General Information
· Main climates: Tropical Steppe and Semiarid, Subtropical Desert and Arid, Tropical Desert and Arid
· Total land area: 102 552 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 0.4 km3
· Incoming water flow: 11.4 km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 1 500
· Main food consumed: Wheat, Rice, Sugar & honey, Fruits, Roots & tubers
· Rice supply, 1999: 93.6 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
|
RICE |
|
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
5.0 |
15.55 |
13.41 |
24.00 |
|
Yield (kg/ha) |
5000 |
3330 |
3936 |
4308 |
|
Production (T t) |
25.00 |
51.79 |
52.81 |
103.4 |
|
Imports (T t) |
105.1 |
44.60 |
70.0 |
NA |
|
Exports (t) |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
|
Population (T) |
1766 |
2026 |
2329 |
NA |
|
Agr population (T) |
1119 |
1118 |
1259 |
NA |
|
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
49 |
49 |
49 |
NA |
|
Fertilizer cons (t) |
2010 |
3900 |
4000 |
NA |
|
Agr tractors in use (units) |
320 |
335 |
330 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
Rice is planted only in the Valley of Senegal River. The following table shows the harvested areas from different producing zones.
|
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
|
Gorgol |
54.31 |
|
Trarza |
29.95 |
|
Guidimaka |
10.39 |
|
Brakna |
5.35 |
There are two rice crops a year.
|
Cropping season |
Planting |
Harvesting |
|
Main season |
6-7 |
11-12 |
|
Off season |
2-3 |
5-7 |
Production Practices
Rice is planted only under irrigated conditions. Land preparation for lowland rice is done either mechanically or with animal traction. Both transplanting and direct seeding are used for crop establishment. Farmers generally apply moderate to high rates of inorganic fertilizers. Weeding is generally done manually, although the use of herbicides is increasing in irrigated rice. Farmers do not have adequate appropriate tools and equipment for harvesting and threshing of rice. A number of rice varieties have been released for cultivation.
|
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
|
BG 90 2 |
1995-99 |
130-135 |
|
I KONG PAO=IKP |
before 1975 |
115-120 |
|
IN 1 |
NA |
NA |
|
IR 13240-108-2-2-3 (SAHEL108) |
1997 |
105-110 |
|
IR 1529-680-3 |
1975-79 |
130-135 |
|
IR 1561 152 |
1985-89 |
105-110 |
|
IR 2070-414-3-9 |
NA |
NA |
|
IR 28 |
NA |
120-125 |
|
IR 50 |
1990-94 |
105-110 |
|
ITA 306 (SAHEL202) |
1995-99 |
115-120 |
|
JAYA |
NA |
135-140 |
|
SAHEL 108 (IR 13240-108-2-2-3) |
1996 |
105-110 |
|
SAHEL 201 (BW 292-3) |
1996 |
125-130 |
|
SAHEL 202, (ITA 306) (FARO 37) |
1996 |
115-120 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Mauritania. Following are the majors:
Low temperature during off-season in irrigated areas
Shortage of water in the dry season
Low P content in rice soils
Poor maintenance of irrigation facilities
Poor drainage in irrigated schemes
High production costs
Inadequate and Irregular input supplies: seeds, fertilizer and credit
Lack of small farm equipment, especially for post harvest operations
Lack of effective farmer organization and co-operative
Competition of labour by other production activities
Lack of a well-defined rice policy
Poor road networks and marketing systems
Weak research and extension support
Sustainable rice production depends greatly on appropriate policy to provide farmers with support in inputs supply and marketing of products.
Research and Development Institutes
· Centre National de Recherche Agronomique et du Développement Agricole, B.P. Kaedi, Mauritania.
· Centre national de recherches agronomiques et du developpement agricole Kaedi
· Recodis B.P.632 Nouakchott Phone: 53209 Telex: 581 CHACOM
· Service Vulgarisation au Brakna, Direction Recherche, Formation et Vulgarisation, Ministère du Développement Rural et de l’Environnement, BP. 180, Nouakchott, Tel.: (222) 6314033
· Service Vulgarisation au Guidimagha, Ministère du Développement Rural et Environnement, BP. 76, Selibaby, Tel.: (222) 5344328
