The document summarizes activities from the SRI-LMB project in several Southeast Asian countries. It discusses:
1) A field mission in Laos to review implementation of participatory farmer research sites, visiting 25 sites across 3 provinces. Most crops were ready for harvest, with farmers reporting benefits of SRI including increased yields and reduced costs.
2) Continuing support for women farmer groups in Vietnam involved in the research sites, focusing on demonstrations, trials of alternative pest management practices, and policy engagement.
3) A national planning workshop in Vietnam where participants discussed scaling up SRI practices through integration into extension activities and promoting large contiguous demonstrations.
Livestock management in Ghana 2019/2020africa-rising
Presented by Augustine Ayantunde (ILRI), Sadat Salifu (CSIR-SARI), and Franklin Avornyo (CSIR-SARI) at Africa RISING Ghana Country Planning Meeting, Tamale, Ghana, and Virtual, 24 - 25 June 2020.
Presenters: Juna Shrestha and Benjamin Huber
Title: Carbon offsetting to sustainably finance the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Nepal
Date: October 4, 2016
Venue: Mann Library 160, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Sponsors: SRI-Rice, International Programs, CALS, Cornell University
Presented by Bekele Kotu (IITA), Abdul Rahman Nurudeen (IITA), Gundula Fischer (IITA), Kipo Jimah (IITA), Mirja Michalscheck (WUR), and Issah Sugri (CSIR-SARI) at Africa RISING Ghana Country Planning Meeting, Tamale, Ghana, and Virtual, 24 - 25 June 2020.
Gender, Policy, and Socio-economic dimensions 2019/2020africa-rising
Presented by Adams Abdulai (CSIR-STEPRI), Bekele Kotu (IITA), Gundula Fischer (IITA), Kipo Jimah (IITA), and Alhassan Lansah Abdulai (CSIR-SARI) at Africa RISING Ghana Country Planning Meeting, Tamale, Ghana, and Virtual, 24 - 25 June 2020.
Title: SRI: Introduction to KGVK and Usha Martin University
Presenter: Yezdi P. Karai
Venue: Presented at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Date: May 22, 2014
Livestock management in Ghana 2019/2020africa-rising
Presented by Augustine Ayantunde (ILRI), Sadat Salifu (CSIR-SARI), and Franklin Avornyo (CSIR-SARI) at Africa RISING Ghana Country Planning Meeting, Tamale, Ghana, and Virtual, 24 - 25 June 2020.
Presenters: Juna Shrestha and Benjamin Huber
Title: Carbon offsetting to sustainably finance the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Nepal
Date: October 4, 2016
Venue: Mann Library 160, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Sponsors: SRI-Rice, International Programs, CALS, Cornell University
Presented by Bekele Kotu (IITA), Abdul Rahman Nurudeen (IITA), Gundula Fischer (IITA), Kipo Jimah (IITA), Mirja Michalscheck (WUR), and Issah Sugri (CSIR-SARI) at Africa RISING Ghana Country Planning Meeting, Tamale, Ghana, and Virtual, 24 - 25 June 2020.
Gender, Policy, and Socio-economic dimensions 2019/2020africa-rising
Presented by Adams Abdulai (CSIR-STEPRI), Bekele Kotu (IITA), Gundula Fischer (IITA), Kipo Jimah (IITA), and Alhassan Lansah Abdulai (CSIR-SARI) at Africa RISING Ghana Country Planning Meeting, Tamale, Ghana, and Virtual, 24 - 25 June 2020.
Title: SRI: Introduction to KGVK and Usha Martin University
Presenter: Yezdi P. Karai
Venue: Presented at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Date: May 22, 2014
Economic analysis of fertilizer options for maize production in Tanzaniaafrica-rising
Poster prepared by Bekele Kotu, Job Kihara, Yangole Luanda, Stephen Lyimo, Mateete Bekunda, Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon for the Africa RISING ESA Project Review and Planning Meeting, Lilongwe, Malawi, 3–5 October 2018
PowerPoint by Bancy Mati presented at the video conference "South-South Knowledge Sharing on Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices" at KDLC, Nairobi, on August 24, 2011.
Economic analysis of fertilizer options for maize production in Tanzaniaafrica-rising
Poster prepared by Bekele Kotu, Job Kihara, Yangole Luanda, Stephen Lyimo, Mateete Bekunda, Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon for the Africa RISING ESA Project Review and Planning Meeting, Lilongwe, Malawi, 3–5 October 2018
PowerPoint by Bancy Mati presented at the video conference "South-South Knowledge Sharing on Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices" at KDLC, Nairobi, on August 24, 2011.
Effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase 1 Atasp 1 ...ijtsrd
This study examined the effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase 1 ATASP 1 on Farmers Performance in Southeast, Nigeria. It used a well structured questionnaire to collect data from a cross section of randomly selected 730 respondents. A combination of analytical tools such as descriptive statistics, Tobit and multiple regression analysis and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The study found that 56.6 of the farmers are males with an average age of 44 years, who are 87.8 married and have 10 years of formal schooling. Apart from over 19 years farming experience, the average 6 people per household is large enough to supply cheap family labour to the farmers. The study found out that the programme interventions are classified into three important components, which are infrastructure, financial market and commodity value chain development. It was also revealed that farmers adopted the following agricultural technologies the use of improved seed varieties, the use of ICT extension facilities, and keeping a good farm processing record to track changes, among others. The study, therefore, recommended among others, that the programme implementers need to be transparent in their disbursement and implementation of the project mandates and that there is a need to improve the literacy level of the farmers, as this will go a long way to improve their possibilities of technology adoption. Johnpaul Chimnedum Onyekineso | Nwankwo Frank "Effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase 1 (Atasp-1) on Farmers' Performance in Southeast, Nigeria" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-6 , October 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd46407.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/business-economics/46407/effect-of-agricultural-transformation-agenda-support-program-phase-1-atasp1-on-farmers'-performance-in-southeast-nigeria/johnpaul-chimnedum-onyekineso
Sustainable Soy Newsletter edition September 2015Suresh07
We are pleased to release new edition of "Sustainable Soy News" . Thank you all for your support and contribution for setup of "National Platform for Sustainable Soy" . We are looking forward to continuing this productive channel of information interchange throughout. The future success of the Newsletter depends on your comments, contributions and ideas. We do encourage all of you to try your utmost best to enrich the forthcoming Newsletter of National Platform for Sustainable Soy!
For further information/suggestions please write to: Suresh@solidaridadnetwork.org
GCARD2: Briefing paper land, water forests & landscape GCARD Conferences
The adaptation and adoption of conservation agriculture (CA)-based crop management through innovative techniques like reduced soil movement, adequate surface retention of crop residues and economically viable and diversified crop rotations are the way forward to address the emerging challenges mentioned above. This could help in ensuring sustainable food security and offer several environmental benefits in sustainable way. This is relatively a new strategy to deal with food security and environmental degradation in unfavourable agriculture system.
Visit the conference site for more information: http://www.egfar.org/gcard-2012
Role of Knowledge among Yemeni Agricultural Specialists in Applying the Proce...ijtsrd
This study seeks to explore the role of knowledge among Yemeni agricultural specialists in applying the procedures to be followed to benefit from agricultural residues. Through the primary data collected for a sample of 120 respondents from agricultural specialists. The study concluded that there is an effect of knowledge in the application of procedures, but the effect of knowledge increases greater there is the possibility of transferring knowledge to the competent authorities and farmers to implement these procedures on the ground. Moreover, the more there is an equal ratio of male and female agricultural specialists, the greater the impact will be, because the process of transferring knowledge will include male and female farmers, thus facilitating the better application of procedures, and the role of knowledge in implementing procedures is greater. The study recommends that females should be encouraged to enroll in agricultural education, as well as employment in government institutions that work in the agricultural sector, to contribute to the transfer of knowledge, experiences and everything new about agriculture, including recycling agricultural waste to female farmers. Ismail Mohammed Al-Obre | Khalid Nasser Al-Haj | Mohammed Mostafa Alshapi "Role of Knowledge among Yemeni Agricultural Specialists in Applying the Procedures to be followed to Benefit from Agricultural Waste" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-7 | Issue-3 , June 2023, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com.com/papers/ijtsrd57482.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com.com/economics/development-economics/57482/role-of-knowledge-among-yemeni-agricultural-specialists-in-applying-the-procedures-to-be-followed-to-benefit-from-agricultural-waste/ismail-mohammed-alobre
Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices among Farmers in Ohaukwu Local...BRNSS Publication Hub
The study was conducted with the broad objective of determining the level of adoption of sustainable
agricultural practices (SAPs) among farmers in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Multistage, random, and systematic sampling procedures were employed to select 160 respondents for
the study. The collected data were analyzed using relevant descriptive and inferential statistics suitable
for each objective. The result showed that majority of the respondents were females who were married,
having a mean age of 43 years and mean number of years of experience of 17. Majority of them acquired
secondary school education while practicing Christianity and were engaged in the production of both crops
and animals (mixed farming), having mean farm size of 0.8 ha in scattered plots and mean annual income
of N71,400 which was regarded as low income. Most of the farmers were not members to any farmers’
cooperative society. The predominant SAPs adopted included crop rotation, compost manure, and use of
tolerant varieties. Furthermore, socioeconomic characteristics of the rural farmers were observed to have
strong influence on adoption of SAPs by the farmers. The constraints to the adoption of SAPs among farmers
were socioeconomic, political, and institutional. The null hypothesis tested using F-test was rejected at 5%
level of significance. Consequently, it was concluded that socioeconomic characteristics of farmers actually
influenced adoption of SAPs, though there were identified constraints that limited the level of adoption
of such SAPs which if mitigated will improve adoption of the SAPs. Based on the study findings, the
policy recommendations were that relevant agencies should ensure vigorous dissemination of information
to farmers on available windows to low interest rate agricultural credit facilities by the government; reform
in land tenure system should be facilitated to support adoption of SAPs; Nigerian agricultural extension
program should be restructured to reflect sustainable agricultural context and emphasis; and farmers should
be encouraged to seek meteorological information to minimize risks from adverse weather conditions. This
will encourage adoption of SAPs and ensure that maximum result is achieved.
Agricultural Development Associates Program(Krusi Unnat
sahajogi) is one of its kind apprenticeship program in the
country, which aims to leverage the final year undergraduate
students in improving the extension activities in the focus
blocks of the state. The students were employed as an agent
of change on the ground.
