Scientists from IRRI, Africa Rice Center, and national agricultural research and extension system (NARES) partners engaged with rice farmers and other value chain stakeholders from Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique during the annual Crop Tour in East and Southern Africa (ESA). Through frequent engagement between IRRI scientists and NARES partners, the crop tour has significantly improved the quality of trials conducted in the ESA region.
The group visited 33 field sites across the three countries to work with 29 research and dissemination partners to inform and improve regional and local breeding and crop management practices, seed systems, and product management. This concerted effort intends to identify and create awareness of the best-fit, high-yielding, climate-smart varieties, which can, in turn, help improve farmers' adoption rate, increasing their productivity and yield in the long run.
The group visited a rice miller in Mwea, Kenya
“The crop tour is a critical element of the varietal design, development, and dissemination process,” said IRRI's Regional Breeding, Seed Systems and Product Management Lead for Africa, Ajay Panchbhai. “It enables breeders to continuously improve germplasm in the breeding pipelines to suit the rice-growing ecologies in Africa. It also guides our seed systems specialists to optimize the scaling models per the new varieties' market segment.”
Crop tours also allow researchers to listen to the preferences of smallholder farmers and value chain stakeholders, including currently grown varieties, gaps, and new demands. At the same time, farmers and value chain actors see the performance of the latest rice varieties in the fields.
Farmers share what they learned while cultivating the improved rice varieties on their farms, providing scientists with the feedback needed to design products with useful traits for adaptation to local conditions.
More importantly, this aims to empower local farming communities by allowing them to make decisions based on their preferences and local circumstances.
“Through joint on-farm trials, farmers have gained hands-on experience with rice cultivation technologies such as direct seeding, which have reduced the drudgery of production,” said Dennis Okoyo, the programs officer at Nabwabini Environmental and Health Intervention Program Kenya.
Meeting with Twaweza women group, Tanzania
"This has motivated many farmers in western Kenya to adopt rice as an alternative cash and food crop because it matures earlier than other crops traditionally grown in the region,” Mr. Okoyo added. “We will continue to work with IRRI and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization to promote and market new and improved rice varieties adapted to the region.”
Another notable example is the Twaweza Women’s Group (“warez” means “we can” in Swahili) in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The group, comprising fifteen women farmers, has become a Quality Declared Seeds (QDS) producer. In under two years, the group was able to provide about 40% of the seed demand for the Bagamoyo Irrigation Scheme.
"Our farmers get the motivation to grow new rice varieties using quality seeds when we get guidance and support from the researchers from our national government and international organizations such as IRRI,” said Ms. Barce Shabani, chairperson of the Twaweza Women's Group. “Today, we are supplying QDS produced by some of our fellow farmers to about 40% of our scheme farmers. In the coming two years, we shall supply quality seeds of new rice varieties to all the farmers in the scheme and beyond."
Scientists interacting with farmers during crop tour
Recognizing the success and learning from such groups, the Mozambique Institute of Agricultural Research, in collaboration with IRRI, pledges to support the 21st May Women Association in Chokwe Region by ensuring their registration as seed producers so that they can boost the production of QDS to meet the needs of local farmers.
"The 2024 Crop Tour organized by IRRI yielded valuable insights and engagement, paving the way for continued support and collaboration to enhance rice production in Tanzania and the ESA region,” said Dr. Dennis Tippe, center director of Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute Uyole. This year's ESA Crop Tour ran from 29 April to 10 May.