Below is a hand-picked selection of relevant resources for implementing SRI in West Africa. For a more complete listing of SRI resources (guides, manuals, explanations, videos, photos, etc.) in dozens of languages, visit the SRI-Rice website Extension Material page. For the latest SRI news from around the world, visit the SRI-Rice Scoop-It page.

If there is something in particular you are searching for, or if you have a resources that could be a valuable addition to this page, please contact us by leaving a message at the bottom of this page.

SRI Manuals and Guides – SRI Research – SRI Videos from West Africa – SRI Responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Peace Corps SRI Toolkit – Flooded Cellar SRI Training Videos – Applying SRI Principles to Other Crops – Soil and Fertility Management – Pest, Disease and Weed Management – Mechanization and Innovation – Water Management – Rice Production – AccessAgriculture Training Videos – African Organic Agriculture Training Manual (FiBL) – Mapping and GIS Resources – SRI and Development / Social Issues – Markets / Value Chains

Documents posted here are all, to the best of our knowledge, available for non-commercial distribution. Please respect the copyrights of each document.

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SRI Manuals and Guides
For a brief description of what SRI is, click here.

West Africa – SRI-WAAPP Technical Manual – Version 2 – 56 pages (SRI-Rice/IER)
Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook on SRI – 61 pages (US Peace Corps)
India – SRI Training Manual – 20 pages (WASSAN)
Tanzania – Training Manual for Extension Staff and Farmers – 38 pages (Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives)
Kenya – SRI Training Brochure – 10 pages (IMAWESA)
Kenya – SRI Training Manual – 12 pages (JKUAT)
Sierra Leone – SRI Training Manual – 19 pages (CRS)
Sierra Leone – SRI Facilitator’s Guide – 16 pages (CRS)
Zambia – Operationalizing the System of Rice Intensification – 17 pages (origin unknown)

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SRI Research from Around the World
The SRI Research Network hosts over 900 scholarly research articles about SRI covering 20 years and dozens of countries. Membership is free, and provides access to full-text PDF versions of all the articles. To join, first setup a free membership with Zotero (www.zotero.org/user/register), then sign in to your account, and visit the SRI Research Network page (www.zotero.org/groups/system_of_rice_intensification_sri_research_network), and click on the red ‘Join Group’ button near the top of the page. Once you are a member, you can access all the articles by visiting the group’s library (www.zotero.org/groups/system_of_rice_intensification_sri_research_network/items).

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SRI Videos from West Africa
Dozens of videos have been created about SRI in West Africa, both through the SRI-WAAPP project and by other organizations. These generally fall into 3 categories: media pieces about SRI projects; promotional videos; and farmer / researcher interviews. A full playlist of videos is available on the SRI West Africa YouTube playlist.

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SRI – Responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
In 2015 Dr. Norman Uphoff published a 225-page book with responses to frequently asked questions about SRI. Short and long answers are provided to 32 wide-ranging questions, with illustrations, diagrams and photos to support the text. The PDF version (8.2mb) is available for free here, and print copied can be purchased online ($9 USD plus shipping) at Amazon.com.  

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Peace Corps SRI Toolkit
As part of their USAID-supported West Africa Food Security Partnership, Peace Corps produced a comprehensive SRI toolkit to help Peace Corps volunteers and staff work with SRI.

Field Guide – view overview
Peace Corps Volunteer SRI Handbook

Trainer Materials – view overview
SRI Trainer’s Handbook
SRI Training Session Plans
SRI Introduction Presentation
SRI Technical Presentation

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Flooded Cellar SRI Training Videos
Flooded Cellar, in collaboration with SRI-Rice and IFAD, created series of SRI training videos for use in the field as a farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing tool. While these videos were filmed in East Africa and Madagascar, the principles they illustrate are valid for West Africa, but may of course need adaptation, particularly for non-irrigated conditions.

SRI Training Videos
SRI Introduction – The Spread of SRI in East Africa
SRI Training #1 – Seed Germination and Nursery Preparation
SRI Training #2 – Field Preparation and Transplanting
SRI Training #3 – Weeding and Water Management
SRI Training #4 – A New Stick Gives You Blisters

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Applying SRI Principles to Other Crops
Ever since SRI started spreading beyond Madagascar farmers around the world have been experimenting with applying SRI principles to other crops, and have achieved amazing results. While crops like wheat, maize, tef, finger millet—or sugarcane even—might be expected to respond similarly, the SRI effect has been well documented with such disparate crops as potatoes, turmeric, green leafy vegetables, chickpeas and tomatoes. Using SRI for other crops is now referred to as SCI, or the System of Crop Intensification, though many refer to specific non-rice crops in the same way as SRI—e.g., STI for the System of Tef Intensification.

