Harvesting rice in Ndop; December 2015

[Tamara]

We trained 3 farming groups in 2013; an additional 5 in 2014 and 5 more in 2015. With SRI the farmers are finding that the average number of tillers increased from an average of 18 to 45 ! Here are some of the observations from the plots of the 5 groups trained this year:

SRI Plot

• The average tillers are as follows ( random sampling ) : lowest number of tillers 37 highest number tillers 53= 45 average

• Pinnacles : lowest number 12 highest number 14= 13 average

• Grain length 1.2mm

Traditional plot

• The average tillers are as follows ( random sampling ) : lowest number of tillers 12 highest number tillers 24= 18 average

• Pinnacles : lowest number 10 highest number tillers 12= 11 average

• Grain length 1mm

The new groups are trained on harvesting techniques: use of local materials and manual threshing