During the first phase several field
activities were undertaken towards achieving the objectives of the
project. Initially work was concentrated in the Kambia District.
Surveys were conducted to determine crop variability and the
accompanying indigenous knowledge systems. Work was undertaken to
conserve germplasm of important crops, ex-situ and on-farm, and
also to establish seed storage facilities. As the farmers acquired
more experience they participated gradually in varietal selection
activities using their own criteria of crop performance and yield.
Complementing those activities, project staff conducted studies on
the dynamics of the seed management system in the informal sector
during peacetime. Since the country, and more especially the
project area, was experiencing war the project extended their
attention to study the effects of war and displacement on genetic
resources management by local communities who were directly
affected.
The field activities undertaken during the first phase provided very useful information on the plant genetic
resources available, and how farmers managed them in peace, and in
disaster situations. The methods farmers use to select crop
varieties which result in sustainable conservation and utilization
of the products were also realized through those activities. |
Baseline socio-economic surveys were conducted involving 300 farmers to
determine the benchmarks on the types and amount of variability existing
within cultivated crops in project areas. In 1996 the farmers were
interviewed about their agricultural activities in the past five years.
The types of crops they cultivated and the methods of crop development and
conservation were also surveyed (CBDC/.SL Project, 1997a)
The survey indicated that farming in those communities was dominated by
rice. This crop is the staple food in Sierra Leone. Farmers had a wide
array of varieties for the two main rice growing ecologies, the uplands
and the lowlands. Even though the upland is the largest ecology in size
throughout the country, in the Kambia District lowland rice culture is
more common because of the vast mangrove ecology, and to a lesser extent
bolilands. The mangrove swamps in Kambia were developed over the years
from lands covered with mangrove vegetation along river estuaries on the
Atlantic Coast. They are inundated by tidal flow twice daily.
The mangrove offers a very ideal rice growing environment and produces
higher rice yields than the uplands. Hence the farmers in Kambia had twice
as many lowland varieties as upland varieties at the time of the survey.
The management practices of the rice crop from the methods of acquiring
seed to the cultivation and processing varied from one ethnic group to the
other. This means that cultural values influenced to a great extent the
management of the crop.
Within the farmers "crop cafeteria" were other cereals like
maize, sorghum and fundi (Digitaria exilis). The
survey indicated that the farmers were aware of the need to ensure food
self-sufficiency in their communities. To minimize the risks against
possible crop failures due to weather or poor soils, they grew several
varieties at the same time.
As the rebel war escalated, more farmers in project areas were displaced.
Agricultural activities were also disrupted heavily. Project staff were
therefore concerned that major genetic erosion would have occurred in
those places. To study that possibility a survey was conducted again in
1998. The purpose was to compile crop inventories, which were currently
been grown, and compare them with the crops grown in 1995/96 when the
first survey was done.
The results of the 1998 survey did not indicate crop loss as such. Rather
they showed that farming practices and farmers’ preferences and/or
choices had changed. Some found farming too risky and resorted to petty
trading instead. Others planted a wider array of short duration crops as a
way of coping with the crises. In all cases the reality of the war became
the major decision in farming.
Ex-situ Conservation Activities
The CBDC-S.L Project had identified the rebuilding and operationalizing
the germplasm facility at RRS as one of its major activities during the
first phase. The project staff developed a seed laboratory at Rokupr to
process and conserve the collections. Between 1993-97, 261 rice and 135
vegetable accessions were collected and stored in that facility. As a
result of field evaluations, 117 distinct rice varieties were identified
out of the total 261.The evaluations of the vegetables was hampered by the
shortage of research experience of those crops in Rokupr. However it was
interesting that such a large number of vegetables germplasm was collected
in that project area at all.
In 1998 rice germplasm was collected by staff from areas not previously
covered in the 1993-97 exercises. Sixty (60)upland and 34 lowland
accessions were collected at that time. For the first time also in 1998
farmers were requested to make collections from their fields at harvest
time.
Rice Germplasm Rescue
After the rebel attack on Kambia in January 1995 the CBDC-S.L Project
conducted an expedition to villages which were directly affected by the
incident. The purpose was to find out if any important rice varieties were
lost. The team recovered 50 out of 55 germplasm accessions from those
places. At the Station staff identified the lost materials and returned
them to the communities which were affected. The loss was minimal. However
it indicated that in prolonged conflicts more severe damage to PGR could
be possible.
Community Seed Facilities
In 1995/96 community seed facilities were established in all 30 villages
to store seed for the respective communities. In 1998 thirteen villages
out of 30 fully participated. Cereals especially rice dominated the crops
stored. Generally the crops which produced seeds were stored in those
facilities. In a few cases tubers were stored in the raw states.