Impacting at Scale: From .5% to + 40% by Grahame Dixie, Executive Director, Grow Asia.
Presented at the ReSAKSS-Asia - MIID conference "Evolving Agrifood Systems in Asia: Achieving food and nutrition security by 2030" on Oct 30-31, 2019 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Production Efficiency of small holder Sugarcane Farmers in Swaziland: A Case ...inventionjournals
Instating production efficiency is imperative for increased productivity and profitability in sugarcane production. This study aimed at establishing efficiencies and their relationship with farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics. The study used primary data collected from 147smallholder sugarcane farmers of which 76 were inHhohho (KDDP &Vuvulane) and 71 in Ubombo (Poortzicht& LUSIP). This study estimated farmers’ efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the farmers interviewed were females (59.2% in Ubombo& 55.3% in Hhohho), with 32.4%(Poortzicht& LUSIP) and 44.7% (KDDP &Vuvulane) of farmers attained secondary education, average mean age of 58 (Poortzicht& LUSIP) and 55 (KDDP &Vuvulane)years, farming experience of 10 (Ubombo&Hhohho, respectively) years, cultivate about 5.9 (Poortzicht& LUSIP) and 3.1 (KDDP &Vuvulane) hectares and obtained95.82 (Poortzicht& LUSIP) and 92.45 (KDDP &Vuvulane) tonnes per hectare per annumofsugarcane.Farmers’ estimated technical efficiency, allocative efficiency and economic efficiency were 90.18%, 85.43% and 77.07%(Poortzicht& LUSIP) and 89%, 84.48% and 75.82% (KDDP &Vuvulane), respectively.The results suggest that farmers can still improve efficiencies by9.82%, 14.57% and 22.93%(Poortzicht& LUSIP) and 11%, 15.52% and 24.18% (KDDP &Vuvulane), respectively without changing the available technologies.Technicalefficiencywas affected byage, irrigation system (10% significant levels), education, experience (1% significant levels), fertilizer (5% significant level) (Poortzicht& LUSIP) andhousehold size (10% significant level), age, ripener, herbicide (5% significant levels), education, occupation and irrigation system (1% significant levels) (KDDP &Vuvulane). Allocative efficiency was influenced bywater, irrigation system (1% significant levels), ripener (10% significant level)(Poortzicht& LUSIP) and education (10% significant level), age, occupation, water, fertilizer, ripener and irrigation system(1% significant levels) (KDDP &Vuvulane). Economic efficiency was affected by education (5% significant level), experience, water, fertilizer, irrigation system (1% significant levels) (Poortzicht&LUSIP) and herbicide (5% significant level) age, education, occupation, water, ripenerand irrigation system (1% significant levels) (KDDP &Vuvulane).The study therefore recommends formulating rural development programmes and policies that target young farmers’ engagement and participation in sugarcane production and consider farmers’ socio-economic factors for increased productivity
No-till crop establishment of transplanted and direct seeded rice in Conserva...Sri Lmb
By Dr. Md. Enamul Haque
Coordinator, Nutrient Management for Diversified Cropping (NUMAN) and Conservation Agriculture Projects, Bangladesh
nted and direct seeded rice in Conservation Agriculture
UNDERSTANDING WHAT GREEN WASHING IS!.pdfJulietMogola
Many companies today use green washing to lure the public into thinking they are conserving the environment but in real sense they are doing more harm. There have been such several cases from very big companies here in Kenya and also globally. This ranges from various sectors from manufacturing and goes to consumer products. Educating people on greenwashing will enable people to make better choices based on their analysis and not on what they see on marketing sites.
Characterization and the Kinetics of drying at the drying oven and with micro...Open Access Research Paper
The objective of this work is to contribute to valorization de Nephelium lappaceum by the characterization of kinetics of drying of seeds of Nephelium lappaceum. The seeds were dehydrated until a constant mass respectively in a drying oven and a microwawe oven. The temperatures and the powers of drying are respectively: 50, 60 and 70°C and 140, 280 and 420 W. The results show that the curves of drying of seeds of Nephelium lappaceum do not present a phase of constant kinetics. The coefficients of diffusion vary between 2.09.10-8 to 2.98. 10-8m-2/s in the interval of 50°C at 70°C and between 4.83×10-07 at 9.04×10-07 m-8/s for the powers going of 140 W with 420 W the relation between Arrhenius and a value of energy of activation of 16.49 kJ. mol-1 expressed the effect of the temperature on effective diffusivity.
Willie Nelson Net Worth: A Journey Through Music, Movies, and Business Venturesgreendigital
Willie Nelson is a name that resonates within the world of music and entertainment. Known for his unique voice, and masterful guitar skills. and an extraordinary career spanning several decades. Nelson has become a legend in the country music scene. But, his influence extends far beyond the realm of music. with ventures in acting, writing, activism, and business. This comprehensive article delves into Willie Nelson net worth. exploring the various facets of his career that have contributed to his large fortune.
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Introduction
Willie Nelson net worth is a testament to his enduring influence and success in many fields. Born on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas. Nelson's journey from a humble beginning to becoming one of the most iconic figures in American music is nothing short of inspirational. His net worth, which estimated to be around $25 million as of 2024. reflects a career that is as diverse as it is prolific.
