruna, ENGIM, Lunsar, SL

2. Content of the presentation
• Overview of SRI in Sierra Leone
• Progress/Activities
• Reports /Research
• Extension Materials
• Video
• Problems/Challenges in Adaptation
• Working with and through Community Savings
and Loan groups (SILC)
• Photo Collection
• Review of Current Project

3. Overview of SRI in Sierra Leone
• The Practice of the System of Rice Intensification in
Sierra Leone -- written by Abu Yamah, WVI, for
international SRI conference in China in 2002.
• Work of Gerald Aruna with St. Joseph Fathers’
Agricultural Program and CRS -- how it began
• Involvement of Regional West African Agricultural
Productivity Proigram on project for scaling up SRI,
conference in Porto Novo, Benin
• Training of Ministry of Agriculture (MAFFS) staff and
researchers from Sierra Leone Agricultural Research
Institute (SLARI) on SRI -- for Innovation platforms
• Training of the Block Extension Supervisors (BES) in all
65 blocks in Sierra Leone

4. Progress/Activities
• Activities in SRI have been carried out by
champions associated with MAFFS, SLARI,
CRS, WARC (West African Rice Company)
Cotton Tree Foundation and ENGIM-S/Leone
• Progress made so far:
– Training of 65 BES
– Training of SILCs in 30 communities on SRI
methodology (900 FFHs) by Gerald/ENGIM
– Training of Extension Staff of CRS

5. Farmers from SILC groups training
hands-on with SRI at Gerald’s farm

6. BES training at Gerald's farm

7. BES transplanting rice seedlings 12 days old
at Gerald’s farm

8. SRI current yields on-farm
Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute
Tower Hill, PMB 1313, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Tel. (232) 22 222179/222794/224708; Fax: (232) 22 224439
Year season District
# of SRI
Farmer
s
SRI
Area
(ha.)
Average
Conv.
Yield
(t/ha.)
Average SRI yield (t/ha)
% increase
over
conventiona
l
Chiefdom CommentsWith PKC
at 10t/ha
Without PKC
and fertilizer
2013 Wet Bo 10 0.3 2.2 7.5 3.7 68-241 Kakua CBOs/NGO
2013 Wet
Western
Rural
10 0,3 1.7 6.8 3.5 106-300 W/Rural
CBOs/NGO
s
2013 Wet Kenema 10 0.3 1.5 5.9 2.9 93-293 Small/Bo CBOs/NGO
2013 Wet
Port
Loko
10 0.3 1.6 4.2 3.0 88 - 163 Maforkie CBOs/NGO
2013 Wet Kambia 10 0.3 1.9 4.2 3.2 68 - 121 Magbema
CBOs/NGO
s
Average 1.8 5.7 3.3 89-272

9. SRI with palm kernel cake (PKC) incorporated at 10 t/ha

10. SRI plots with PKC (back row) and without PKC
(front row) at Ogoo farm, Western Rural

11. ENGIM INTERNATIONALE (TRAINING COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT)
Year season Community
# of SRI
Farmers
SRI
Area
(ha.)
Average
Conv. Yield
(t/ha.)
Average
SRI Yield
(tha.)
% increase
over
conventional
Location Chiefdom Comments
2004 Wet Bankasoka 20 0.4 1.9 4.3 126 Portloko BuyaRomende
2005 Wet Rogberay 27 0.5 1.5 6.7 347 Portloko Koya
2005 Wet Foindu 30 0.8 2.2 8.3 277 Portloko Koya
2005 Wet Mayamba 38 1.2 2.4 10.0 317 Portloko Koya
2005 Wet Makali 25 0.5 2.7 4.8 78 Portloko Koya
2006 Wet Mabora 49 1 2.0 10.6 430 Portloko Koya
2006 Wet Makambore 21 0.3 1.4 3.9 179 Portloko Koya
2006 Wet Komrabai 29 2 1.7 5.5 224 Portloko Maforkie
2013 Wet Mendesora 27 2 2.4 7.7 221 Portloko Koya
Local
Variety
2013 Wet SJVI 40 3 2.3 7.5 226 Portloko Marampa
2013 Wet Mebethor 10 1 2.5 6.7 168 Portloko BuyaRomende
Gerald's
Farm
Average 28.7 1.2 2.1 6.9
Gerald/Mendesora United/CRS
Gerald/CRS

12. WARC (The West African Rice Company)
Year season
SRI
Area(ha)
# of SRI
Farmers
Average SRI Yield
(t/ha.)
Average
Conv. Yield
(t/ha.)
SRI
starting
date
Comments
2012 Wet 0.32 10 6.9 - 2012 WARC
2013 Wet 0.4 30 3.8 1.9 2013 Welthunger Hilfe

13. Extension Material

14. Training Material

15. Problems with SRI implementation
Challenges
• Excessive weed growth as farmers can not readily
afford good weeding implements and they are not
available at low cost
• Rural development programs implemented by
successive governments (seeds and fertilizer
distribution) discourage use of own resources
• Conservativeness of farmers (many not too willing to
change), partly due to poor education
• Weak extension models and services
• Plenty of water in rice fields during the rainy season

16. Working with and through community
savings and Loan groups.(SILC)

17. SILC groups/members can make
themselves available for training

18. Training in Basic Surveying

19. How does SILC build up assets that influence structures and systems and support strategies for
Integral Human Development?
• SILC (Savings and Inter-Lending Community) helps
group members to learn new skills in bookkeeping,
accountability, transparency of transactions, savings
and lending policies and procedures, and setting up
of by-laws.
• SILC helps group members benefit from an insurance
fund/social fund that can be used for health care.
• SILC helps group members have extra income for
better nutrition and education.