The System of Crop Intensification
SCI – The System of Crop Intensification (SRI-Rice & CTA)

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Soil and Fertility Management
Healthy soil management is the cornerstone of SRI. While the resources below come from a variety of sources, it should be noted that the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Conservation Agriculture (CA) portal has many excellent and free publications covering CA and other minimal soil disturbance techniques, some of which are presented in the list below. You can access their portal here.

Soil Assessment
Visual Soil Assessment Field Guide – Annual Crops (FAO)
What’s the Texture of your Soil? (SRI-Rice)

Soil Organic Matter
The importance of soil organic matter: Key to drought-resistant soil and sustained food and production (FAO)
Invest for ‘Life in Soils’: 10 ways to make ‘living soils’ possible (Revitalizing Rainfed Agriculture Network [India])
Carbon sequestration in dryland soils (FAO)

Conservation Tillage/Agriculture
Conservation Agriculture Technical Manual (SUSTAINET EA/FAO/GTZ/ACT)
Farmer Field School Facilitator’s Manual – Integrated Soil, Water and Nutrient Management (FAO)
Soil Conservation Techniques for Hillside Farms (Peace Corps)
Conservation Tillage in Senegal (Peace Corps)
Manual on Integrated Soil Management and Conservation Practices (IITA/FAO)
No-Tillage Seeding in Conservation Agriculture (FAO)
Burkina Faso – Enhancing Crop-Livestock Systems in Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Production Intensification (FAO)
Conservation Agriculture as Practiced in Ghana (FAO)
Scaling Up Conservation Agriculture in Africa (FAO)
Conservation Agriculture Introduction Video (Access Agriculture)

Compost
Composting in the Tropics 1 (HDRA)
Composting in the Tropics 2 (HDRA)
Soil Management: Compost Production and Use in Tropical and Subtropical Environments (FAO)
Enriched Compost for Higher Yields (CTA)

Green Manures/Cover Crops
Green Manures/Cover Crops (HDRA)
Restoring the Soil: A Guide to Using Green Manure/Cover Crops to Improve Food Security of Smallholder Farmers (Canadian Foodgrains Bank)

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Pest, Disease and Weed Management
For more information on weeders, see the following section – Mechanization and Innovation.

Pest and Disease Control
Natural Pest and Disease Control (HDRA)
Rice Insect Guide (AfricaRice)
Rice Nematode Guide (AfricaRice)
Africa Rice Gall Midge (AfricaRice)
Illustrated Guide to Integrated Pest Management in Rice in Tropical Asia (IRRI)
Rice IPM in Asia: ecological principles underlying the FFS (FAO)
Integrated Pest Management and African Agriculture (World Bank)
Management of Rice Insect Pests (U of Minnesota) – A good general intro to rice production and pest management

Weed Management
A Practical Field Guide to Weeds of Rice in Asia (IRRI)
Management Strategies for Weedy Rice in Asia (IRRI)
Weed Control (HDRA)

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Mechanization and Innovation
Mechanization covers everything from simple, hand made tools using found parts, to elaborate motorized tractors. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best, so be creative and experiment freely! The following links provide ideas, inspiration, pictures, and even designs and blueprints for creating tools that will save time, labor and money.

Mechanized Weeders
ECHO Asia Note – SRI Innovations (ECHO)
SRI Equipment Innovators Facebook Group (SRI-Rice)
WASSAN SRI Equipment Catalog (WASSAN / SRI-Rice)
Cono-Weeder Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Curved-Spike Floating Weeder Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Grid-Maker Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Metallic Line-Maker Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Ring-Hoe Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Straight-Spike Floating Weeder Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Japanese Weeder Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Twisted-Spike Floating Weeder Technical Drawings (AfricaRice)
Inexpensive wooden weeder in Tanzania (USAID)
Using the rotary weeder in lowland rice (AfricaRice)

Duck Rice Farming Systems
Duck Rice Farming in Japan (Takao Furuno – YouTube video)
Duck Farming Rice – Traditional Wisdom for Sustainable Agriculture (Culture TW – YouTube video)
Introduction to Integrated Rice-Duck Farming (IRRI)
Rice-Duck Movement Facebook Group (PARFUND)
Integrated Rice Duck Farming Facebook Group (PARFUND)

Integrated Systems
Complex agro-ecosystems for food security in a changing climate (SRI using duck / fish / azolla) (Ecology and Evolution journal)

Innovations for Rainfed Systems
Farmer Centered Research on Improved Rice Cropping Systems in the Peanut Basin of Senegal (Master’s Thesis, Cornell University – Lorraine Perricone-Dazzo)

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Water Management

Water Management
100 Ways to Manage Water for Smallholder Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa (SWMnet)

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Rice Production
The AfricaRice Center publishes guides for rice production that detail every step of the process. While these guides don’t reflect the SRI methodology, they are good resources for rice production in general. See also Module 9, from the African Organic Agriculture Training Manual, farther below, for additional rice-specific production information. The AfricaRice RiceHub is a great resource for identifying varieties and extension advice for specific rice growing regions in West Africa, East Africa and Madagascar.

