Diagnosis of the Main Constraints of Rice Production in Nigers Irrigated Perimeters

Issaka Souley, Naroua Illiassou, Souley Mariama Abdoulaye Moussa, Boubacar Gamatche Habibou, Hama Seini Soumana, Djibo Hassoumi

rice irrigated perimeters, production constraints, Rice Yellow Mottle Virus, weeds and irrigation infrastructures

Rice cultivation plays an important part in Niger’s people food security. However, despite the significant efforts made to ensure development, the performance of irrigated perimeters still remains below the target yield. In order to propose solutions to improve the productivity of rice-growing sites along the Niger River Valleyr, a diagnostic study of production constraints analyzed the causes of the yield lowess in rice-growing areas. It consisted of: (i) characterizing ten (10) rice-growing perimeters (production, perimeter management, biotic and abiotic constraints), (ii) inventorying major constraints and (iii) proposing possible solutions. The data were collected through interviews with farmers, observations and field studies. It shows that all the perimeters characterized have recorded a low yield (<8 T/ha). The main constraints noted are: rice yellow mottle (27.06% in the wet season) with incidences reaching 70%, weeds (22.35%), absence of improved varieties (17.65%), birds (14.67%), defective state of infrastructure (14.67%), and cultural practices (11.76%). Thus, all these constraints must be taken into account, in order to boost rice yields in Niger Republic rice areas.

https://doi.org/10.31871/WJRR.13.5.18