Médina Ngueyène (Kaolack), October 11 (APS) – The coordinator of the Rice Value Chain Development Project (PDCVR), Dr. Waly Diouf, advised local producers to use “reasoned fertilization” to improve rice productivity and agricultural yields.
”We are on the right track to improve the productivity of rice growing areas and save money for producers. We therefore need reasoned fertilization when we are in particularly rice production,” Mr. Diouf told APS.
He was speaking Thursday during an information tour on soil fertilization practices aimed at improving rice yields.
During this tour, a rice growing area of the National Institute of Pedology (INP) was visited in Médina Ngueyène, a locality in the commune of Dabaly, in the department of Nioro du Rip (Kaolack, center).
He indicated that the INP, within the framework of the PDCVR, experimented with several types of fertilizers, with the aim of ensuring that rice yields in Senegal are, at least, doubled, particularly in rainfed rice cultivation.
Dr Waly Diouf explained the experimentation process revealed that where there is a combination of two types of fertilizers, natural and chemical, “there is the precocity of the most loaded plans”. “That is to say, the panicles are much heavier,” he added.
On the other hand, he continued, “when we checked the control plot where we did not fertilize, the observation was that there was a little delay and the ears were less loaded” . “All this shows that indeed, by providing adequate fertilization, we easily increase productivity,” explained the PDCVR coordinator.
He clarified that it is not enough just to provide fertilizer, but to ensure that there is water control.
”The luck we have here is that this valley has water, which allows fertilizers to fully play their role. This also means that if there was no water control at the plot level, we could have setbacks,” he further underlined.
The agronomist invited producers to diversify their production and not to concentrate on a single speculation. Which, in his opinion, is not good for the land and expenses.
”It is better to produce all crops, including rice which has become an essential food in the Senegalese diet. This is why it is essential, wherever possible, to produce rice. We are pushing producers to diversify,” advised Waly Diouf.
He recalled that in Nioro du Rip, the producers have the major challenge of “ensuring self-sufficiency locally”. According to him, ”many of them have achieved this local self-sufficiency and that is how, one thing leading to another, we will achieve our food self-sufficiency”.
ADE/AB
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