Guinea

General Information

· Main climates: Tropical Wet and Dry, Tropical Wet

· Total land area: 24 566 000 ha

· Internal renewable water resources: 226 km³

· Incoming water flow: 0 km³

· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 1 722

· Main food consumed: Rice, Roots & tubers, Oil & fat, Fruits, Vegetable

· Rice supply, 1999: 93.2 kg paddy/capita/year

Basic Statistics

Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons

Rice is planted almost in all places. The following table shows the harvested areas from different producing zones.

Rice is planted mainly during the wet season. In irrigated areas, a second cropping season may be possible.

Production Practices

The following figure shows the harvested areas from different ecologies during the last five years.

Upland rice is grown as a mono-crop or as in a mixture with other food crops following the slash-and-burn shifting cultivation almost without any application of chemical fertilizer and other ago-chemical. Women cultivate small fields of rainfed lowland rice (from few hundred to few thousand square meters). A number of improved rice varieties have been released for cultivation.

Land preparation for lowland rice is done either manually or with animal traction. Transplanting is the main method of crop establishment. Farmers generally apply little fertilizer to rainfed lowland and tidal wetland (or mangrove) rice. Weeding is generally done manually and farmers do not have adequate appropriate tools and equipment for harvesting and threshing of rice. Studies showed positive responses of rainfed lowland rice to phosphorus fertilizer application.

Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production

There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Guinea. Following are the majors:

• Dominant of upland shifting cultivation.

• Drought in upland areas and drought and flash flood in rainfed lowland (or inland swamp) and tidal wetland (or mangrove) areas due to irregular weather.

• Inadequate and Irregular input supplies: seeds, fertilizer and credit.

• Lack of small farm equipment especially for post harvest operations.

• Poor maintenance of developed swamps.

• Poor drainage, Iron toxicity in undeveloped swamps.

• Lack of effective farmer's organization and co-operative.

• Lack of well-defined rice policies.

• Poor road networks and marketing systems.

• Weak research and extension support.

• Inadequate land tenure status of irrigation schemes.

Sustainable rice production depends greatly on appropriate policy to provide farmers with support in inputs supply and marketing of products. The improvement and development of wetland rice production, especially with good water control is essential.

Research and Development Institutes

· Centre de recherches agronomiques "Il Sung" Kilissi, Kindia

· Centre de recherches rizicoles Koba,Koba, Boffa

· Centre de valorisation des techniques agricoles, Yatiya, Faranah

· Centre d'experimentation et vulgarisation agricole, Bamban, Kindia

· Institut de Recherche Agronomique de Guinée, B.P. 576 Conakry, Guinée

· Institut de Recherche Agronomique, Guinée (IRAG), Tel.: (224) 44 42 62/41 10 62, Fax: (224) 41 57 58, E-mail: [email protected]

· Institut de recherches agronomiques de Guinee B.P. 1523 Conakry Phone: 444262 Telex: 22332 GE Fax: (224) 415758

· National Observatoire, Riz et autres Produits Vivriers (PASAL/BCEPA), Ministère de l’Agriculture et de l’Elevage, BP 576, Conakry, Tel.: (224) 411561/453342/411002, Fax: (224) 414356

· Programme Riz, Centre de Recherche Agronomique de Kilissi/IRAG, BP 1523, Conakry, Tel.: (224) 454262, Fax: (224) 454246, E-mail: [email protected]

· Programme Système, de Production à base de riz pluvial, (SPBR) CRA Sérédou BP 124, IRAG/Conakry, Guinée, Tel.: (224) 44 42 62/41 10 62, Telex 22 332 GE, Fax: (224) 41 57 58,

· Station agricole Bordo-Kankan Bordo, Kankan

· Station rizicole de Kouroussa, Kouroussa