AfricaRice Guides
Growing Lowland Rice (AfricaRice)
Growing Upland Rice (AfricaRice)
NERICA Compendium (AfricaRice)

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AccessAgriculture Training Videos
This excellent series of training videos covers. While these aren’t specifically about SRI, many of the techniques shown in these videos can be adapted for use with SRI. A partial list is presented below. To access all of their videos, visit the AccessAgriculture website.

Rice Production Videos (see the full list here)
Land Preparation for Rice
Grow More, Earn More
Seed Sorting by Flotation
Using the Rotary Weeder in Lowland Rice (Also available in Dagbani and French)
Contour Bunds (Also available in 24 other languages, including Dagaare, Dioula, Ewe, Fon, Gourmanchéma, Hausa, Kabye, Mooré, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zarma)
Rice Seed Preservation (Also available in French)

Sustainable Land Management Videos (see the full list here)
Conservation Agriculture Introduction (Also available in French)

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African Organic Agriculture Training Manual (FiBL)
This excellent manual, produced by FiBEL, encompasses a series of modules covering organic agriculture in Africa. For each module there is a presentation, a trainer’s manual, and either farmer’s booklets or a flyer. The trainer’s manual is a guide to help a facilitator present the slides in the presentation to a group of farmers, with notes for each slide. The farmer’s booklets and flyers are meant to be distributed to farmers. We have made available here parts of the manual that are particularly relevant for rice production in general and SRI in particular. The full manual, including modules on animal husbandry, farm management, marketing and trade, management of other non-rice crops, animal management, and conversion to organic production is available for free here.

Introduction
African Organic Agriculture Training Manual – Introduction

Module 2: Soil Fertility and Management
Soil Fertility Management – Trainer’s Manual
Soil Fertility Management – Presentation
Soil Fertility Management – Farmer’s Booklet
Soil and Water Management – Farmer’s Booklet
Soil Organic Matter Management – Farmer’s Booklet
Soil Fertility Supplements – Farmer’s Booklet

Module 4: Pest, Disease and Weed Management
Pest, Disease and Weed Management – Trainer’s Manual
Pest and Disease Management – Presentation
Pest and Disease Management – Farmer’s Booklet
Weed Management – Farmer’s Booklet
Post Harvest Management and Storage – Farmer’s Booklet

Module 9: Crop Management
Rice Crop Management – Trainer’s Manual
Rice Crop Management – Presentation Rice Crop Management – Farmer’s Flyer

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Mapping and GIS Resources
For those interested in mapping or analyzing their current agroecozones, agroecosystems, and rice productions systems, the following is a list of resources that may help. This list will grow over time, so check back in the future, and please let us know if there are additional resources we should include!

HarvestChoice Mapping Resources (raster and vector)
All West Africa Maps [234 maps]
Soils Maps [13 maps]
Crop Maps [163 maps]
All Cereal Crop Maps [54 maps]
Rice Maps [9 maps]
Livestock Maps [14 maps]
Market Access Maps [10 maps]
Crop Yield Maps [8 maps]
Crop Production Maps [9 maps]
Population Maps [8 maps]
Climate Maps [7 maps]
Household Demographics Maps [7 maps]

Rainfall Maps
West and Central Africa Mean Rainfall – 1951-1989 (IRD – other maps of theirs are for sale)

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SRI and Development / Social Issues
Rice production and consumption has large-scale impacts across many aspects of society and development, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions / climate change, rural livelihoods, gender and food safety.

Arsenic in rice
Arsenic in Rice – From Field to Fork [A presentation given by Cornell Uniersity professor John Duxbury on 4/10/2015, examining issues relating to arsenic sources, governmental standards in different countries, and the effects of crop management – including SRI – on arsenic uptake by rice plants]

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Markets / Value Chaines
Increasing domestic rice production requires effective understanding of rice markets, and the policy environment that in part shapes these.

Global rice markets
Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets (May 2015 – FAO)

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