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Humble Origins
Willie Hugh Nelson was born during the Great Depression. a time of significant economic hardship in the United States. Raised by his grandparents. Nelson found solace and inspiration in music from an early age. His grandmother taught him to play the guitar. setting the stage for what would become an illustrious career.
First Steps in Music
Nelson's initial foray into the music industry was fraught with challenges. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue his dreams, but success did not come . Working as a songwriter, Nelson penned hits for other artists. which helped him gain a foothold in the competitive music scene. His songwriting skills contributed to his early earnings. laying the foundation for his net worth.
Rise to Stardom
Breakthrough Albums
The 1970s marked a turning point in Willie Nelson's career. His albums "Shotgun Willie" (1973), "Red Headed Stranger" (1975). and "Stardust" (1978) received critical acclaim and commercial success. These albums not only solidified his position in the country music genre. but also introduced his music to a broader audience. The success of these albums played a crucial role in boosting Willie Nelson net worth.
Iconic Songs
Willie Nelson net worth is also attributed to his extensive catalog of hit songs. Tracks like "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," "On the Road Again," and "Always on My Mind" have become timeless classics. These songs have not only earned Nelson large royalties but have also ensured his continued relevance in the music industry.
Acting and Film Career
Hollywood Ventures
In addition to his music career, Willie Nelson has also made a mark in Hollywood. His distinctive personality and on-screen presence have landed him roles in several films and television shows. Notable appearances include roles in "The Electric Horseman" (1979), "Honeysuckle Rose" (1980), and "Barbarosa" (1982). These acting gigs have added a significant amount to Willie Nelson net worth.
Television Appearances
Nelson's char
Climate Change All over the World .pptxsairaanwer024
Climate change refers to significant and lasting changes in the average weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It encompasses both global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. While climate change is a natural phenomenon, human activities, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, have accelerated its pace and intensity
Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic animals in District Ban...Open Access Research Paper
Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular zoonotic protozoan parasite, infect both humans and animals population worldwide. It can also cause abortion and inborn disease in humans and livestock population. In the present study total of 313 domestic animals were screened for Toxoplasma gondii infection. Of which 45 cows, 55 buffalos, 68 goats, 60 sheep and 85 shaver chicken were tested. Among these 40 (88.88%) cows were negative and 05 (11.12%) were positive. Similarly 55 (92.72%) buffalos were negative and 04 (07.28%) were positive. In goats 68 (98.52%) were negative and 01 (01.48%) was recorded positive. In sheep and shaver chicken the infection were not recorded.
1. IN FOCUS IN THIS ISSUE
The ASEAN Integrated Food Security
(AIFS) framework and Strategic Plan of
Action (2015-2020) recommends
introduction of System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) and Conservation
Agriculture integrated practices as a
Climate-Smart agriculture to address the
emerging issues related to food security,
the SRI-LMB project intervention in the
Lower Mekong River Basin countries can
be seen as a very timely initiative.
Utilizing the implementing consortia of
the Project, which are functional at the
local, national and regional level, so far,
the field activities were conducted at
>500 Farmers’ Participatory Action
Research (FPAR) sites involving more
than 12,000 farmers in 33 districts of 11
provinces across all four countries (3 in
Cambodia, 3 in Lao PDR, 3 in Thailand
and 2 in Vietnam). More than 500 field
experiments and locally-suited SRI
demonstration plots were set up by
farmers for the development of low-cost
technological options mostly in rainfed
production systems using SRI principles.
The results reported so far were clustered
under three performance indicators: 1)
improved farmer livelihoods
(productivity, profitability and labour
productivity; 2) resource use efficiency
(water productivity, inorganic fertilizer
use efficiency, and total energy input);
and 3) climate change mitigation
(greenhouse gas emission reduction),
where possible, and were compared
with the baseline scenario. The results
showed that SRI practices helped to
improve livelihoods across the LMB
region by increasing rice yield (66% w.r.t.
baseline) and net returns (70% w.r.t.
baseline).
National Review and
Planning Workshop (NRPW)
Vietnam
Page 2
Field mission to review status
of FPAR implementation in
Laos
Page 5
Page 3-4
Further it showed that the labour use efficiency
increased (66% w.r.t. baseline) with SRI practice
along with higher water productivity (59% w.r.t.
baseline) and inorganic fertilizer use efficiency.
At the regional level, 31 Kg of paddy was
produced per Kg of inorganic fertilizer applied,
whereas it was 11 kg in the baseline figure. The
total energy input in farming decreased by 37%.
With respect to greenhouse gas emission
reduction, the results reported 16% and 13%
reduction in total greenhouse gas emission from
rainfed and irrigated areas respectively
compared to the baseline figures.
Therefore, it was clear that there is a potential to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
encouraging adoption of SRI practices. The SRI
intervention provides opportunities to address
the food security, climate change adaptation
and achievement of sustainable development
goal in a more complementary way. Sustaining
ecosystems and their services, creating more
with less, accelerating access and integrating
the poorest are possible through this kind
intervention.
