YamBEEji rice intensefication

I am so happy to read about the rice project in Asia particularly Indonesia and India. The objective of your project is exactly what we are trying to achieve here in Zambia, we are working with farmer groups who have been cultivating rice using conventional methods on the plains of the Zambezi river and have been producing low volumes such as 1.2mt per hectare. We also started farming in 2006 partnering with a group of farmers to produce rice and later on bought a rice mill to polish it for the local markets. We later found out the difficulties involved in the rice value chain at producer level such as;

Our challenges

1. Cultivating – we found out that most farmers in the area have lost their animals when the district had an outbreak of CBP, which has been almost eradicated in an IFAD/Government funded project.
2. Mechanisation – we found out that many farmers are dependent on hoes and very few with ox drawn ploughs, no planting and harvest equipment.
3. Plant methodology – we also discovered that the broadcast planting method was using more seed and low germination percentage due to the depth resulting from the stamped by animals as way of burying seed, this in turn would result in scant plant population on the field and harvest.
4. Mixed seed varieties – we also discovered that the mixed rice seed varieties causes delays at harvest due to different maturity periods, therefore creating a higher percentage of breakage due to over drying of certain varieties on the field.
5. Lack of information – we found out that extension workers had little or no knowledge on rice production.
6. Climate issues – we discovered that most farmers are practicing shifting cultivation method which is depleting the rain forest at alarming levels, they cut the trees and burn to suffice on the use of fertiliser which means every year we a losing an average of 1 hectare cut by one farmer, this is already showing reduced rainfall patterns.
7. Land – we found that most farmers on the flood plains cannot increase there Hectorage due to lack of resources.
8. Inputs – we found out that farmers had no source of pure rice varieties in the country.

Our intervention

1. Cultivation – we have been encouraging other farmers who have animals to help the other farmers and be paid in kind at harvest methods.
2. Mechanisation - the company has acquired a rice grading machine to help in processing as well research on other tools needed at producer level to speed up the planting , harvesting and threshing.
3. Plant methodology – we also have been training farmers in new methods of planting that are intense and use less seed as well as manageable fields.
4. Mixed seed varieties – we have imported a new upland variety new rice seed for Africa (NERICA4) that is semi-drought resistant as it is just rain fed compared the traditional varieties that use a lot of water and grown in flooding areas.
5. Lack of information – we have so developed our outgrower guide line and planting manuals with support from stakeholders (SNV, CEEC) and have been training farmers in seed growing and new plant methodology that increase yields in a given area, conducting sensitization with farmers especially for new upland variety not known by all farmers through demo fields in the past 2years and have successfully multiplied the seed from first 10limas to more than 240 limas.
6. Climate issues – we are also training farmers to diversify their shifting cultivation method practiced on maize and cassava fields to conservative rice farming to preserve the rain forests that are being depleted at an alarming level. Since the new rice variety has proved to be performing even better on the abandoned fields.
7. Land – we have a program running with a company know as rent to own, farmers can be supplied the equipment they need and pay with the equivalent of the produce at harvest to cover the rental charges that we have been paying on their behalf to supplier of the equipment.
8. Inputs – we have imported and multiplied a pure rice seed variety which we are distributing to farmers who only pay back at harvest the equivalent of the seed value.

In 2012 we aim to find partners who will help us scale up the activities we have been promoting to low income small scale farmers, we find that our intervention is putting a smile on a face of a farmer who is given the input that will only be paid back at harvest, but the risks involved in supporting the farmers will be reduced also by scaling up our extension monitoring capacity. So far the framers that have worked well have increased their income base and planning to expand their Hectorage to be able to buy equipment to scale up their production. We also aim promote our production capacity through volumes that have increased over the past few years.