20. SRI Project

21. Mendesora is a small village community comprising of
13 houses with a total population of 147 inhabitants, in the
Rokel section of Koya Chiefdom in the Portloko District

22. SRI Project
• Name of Project Proposal - Swamp Development, SRI, and
Vegetable Cultivation
• Name of Implementing Organization - ENGIM
(Ente Nazionale Giuseppini del Murialdo)
• Contact Address - P.O. Box 27 , Lunsar
Sierra Leone, West Africa. Tel 232-76-781747
• Contact Person - Mr. Gerald D. Aruna
232-76-614-041 aruna.gerald@gmail.com
•

23. SRI Project
• Contact Person (Italy) - Mr. Francesco Farnesi
francesco.farnesi1@gmail.com
• Location of Project - Koya Chiefdoms, Port Loko
District, Northern Province.
• Project Beneficiaries - 50 members.
• Duration of Project - One (1) year.
• Date of Commencement – Feb. 2013
• Date of Completion - March 2014
• Got a no-cost extension so it is ongoing

24. SRI Project
• Community Contribution – Euros1,819 (Le
10,000,000) + Euro 118 (Le 664,000), SJFAP
contribution (Euros 1,937 /Le 10,644,000)
• Fund Requested - Euros 2,551 (Le 14,031,000)
• Total Project Cost - Euros 4,488 (Le 24,675,000)
• Funding Agency – Italian Benefactor

25. AIM
Improving farmers’ yield and productivity,
thereby increasing the income and material
well-being of community members. This
project intends to develop 1 hectare area of
inland valley swamp (IVS) in the Mendesora
Village for its eventual cultivation of rice using
the SRI methods and intensive vegetable
cultivation. This general aim can be broken
down into five specific objectives:

26. OBJECTIVES
• To develop 1 hectare inland valley swamp area
for the cultivation of rice using the SRI method
followed by vegetable cultivation in
Mendesora Village in Koya Chiefdom in the
Portloko district.
• To establish a Community Tool Bank to
support agricultural activities in the village.
• To produce 5 tons of good-quality seed rice
annually.

27. OBJECTIVES
• To produce x tons of vegetable seeds annually
• To provide training for 50 farmers in basic
surveying, swamp development, SRI, and
vegetable production.
• To construct one irrigation well with culverts
for vegetable cultivation

28. Methodology and Beneficiary
Community
• Mendesora community will benefit from the
project and is selected according to the
presence of its successful functioning SILC
group and its involvement in agriculture as an
IGA . This criterion was decided for ensuring a
better and more participatory response from
the beneficiaries’ side that have been already
involved in other developing interventions and
are aware of ENGIM’s work.

29. Methodology and Beneficiary
Community
• Mendesora village belongs to an area
constantly monitored and visited by its
respective Field Extension Agents (FEAs),
whose tasks are to conduct regular
communities’ needs assessment, follow-up
visits of ongoing projects, check maintenance
and functioning of previous construction
interventions.

30. Methodology and Beneficiary
Community
• In this particular intervention, the FEA and the
community will be trained in basic surveying
and swamp development for a period of three
days and will start the swamp development
activities thereafter. This will be followed by
training in SRI methods of rice cultivation in
June, and in September also one training will
be conducted on vegetable cultivation. This
series of training will ensure best practices
during the implementation of key activities.

31. Achievements
• 1 Ha of inland valley swamp (IVS) developed
• Mendesora United (SILC) group now practising
SRI and attracts near by villages and farmers.
• 15% of members now working their fields
using the SRI method.
• Mendesora United group now has a
community tool bank.
• Members’ share-out has increased by 30%

32. SRI Linkages
Collaborators in this initiative:
• SRI–Rice, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York,
USA - Dr. Erika Styger, Devon Jenkins, Prof.
Norman Uphoff, Lucy Hill Fisher.
• WAAPP as a regional body involving 13
countries (ECOWAS members)
www.sriwestafrica.org
Mr. Suliaman S. Sesay is the responsible for
Sierra Leone

33. SRI Linkages
• CNS Rice Mali - Regional coordination
• Dr. Gaoussou Traoré, Directeur de
Recherche, Coordinateur Scientifique; and
Coordinateur du Centre National de
Specialisation sur le Riz (CNS-RIZ),
PPAAO/WAAPP, Institut d'Economie Rurale,
B.P. 258, Bamako, Mali

34. SRI Linkages
• Focal Institution in Sierra Leone: SLARI with
focal person: Samuel Soki Harding
• SRI champions in Sierra Leone: Mr Gerald D.
Aruna and Mr Daniel H Saidu
• Other NGOs practicing SRI in Sierra Leone:
Cotton Tree Foundation, CRS and.....

35. Preparation of the main field

36. Preparation and Use: Mapity Jalam

37. THANK YOU from Mapity Farming Enterprise