Some of the results have been shared at
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwAN
D94jB80zZG5SSFZMZWJYUWc
Continuing support for the SRI-
LMB FPAR women groups in
Bac Giang, Vietnam
Page 3-4
Building on SRI-LMB
Project experience
Page 6
A project funded by the European Union A project implemented by the Asian Institute of Technology
The view expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
National review and planning
workshop, Cambodia
Page 7
Page 7
Supporting landless and
woman under SRI-LMB project
in Cambodia
Page 8
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Delivering Food Security
without Increasing Pressure on the Environment
SRI, farmer plot in Champagne district,
Savannakhet province, Lao PDR
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
2. ,
The National Review and Planning
Workshop (NRPW) of SRI-LMB project in
Vietnam, was held at Ha Tinh, on 17th
August 2017. There were about 40 to 45
participants including staff from Plant
Protection Department (PPD), research
institutes, SRI-LMB project personnel, FAO
and project farmers.
Mr. Tran Van Hieu, Country Coordinator
introduced the SRI-LMB project
implementation in Vietnam to the
participants and welcomed them to the
workshop. From 2015 to 2017, the project
worked directly with 2160 farmers. Data
analysis shows that the average yields
from SRI demonstrations in Bac Giang
and Ha Tinh provinces were higher by
0.6-1.2 and 0.16-0.36 T/ha, respectively,
compared to control plots. Since SRI
plots also required lower expenditures,
the net returns were higher by USD 267-
392 and 109-131, in Bac Giang and Ha
Tinh, respectively.
Mr. Nguyen Quy Duong, Vice Director
General, PPD, Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (MARD), recounted
the gains that have been made since
the SRI practices were declared as a
Technical Advance in 2007. Today,
nearly 2 million farmers adopt these
practices (including partial adoption).
SRI is highly relevant for addressing the
current agricultural problems of the
country, like high input usage and costs
of cultivation, pesticide residues on farm
produce and the looming risks of climate
change.
Dr. Hoang Van Phu who coordinates the
SRI Network in Vietnam, explained that in
2015, SRI practices were adopted by
farmers in 35 provinces on about 500000
ha. A key problem for wider adoption
was the non-availability of a proper
weeding tool.
Mr. Nguyen Quy Duong discussed the
possibility of including weeding as one of
the services offered by the service-
provider teams supported by the PPD,
which currently can be hired by farmers
to spray pesticides on their fields. The SRI
Network of Vietnam, initiated in 2015,
National Review and Planning Workshop in Vietnam
Participants at NRPW, Vietnam
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
now has more than 20 organizations, with
about 60 individuals Members include
organizations like PPD of MARD, NGOs
like Oxfam and individual researchers.
Ms. Alma Linda Abubakar, from the FAO
discussed the details of their Save and
Grow Campaign. With supportive case
studies from Vietnam and Philippines, she
drew the attention of the participants to
how the integration of rice and
aquaculture production systems can
offer more benefits to the rice farmers.
There was a significant discussion on how
SRI practices could be scaled up in the
two provinces. The main ideas
concerned integrating useful SRI
practices into regular department work
of advising farmers; developing research
and communication outputs based on
project experience for various
stakeholders; demonstrating SRI
practices on a large area; motivating
farmers to influence their peers; and
integrating these practices in other
programmes where possible. Staff from
both provinces expressed the possibility
of mobilizing some of the funds required
for scaling up through the local budgets
already available, by integrating SRI
promotional activities into their regular
work.
During his closing remarks, Mr. Nguyen
Quy Duong expressed that the
government is interested in ensuring that
the activities continue even after the
project ends.
The PPD will encourage and support
development of plans for scaling up
SRI.
Where possible, SRI promotion will be
integrated into regular activities of the
department and other projects being
implemented (e.g. WB6 project; IPM
projects). PPD will attempt to
convince provincial governments to
provide funds earmarked for
agricultural extension to scale up SRI.
The department will soon be initiating
a project on rice value chain
development, which also allows
opportunity for integrating SRI
promotion among farmers.
Approaching National Agricultural
Extension Center can be another
opportunity to obtain funding for the
activities, including SRI promotion and
integrating it with aquaculture.
Opening remarks by Mr. Nguyen Quy
Duong, Vice Director General, PPD, MARD
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Page 2 Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
3. 3
Page 3 Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
Continuing support for the SRI-LMB FPAR women groups in Bac Giang province, Vietnam
The SRI-LMB project is continuing to
support women groups who were
involved with the Farmer Participatory
Action Research (FPAR) activities in three
communes of Bac Giang province,
Vietnam. The implementation of the
activities over a one-year period until
February 2018 is being facilitated by the
Center for Initiatives for Community
Empowerment on Rural Development
(ICERD). Project funding is routed
through our key partner, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).
Several studies have shown increasing
outmigration of the Vietnamese women
from rural to urban areas over the last
three decades, due to both working and
non-working reasons. But this does not
seem to hold good for our project areas.
Women participants outnumbered men
farmers in the FPAR activities. In 2017,
about 85% of the total 720 farmers
directly involved with the FPAR activities
were women.
Many of these women farmers from Bac
Giang province had met the
participants of the Regional Review and
Planning Workshop (RRPW) during the
field visit organized in April 2017. They
had explained that adoption of SRI
practices benefited them, by reducing
costs and increasing yields. Regarding
pesticide usage, while their input usage
had decreased, they still considered that
inorganic pesticides provided better
pest control. In the subsequent NRPW in
August, several participants expressed
that the demonstration of SRI practices
over a large, contiguous area could be
significant in convincing more farmers
about the benefits of SRI practices.
