It focuses on the Farmer Training Fields (CEP) in Décollé and Thilambol, which incorporate an Intensive Rice Cultivation System (SRI). The aim of this action research was to evaluate the implementation process of the CEP-SRI, analyse the relevance of the technical package and the agroecological technologies used, assess the results achieved, and draw lessons from the success factors and challenges encountered.
Although there were initial difficulties in reaching the members of the Décollé CEP, the results of this evaluation reveal that the techniques implemented in the Thilambol CEP by the COINS project team, in partnership with ANCAR officers, have yielded satisfactory and significant results for rice farmers cultivating plots of 0.20 to 0.25 ha.
Against a backdrop of climate change, land degradation and falling yields, the adoption of sustainable agroecological practices has emerged as a viable solution for better management of natural resources and strengthening the resilience of family farms.
The knowledge-sharing exercise highlighted the stakeholders’ acquisition of knowledge about SRI and its ongoing adoption on their own plots. Better still, producers not benefiting from the CEPs, attracted by the innovations introduced in the CEPs, have expressed their willingness to replicate this experience on their own plots. This demonstrates the gradual adoption of these practices, both by CEP members and by other farmers. Beyond the positive changes in farmers’ attitudes and behaviours, other tangible results are visible on the ground, notably through:
Improved yields and food self-sufficiency through self-consumption;
- Reduced production costs;
- A reduction in the arduousness of women’s work;
- Increased environmental sustainability.
To address the constraints identified, the IPAR team, in collaboration with the relevant technical departments (ANCAR, SAED, INP, etc.), is working to validate these innovations, which have proven to be well-suited to the constraints faced by farmers, whether environmental, technical, socio-cultural or economic. The adoption of agroecological practices and sustainable agricultural systems thus appears to be an effective response to the adverse effects of climate change.