On-farm Conservation
The CBDC-S.L Project established on-farm conservation plots in 1995/96 for
the purpose of complementing the highly vulnerable ex-situ method during
war times. They were established again in 1998. Farmers planted and
managed mainly roots and tubers, vegetables, few medicinal plants and
fruits. Crops like cereals and several medicinal plants were not included
(see table).
Crops recorded in field plots in the three chiefdoms in 1998,
n=130 farmers
|
Crop Type |
Number of crops
|
| |
Magbema (n=50) |
Tonko Limba (n=40) |
Bramaia (n=40) |
|
Cassava |
41 |
64 |
37 |
|
Potatoes |
43 |
68 |
46 |
|
Yams |
44 |
33 |
14 |
|
Vegetables |
180 |
238 |
143 |
|
Medicinal Plants |
21 |
86 |
90 |
|
Fruits |
86 |
121 |
73 |
In the first place farmers regarded the plots as "backyard
gardens" which should normally carry vegetables, fruits spices and
medicinal plants. Cereals and other medicinal plants, they stressed were
suited to ecologies some distance away from their villages for the crops
to produce higher yields, and better potency of the herbs.
The exercises conducted in 1996 and then in 1998 on crop inventories
indicated that farmers always tried to maintain a large number of
different crops varieties as security against acute food shortages .
Conservation of Vegetatively Propagated Crops –Sweet Potatoes and
Cassava
Studies reported in the 1997 Annual Report indicated that during crises,
farming populations changed their emphases on types of crops they grew,
the ecologies and extent of cropping. In Sierra Leone most farmers
resorted to planting roots and tubers during the war as their main sources
of carbohydrates. As unlike rice which requires more resources to produce,
these roots and tubers are hardy, take minimal inputs and have shorter
growth duration. Such qualities made those crops very attractive to farm
families in those situations.
In 1998 CBDC-S.L Project cultivated two hectares each of three varieties
of potatoes and four varieties of cassava for multiplication purposes.
During the growing season, sweet potatoes and cassava leaves of the crops
were sold and so were the roots and tubers at harvest. After harvest, 120
bundles of sweet potato vines, (each 20 vines of 6-8 inches long) and 135
bundles of cassava cuttings (25 stakes each 2ft long ) were distributed to
CBDC-S.L farmers for further multiplication and distribution to a wider
population. That activity was expected to improve the food security
situation of local communities at that time (CBDC/SL Project, 1998).
In Plant Genetic Resources Management:
Close association of CBDC staff and farmers facilitated the
socio-economic and cultural study of local cultivation practices. It
also provided the opportunity to do a more detailed gender analysis
of community biodiversity conservation and utilization of PGR. Some
examples of this relationship are outlined below:
Diffusion of Rice Varieties by Farmers
In the project communities, researchers were able to identify five
main methods whereby new varieties are acquired. The majority of seed
(60%) is acquired through gifts or simple exchange. Permanent
residents or foreign women who have married citizens bring such seed
into the communities. The agents are family members, traders,
craftsmen, migrant workers, Arabic students, development projects and
their staff.
Seed diffusion in those communities was found to be a very dynamic
process that follows clear cultural patterns. For instance marriage
networks link particular settlements and these networks in most cases
serve as channels for seed diffusion.
Original seed sources of rice in Tonko Limba and Bramaia
Chiefdoms (1994)
|
seed source |
tonko limba |
bramaia |
total |
bought
exchange
gift
loan
improved rice source
payment
for work
source not known
project source (total)
Action Aid
IDA
NAPCO |
18 (17%)
48 (45%)
28 (26%)
4 (4%)
-
-
6 (5%)
4
(4%)
4
-
- |
36 (24%)
55 (38%)
23 (16%)
2 (1%)
1 (0.5%)
4 (2%)
6
20
(14%)
17
2
1 |
54 (21%)
103 (40%)
51 (20%)
6 (4%)
1 (0.4%)
4 (2%)
12
(5%)
24 (9%)
21
2
1 |
|
TOTAL |
108 (100%) |
147 (100%) |
255 (100%) |
In a similar survey in 1998, 120 farmers were interviewed in the three
chiefdoms about their sources of seed and reasons for abandoning seed.
The results for seed acquisition confirmed the results obtained in the
1994 survey.