The ICERD project considers many of the above issues. Through surveys and
workshops with active involvement of the FPAR women farmers and other
community members, including the Commune People’s Committee, it has
documented detailed, relevant information on the challenges faced by the
farmers in adopting and extending SRI practices; current practices and extent of
pesticide application; and gender roles and responsibilities in the farming
households. Activities planned under the project include:
Raising public awareness about the negative externalities caused by
indiscriminate pesticide usage
Facilitation of experimentation by women farmers in using biological agents and
botanical pesticides
Training women farmers on preparing botanical pesticides and using straw bio-
mats to better capture the nutrients from animal waste
Demonstration of the SRI practices in a large, 5 to 10-hectare plot by mobilizing
the land owners
Involving the women groups in trials for growing potato on harvested rice plots
with minimum tillage
These activities are expected to encourage adoption of more eco-friendly
agricultural practices by the women farmers, and stimulate adoption of SRI
practices by other community members in the short-term. The field activities are
complemented with plans for policy advocacy. The project experiences will be
presented to the Commune People’s Committee so that they could be considered
for inclusion in their work plan for sustainable agriculture development, with the
larger farming communities. Successful outputs will also be shared with the PPD and
MARD.
Photo credit: ICERD
Photo credit: ICERD
Photo credit: ICERD
4. Page 4 Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
Workload sharing in farming households, Bac Giang Province, Vietnam
Recent research led by the International
Food Policy Research Institute (2017)
critically examines four conventionally
accepted ideas concerning women
and agriculture, all linked to food
security: that they bear a higher burden
of poverty, have minimal access to land,
are intrinsically better in environmental
stewardship and make a higher
contribution to food production. The
nuanced analysis is helpful in designing
better programmes to reach out to
women farmers.
While dissecting the idea that women
farmers produce 60 to 80% of all food,
the researchers note the paucity of data
to justify the claim. They state that ‘better
data on women’s and men’s labor in
agriculture and household production
are critical in designing policies to
promote food security.
One of the workshops facilitated by
ICERD specifically examined this issue.
The simple exercise consisted of women
and men participants collectively
allocating the percentage household
workload shared by women and men
related to specific activities. Rice
production system was broken down into
21 key activities, raising children and
household management into six
activities each, and miscellaneous tasks
into 12 major activities.
Percentage workload shared by
Activities Men Women Together
Dong Phu Commune
Crop production 39 55 6
Taking care of children 31 59 10
Household jobs 15 72 13
Miscellaneous tasks 39 50 11
Tan Thinh Commune
Crop production 31 62 7
Taking care of children 35 63 2
Household jobs 21 77 2
Miscellaneous tasks 36 60 4
Tan Hiep Commune
Crop production 31 45 25
Taking care of children 27 65 8
Household jobs 42 56 2
Miscellaneous tasks 45 50 5
Photo credit: ICERD
The above table provides the average percentage of workload on women and
men. All the three communes, women’s share of the workload was more than that
of men for all activities. In case of rice farming, in general, excepting for the tasks
like leveling land, ploughing, deciding on which pesticide to buy and reading the
label on the container, women were involved more in all other tasks, from
purchasing inputs to spraying pesticides and selling produce.
5. Page 5 Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
ACISAI, with the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the SRI-LMB
project team in Laos, planned and took
part in a project review mission in
October 2017. The key mission objectives
were: verification of FPAR
implementation status in Laos in 2017;
holding discussions with District
Agriculture and Forestry Office (DAFO)
officials to better understand issues
related to project implementation; and,
collecting information and data
concerning crop growth and
development from FPAR sites visited.
The mission team visited 25 FPAR sites in
eight districts in three provinces.
Discussions were held with DAFO officials
in eight districts; and with the Farmer
Trainers and District Trainers in nine
districts across Khammaouane,
Savannakhet and Vientiane.
At the time of field visit, 59 percent of the
FPAR sites were already said to have
been harvested in eight of the nine
districts. No harvesting had begun in
Fouang FPAR plots since the farmers were
said to have delayed planting because
of late onset of rains. Most of the FPAR
sites visited had mature grains ready for
harvest in both SRI and Farmer Practice
(FP) plots. In SRI plots, transplanting single
young seedlings (13 to 23 days old) at
wider spacing
(mostly 25 x 25 cm) was most common.
In FP plots, farmers most commonly
transplanted multiple (up to 7) older (14
to 28 days) seedlings per hill using lower
spacing (mostly 20x20 cm.)
Lower seed usage, increased tillering,
better panicle growth with more grain
filling and improved grain quality,
potential to use grains as seeds,
increased yields and reduced costs were
among the advantages of SRI pointed
out by the FTs and farmers. Some
considered transplanting to be easier
with SRI (less area needed for nursery
raising, easier uprooting of seedlings,
faster transplanting due to wider spacing
which also saved time) while others
thought transplanting younger seedlings
at wider spacing, especially when using
hired labor, was difficult, more time
consuming and costly. Higher weed
incidence and risks of young single
seedlings being destroyed by snails or
rotting in case of flooding after
transplanting, leading to more gaps and
lower yields, were the main concerns
related to SRI adoption.
For the FPAR sites where data was
collected, projected yield per hectare
based on farmer estimates showed that
for the 13 FPAR sites where comparison
was possible, the yields of SRI and FP
plots could be equal at one site; at six
sites, SRI plots could yield more and in
the remaining six, the FP plots may.
But in case of the latter, four of the six
plots reported crop damage due to
snails and diseases.
Field mission to review status of FPAR implementation in Laos
Mr. Kongsy Xayavong, National Training Coordinator, SRI-LMB project, Laos, in discussion
with the farmers
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Ms. Vanny, Farmer Trainer from X
village, Nakai district in
Khammouane province of Laos, with
harvested panicles for data
Collection
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Post-harvest processing of rice by a
woman farmer from X village, Nakai
district
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT
6. Page 6 Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
Building on SRI-LMB project experiences in Thailand
During the Regional Review and
Planning Workshop (RRPW, 2017),
Ms. Ladda Viriyangkura, Senior
Specialist on Rice Inspection and
Certification from Thailand Rice
Department, had discussed the
challenges confronting the Thai
farmers, the various driving forces
influencing agriculture and the
opportunities that could be tapped
into to ensure a healthier agricultural
sector, and better lives for the farming
communities.
The country’s Development Plan for
Agriculture is part of the National
Strategy No. 3, for strengthening the
economy on a sustainable basis. It
emphasizes conservation and
management of natural resources
including water and soils, increasing
their use-efficiency, and focusing on
strengthening forward and backward
linkages in agriculture. The strategy
outlined by Ms. Ladda involved
working with all relevant stakeholders,
from farmers to private sector and
consumers, to make agriculture
profitable for everyone concerned.
And it considered not only working
with more efficient and sustainable
rice production systems, but also value
addition, and ensuring produce
quality and traceability, all of which
could help in better price realization by
farmers.
While scaling up SRI remains a priority for
ACISAI, enhancing the center’s scope
of work to include other ecological
approaches, and issues like certification
and marketing, could be useful. Post
RRPW, two activities undertaken by the
center staff are aligned along this
interest.
In September 2017, the Team Leader
and the Action Research Coordinator
of SRI-LMB project were part of a group
visiting two Community Resource
Centers (CRC) in Ubon Ratchathani
province. The objective was to better
understand the project activities of
Better Rice Initiative Asia (BRIA) and
Olam International. Interaction with
the farmers provided insights into the
gains made by the project farmers and
the challenges faced. Farmer interest
in tapping better markets was very
clearly reflected during the visit.
ACISAI also coordinated a visit by a
European private development
consultancy agency to Uttaradit
province in November 2017. The
implementation partner in SRI-LMB
project, the Vocational Training and
Development Center for Thai People
along the Border Areas (VTDC),
organized a workshop with farmers
from two villages. The potential idea of
experimenting with an alternative
ecological approach in rice cultivation
linked to produce procurement was
discussed during this
Event.
This was followed by a one-day field
visit to the villages of the farmers who
participated in the workshop, so that
the external experts could get a better
understanding of the field conditions.
The final decision on any collaborative
project between ACISAI, the external
agency, VTDC and Uttaradit farmers is
likely to be taken in December 2017.
Ms. Nalawadee X of Olam
International with Dr Abha Mishra,
Team Leader, SRI-LMB project, during
the visit to Ubon Ratchathani province
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Visit to Bua Ngam Community Rice
Center, Ubon Ratchathani
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Field visit and workshop with VTDC,
Uttaradit
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
Field visit in the BRIA-Olam International
operational area
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
7. National Review and Planning Workshop in Cambodia
The NRPW of the SRI-LMB project,
Cambodia, was held on 28th
November 2017. There were nearly 50
participants, with about 15 women.
Besides the staff involved with project
implementation from the General
Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) and
representatives of partner
organizations (FAO and Oxfam
America), there were participants from
two NGOs, HEKS (Swiss Church Aid) and
FIDR (Foundation for International
Development/Relief), headquartered
in Switzerland and Japan, respectively,
and Multi Angles Center Co. Ltd., a
Cambodian private consultancy
company working with rural
development.
Mr. Kea Kong, Country Coordinator of
the project, welcomed the
participants to the workshop. He
provided a quick update of the project
framework and work done from 2014 to
2017, from setting up CFPARs and
implementation of FPARs, to the last
activity of training selected farmers on
poultry management.
Mr. Ashwin Mysore from ACISAI
brought the participants up to date
with the major project milestones in
2017.
Dr. Mak Souen, Deputy Director
General of the GDA, noted that several
gains, including yield enhancement,
resulted from the project in Cambodia.
He said SRI was especially useful for
seed production.
Ms. AlmaLinda Abubakar of the FAO
recollected her discussion with Dr. Ngin
Chhay, Director of Department of Rice
Crop, about how the SRI-LMB project
differed from other SRI-related activities
in Cambodia. The project approach
emphasized and facilitated farmer
experimentation with the various SRI
practices rather than simply
encouraging them to adopt them all as
a package.
Presentations by provincial project
teams, farmer representatives and
researchers involved with the
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
(MEL) surveys provided insights into
several gains made from SRI adoption
by FPAR farmers, including increased
yields and decreased inputs, which
overall helped in increasing the
profitability for rice growers. They also
highlighted some of the factors which
could help in promoting SRI practices
better. While some activities, like better
planning of the training sessions and
capacity building of the project staff
are easier to handle, the labor shortage
discussed as a key constraint to
adoption of SRI practices, is not.