Seed Acquisition Methods by Far mers in Three Chiefdoms in 1998
(n= 120)
|
Source |
Frequency |
Percentage (%) |
|
1. Seed Exchange from farmer to farmer
|
46 |
38 |
|
- Social relations (gifts, family)
|
30 |
25 |
|
- Purchase from village merchants.
|
23 |
19 |
|
- Projects/NGO’s
|
19 |
16 |
|
- Field days
|
2 |
2 |
For seed abandoning, poor yield was the most important reason while
personal choices ranked the lowest. The data suggested that farmers
put a lot of emphases on crop yield, duration and resistance/tolerance
to diseases and pests in their choice of varieties. Those characters
also featured highly in the rice selection criteria used by farmers in
the workshop conducted in 1996 (CBDC-S.L Project 1995/96).
Reasons for Abandoning of Varieties in 1998 (n=70)
|
Reason |
Frequency |
Percentage (%) |
|
1. Poor yield |
28 |
40 |
|
2. Wrong duration |
17 |
24 |
|
3. Pest and disease problems |
12 |
17 |
|
4. Seed availability |
7 |
10 |
|
5. Personal reason |
6 |
9 |
Monocultures are not common in rice fields in the project areas.
Farmers usually plant more than one variety of rice within the same
plot. But even so, the study found differences among the three ethnic
groups. The Limba farmers adopted higher purity standards than the
Susus. Among the latter group rice mixing was widespread. In fact in
one meter square of rice sample 17 different rice seed varieties were
observed from a Susu upland rice farm during the survey (CBDC/SL
Project, 1997a)
The reasons for those admixtures are both social and scientific. One
popular variety in the uplands, ROK 3 is "light" in the
stomach, that is, people get hungry quickly when they eat it. But ROK
3 also swells when it is cooked so it can feed more people at once. To
address the problem of lightness in the stomach farmers mix ROK 3 with
heavier varieties to plant, process and finally consume.
The scientific justification is that different varieties when grown
together can adapt to variable micro-niches and tolerate different
disease and pest regimes. They could collectively produce higher
yields than monocultures grown in the same situation.
Also when mixed stands of O.sativa and O.
glaberrima are cultivated, natural cross-fertilization could occur
to produce superior types of rice inter-specifics.
Varietal Selection By Farmers
The workshop conducted by the project in 1996 to train farmers in CBDC
activities brought into focus the importance of selection of crop
varieties by farmers themselves. In that year also three upland
experimental farms were established (one per chiefdom) in the uplands
of the project areas.
One hundred rice varieties including indigenous and foreign accessions
and O. glaberrima and O. sativa types were planted. At
maturity, scientists and CBDC-farmers were invited to make selections
of their preferred varieties. The selection criteria, which they used,
are summarized here:
Rice Character istics Rated In Varietal Selection By The
Various Ethnic Groups
|
|
NUMBER OF TIMES MENTIONED |
|
Character |
Magbema (Temne) |
Tonko Limba (Limba) |
Bramaia (Susu) |
|
1. Panicle size |
44 |
13 |
46 |
|
2. Grain size |
30 |
22 |
28 |
|
3. Grain yield |
28 |
23 |
10 |
|
4. Tillering ability |
27 |
14 |
10 |
|
5. Filling and eating qualities |
23 |
5 |
7 |
|
6. Lodging resistance |
14 |
1 |
2 |
|
7. Grain colour |
12 |
41 |
24 |
|
8. Plant height |
11 |
15 |
16 |
|
9. Grain filling capacity |
9 |
4 |
11 |
|
10 Maturity rate |
5 |
38 |
22 |
Panicle size and grain size were the two most important
characteristics identified by the Temne and Susu farmers, grain color
and duration were most important characteristics of the Limba farmers.
A total of 45 varieties were selected by the farmers (CBDC-S.L
Project, 1997a). The analysis of data collected for each chiefdom
revealed a high degree of consensus among farmers within chiefdom. But
there were marked differences between chiefdoms. Also several
selections made by farmers in Magbema were varieties they already
grew. Magbema is the home of the Rokupr Rice Research Station. By
virtue of their proximity to the station farmers in that area are more
experienced with improved cultural practices which includes the use of
modern varieties of rice from the Station. In contrast the top five
selections made by farmers in Tonko-Limba were planted by the farmers
before. In Bramaia two out of the five top selections were planted
before by a small group of farmers. It was apparent from the results
that differences existed in the receptivity of farmers to new
varieties, a matter requiring further field investigations.
Activities
By way of improving upon farmers’ selection activities conducted in
1996, the project initiated the Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS)
research in 1998. The purpose was to adopt more objective and focussed
approach to selection wherein the subsistence farmers, especially women,
were the major players in the selection process. That activity was
conducted in collaboration with the WARDA Principal Breeder, Dr. Monty
P. Jones who had developed up to 1,200 interspecific progenies from O.sativa
and O. glaberrima crosses.