Dr. Sophal Chuong, the MEL
researcher, noted that while labor
shortage was indeed a reality, about
60% of the farmers were smallholders,
owning less than one-hectare area;
such farmers, if convinced about the
utility of SRI practices and were open
to making some changes, like
extending their agricultural work over
a longer period of time, and
cooperating with other farmers, could
still adopt the beneficial SRI practices.
Opportunities for activities to promote
scaling up SRI practices hence exist
and are required in the country.
Mr. Vanny of Oxfam America noted
that the rural service provider teams
being supported by Oxfam, which are
already operational in two provinces,
could be useful to tackle the labor
shortage which constrains SRI
adoption.
Dr. Ngin Chhay catalyzed an active
discussion on the varying perception
about the extent of SRI adoption in the
country among various stakeholders.
A significant point emerged that this
difference is rooted in whether one
thought of the SRI practices as a
package to be adopted in its entirety
or not. For some, an SRI farmer is one
who adopts all 12 practices defined as
SRI practices in Cambodia by CEDAC.
Such people do not recognize partial
adoption of the practices and hence,
discount the spread of SRI. But, several
participants argued, the farmers
adopted selected beneficial practices
from the SRI suite depending on their
situation and experiences. And this
counted as SRI adoption too.
The participants also identified several
activities that are important for
consideration in the post-project
period. These included: working with
SRP standards, encouraging SRI
practices among seed producers,
linking farmers to better rice markets
through contract farming, promoting
ecological practices and varietal trials
to enhance resilience of farms and
farmers, demonstrating SRI practices
over a large, contiguous area, and
conducting trials to better understand
options for mechanizing rice
cultivation.
Page 7 Volume 5, Issue 2: Year 2017
Field visits during the NRPW
(Photo credits: SRI-LMB/AIT)
(Photo credit: SRI-LMB/AIT)
8. bnn
Supporting Landless and Women under SRI-LMB project in Cambodia
The SRI-LMB project supported training
of landless households and women
farmers in poultry management. The
activity was aimed at strengthening the
skills of and create additional
opportunities for the trainees to improve
their household income. A total of 150
individuals, 89 of them women, in 10
villages across the three project
provinces were trained by Farmer
Trainers. The project provided a wire
cage with 15 chicks, a hen and a
rooster for demonstration at every
training venue. Each of the trainees
received 15 chicks and a wire cage.
The Farmers Field School approach of
discovery-based learning was
adopted. Nine training sessions were
planned from July to December 2017.
Together, they covered all aspects of
poultry raising, from incubation and
hatching of eggs to construction of
small cages for raising birds; from pest
and disease management and feeding
practices to economic analysis of the
enterprise. A monitoring visit was
conducted by a team consisting of the
SRI-LMB project staff province on the
day of the visit.
from Cambodia and ACISAI in
September 2017. Fourteen trainees,
eight of them women, were being
trained at Bakkod village in Takeo. The
sixth training session focused on
vaccination against poultry diseases.
After delivering the theoretical part of
the training using visual aids, the farmer
trainers ensured that all participants
gained first-hand experience in
vaccinating the birds. They had been
vaccinated against new castle disease
previously and as part of the present
training, received a second dose
against fowl pox.
Experience of Cambodian farmers with SRI adoption
The monitoring team also utilized the
opportunity to visit project farmers in six
villages in the provinces of Takeo,
Kampot and Kampong Speu to
understand some of their experiences
with adoption of SRI practices.
Transplanting younger, fewer seedlings
per hill at a wider spacing along a row
was most commonly associated with
SRI by the farmers. The time of onset of
rains was an important factor in
determining the age of seedling
transplanted; delayed rains meant
transplanting aged rather than
younger seedlings. The farmers
reduced planting distance in case of
lower soil fertility and higher age of
seedlings available for transplanting.
The farmers identified several benefits
of SRI, including:
Advantage of identifying off type
plants easily, which is important for
seed production
Reduced seed costs because of
lower seed usage
Decreased costs of transporting
seedlings from nursery to main field
Higher yields (by 20 to 30%, though
other factors like soil type and rainfall
received also influence)
A healthier crop.
A project funded by the European Union A project implemented by the Asian Institute of Technology
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SRI-LMB Newsletter is published bi-annually by
SRI-LMB Publications Unit. We welcome your input,
preferably in English.
The deadline for submissions is on 30 May for June
issue and 30 November for December issue.
We reserve the right to edit all contributions.
Please send inputs at srilmb@ait.asia and cc to
Dr. Abha Mishra, Project Manager-SRI-LMB
(abhamishra@ait.asia).
Website: www.sri-lmb.ait.asia
The view expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
Additional benefits of the FPAR training
were visible too. For e.g. the FPAR
farmers were more conscious about
using better quality seeds. They tried to
increase the organic manure
application to their lands.
The SRI practices that the Cambodian
farmers find to be useful are centered
around transplanting seedlings. The
farmers reflected that decision on
whether to transplant or not is based on
factors like availability of water source
(which is used for inundating fields for
weed management), location of land
in the lower slopes (which encourages
transplanting) and access to adequate
labor at reasonable costs, with the latter
being very influential.