Sixty (60) upland rice varieties including standard O.
sativa and O. glaberrima varieties and the new
inter-specifics were grown in 10 m2 unfertilized plots.
During the vegetative, reproductive, and maturity stages of growth, 60
farmers (30 men and 30 women) were taken to the farm and each of them
requested to select the maximum of four varieties. When the farmers'
preferences were analyzed five varieties were the most frequently
selected; three of the inter-specifics followed by two standard
varieties.
Farmers Assessment of Varieties at Masorie in the Magbema
Chiefdom
|
Variety |
Frequency of Selection |
Criteria of Appreciation at Maturity |
WAB 450-I-B-P-38-HB
|
34 |
- High tillering – (1),
- large panicle - (2)
- Short cycle
– (100-110 days) (3)
- Grain type – (4)
- Plant Height-
(5) |
|
WAB 450-11-1-P-160-HB |
28 |
- Long and heavy panicle (1)
-
Good tillering (2)
-
Short cycle (3),
- Big Grains (4)
- Resembles Local variety (5) |
|
WAB 450-11-1-P-33-HB |
23 |
- Good Tillering (1)
- Early maturity (4)
- Grain colour (2),
-
Has Awn (3)
- Good yield Potential (5) |
|
ROK 20 |
18 |
- Heavy panicle (1),
-
Good yield (2)
- Fine grain (3)
- Good plant height (4) |
|
WAB 570-10-B-1A-2-6. |
18 |
- Good Tillering (1),
- Good vigor (2)
- Tall height (3),
-
Yield Potential (4) |
Note : The criteria of appreciation are ranked in ascending
order
(1= most frequently etc.).
The main selection criteria they used were high tillering ability, yield
potential, large panicle size, plant height, grain type and short cycle.
Those characters compared well with those identified by farmers in 1996.
The Effects of War and Displacement
The war in Sierra Leone has lasted for about a decade. One of the most
important effects has been the disruption of farming activities. As a
weapon of rebel conflicts civilians are targeted and subjected to the
most violent forms of abuse and forced into slavery by those who claim
to be fighting on their behalf. Because of these experiences civilian
populations are always on the run to avoid rebels. Longley (1997) gave a
vivid description of the horrific scenery of a rebel attack on a village
in Kambia. When these incidents occur agriculture which is the mainstay
of their lives is destroyed.
Changes in Farmers’ Crop Choices during War
Data collected from 161 farmers in Tonko Limba and Bramaia Chiefdoms
from 1994-1996 showed vivid effects of the war on farming. There was a
steady increase in the production of roots and tubers, which are
secondary sources of carbohydrates, following rice for these
communities. There was a decrease in the amount of cash crops grown.
Initially farmers had sold the cash crops to buy food. More farmers grew
upland rice during the crises whereas fewer grew the cash crops like
groundnuts in response to the crises. Farmers put more efforts in food
production than in growing cash crops
The shift to the upland at that time was because this ecology
accommodates more short and medium duration varieties of crops than the
lowland varieties. The risks involved in farming can be spread more
effectively in the uplands than in the lowlands during disaster
situations.
Contributions from individuals with varying social backgrounds also
changed. The number of household heads and women who took part in
farming also increased. This showed that household heads and in
particular women took on added responsibility to grow food for
consumption, sometimes even at the expense of their cash crops (CBDC/SL
Project, 1997a)
Changes in Varietal Diversity
Along with the increase in farmers growing upland rice was also a marked
increase in the number of varieties grown. In 1994, 42 farmers planted
10 different varieties, while in 1996, 98 farmers planted 20 different
varieties. It was apparent from the data that many farmers just planted
any variety they could obtain no matter its suitability for the ecology
and its qualities as a crop. It was possible that preferred varieties
were scarce.
In summary the data indicated that despite the rebel attacks during
1995-97, the agricultural systems in the project area were not seriously
disrupted. The increase in the number of farmers growing upland rice and
the capacity of local seed networks to accommodate those increases all
indicated the tremendous resilience of the local farming communities to
cope with disasters.
The lesson from those experiences is that seed provisioning within
communities affected by conflict could be possible. In that particular
case farmers realized that part of the project was relatively safe
because of its proximity to the republic of Guinea. So they were able to
produce seeds. It means that farmers in such situations, given the
appropriate support, could effectively produce seeds and other planting
materials for farmers elsewhere who were more seriously affected by the
war. The project found that lesson very useful when it moved to the
Lokomassama Chiefdom in the Port Loko District in 1999, because of the
increasing rebel threat in the former area.
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