Land preparation

1. Here is my transcript of this video, which I prepared for JICA volunteers. There may be a few minor errors.
   
   Video title: “Land preparation”
   
   Land Preparation
   Before looking at the various steps involved, we’ll learn why proper land preparation is important and why it’s important for farmers to plan together.
   But the focus here is on irrigated systems and rainfed lowland rice fields.
   Land preparation before the start of the rice growing season is very important. 
   Land preparation ideally includes land clearing, weeding, pre-irrigation, plowing and leveling. 
   These steps will be discussed in this video.
   It should be realized that in some cases, farmers may opt for zero tillage if they lack the resources to plow.
   In such cases the field is cleared and flooded for one or two months before transplanting without plowing and leveling.
   In a field that’s well prepared, rice plants germinate and grow easier.
   Good land preparation improves the soil structure and makes the soil loose enough for the roots to go down, and fields are well leveled.
   It facilitates irrigation and drainage. It distributes weeds and crop residues evenly over the field and incorporates them into the soil. 
   It allows easy incorporation of basal mineral fertilizers, and allows better control of weeds. 
   The most important aspect of preparation of irrigated rice fields, all rain-fed lowland fields is leveling. 
   Mr. Raymond Sandwidi, INERA
   “If plots are not properly leveled, you have problems with irrigation, so you need to properly level, so that when you irrigate your field, the water is uniformly distributed, and benefits rice plants in every part of your field.”
   A properly leveled field makes irrigation and drainage easier. 
   It will also reduce the emergence of weeds.
   In an unleveled field, weeds will soon emerge on the higher parts of the field.
   There are three other key advantages.
   A field that is not well leveled cannot be transplanted early.
   The farmer will have to wait for the seedling to be old enough and tall enough to be transplanted in the deeper part of the field. 
   However, older seedlings do not tiller very well. 
   And this will have a negative impact on growth and yield. 
   Mineral fertilizers applied on a poorly leveled field will easily wash away to the lowest part of the field. And this will result in an uneven rice crop.
   And thirdly, when the field is not well leveled, the rice will not mature uniformly.
   Plants on the higher parts will mature sooner than plants in the lower parts. 
   Now that we know why leveling is important, let’s see why we need to properly plan field activities.
   Farmers in a given area should try as much as possible to start the cropping season around the same time. 
   If crops develop evenly across fields, many field operations will be simplified, such as bird control and water management.
   Planting all fields in an irrigation scheme or valley bottom around the same time requires good organization, and will usually only be feasible when animal traction or machines are available to prepare the land, and if harvesting and post-harvest operations are mechanized.
   Ms. Lisbetta Sibalo, President of Dandé Farmers Association
   “If you have animals or a two-wheeled tractor, you can prepare your land fast, and respect the appropriate time to plant your rice.”
   Now let’s have a look at the different steps involved in land preparation.
   Clearing and weeding the field.
   Here you need to clear the field and place all taller vegetation on the bunds.
   Cut and mix the smaller vegetation with crop residues, and spread out over the field.
   With pre-irrigation, the field is flooded during two to three days to soften the soil, to help with plowing, and kill or chase off insects that hide in the crop residues.
   Plowing can be done by hand with the traditional hoe, by power tiller or with an animal drawn plow. 
   With the first plowing you turn and loosen the soil, incorporate rice straw and other plant residues to hasten their decomposition, break up soil clogs, increase contact between the soil and the water. 
   First plowing should ideally be done a few weeks before sowing or transplanting to allow enough time for the weeds and crop residues to decompose.
   By flooding the field with about a 10 centimeter layer of water, during two to three weeks you will kill insect pests that hide in weed and crop residues and in the soil, decompose plant residues, allow weed seeds to germinate or rot.
   Afterwards, apply organic inputs, such as domestic waste, manure, compost and mineral fertilizers if the soil lacks N, P or K.
   Mr. Adama Djibo, Farmer
   “Adding organic matter is the most difficult task, but it results in better production.”
   Mr. Jean Sougúe Oublay, Kou Valley Union
   “To obtain a good crop, normally the most important activity after plowing the land is to apply organic material, such as animal manure. If you manage to add sufficient organic inputs, you will not need a lot of extra mineral fertilizers. So it’s very important to improve your soil with organic materials, as this will boost your crop.”
   You can carry out the second land preparation, to turn the soil and mix with water to create a mud, distribute decomposed organic residues, kill weed seedlings and distribute nutrients more evenly in the field. 
   As a guide, the depth of plowing should be about 10 to 15 centimeters.
   Superficial plowing will not favor plant development, while plowing too deeply may bury applied fertilizers beyond the reach of rice roots.
   In order to have better control of water, and reduce water use, many farmers have invested in leveling their land.
   This can be done in two stages. 
   In the first operation you need to achieve a first rough leveling to lower the higher parts of the field and spread this out in the lower areas.
   After plowing and flooding you need to do a second more precise leveling.
   Mr. Youssouf Dembélé, Expert in Irrigation & Water Use
   “In rice cultivation all the steps are important, but if we have to emphasize certain aspects I would say that for transplanting, we have to respect the age of the seedlings. By all means we should avoid transplanting seedlings that are too old. Secondly, one has to ensure that you properly level your field. If with irrigated rice your field is not well leveled you lose a lot. When you add fertilizer, it will not be properly distributed. There will be areas where the fertilizer concentrates to such high levels that will cause toxicity to the plants, and other parts will have no fertilizer at all. Also, weeds will develop more on areas that are not covered by water, so leveling is very important.”
   So, what have we learnt?
   Land preparation improves the soil structure and makes root penetration easier.
   By plowing, flooding and again plowing the land, you can control weeds.
   You can distribute weed and crop residues, organic inputs and composite fertilizers evenly over the field, and incorporate them into the soil.
   But remember, the most important aspect is to properly level your field.
   This will affect transplanting, weed, water and fertilizer management and maturation.
   In short, it will affect your entire crop. 
   Timing and planning, good land preparation and proper planning can make all the difference for a successful crop. 
   
   (Credits at the end of the video)
   This video has been developed by
   Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
   Institut De L’Environnement Et De Recherches Agricoles (INERA - Burkina Faso)
   
   Funds have been donated by
   International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
   
   Research & Production Team
   Marco Wopereis
   Paul Kiepe 
   Paul Van Mele
   Phil Malone
   Youssouf Dembélé
   
   Voice Over
   Phil Malone 
   Countrywise Communication
   
   Filming & Editing
   John Samuels
   Josephine Rodgers
   Jo Robinson
   Countrywise Communication
   
   Producer
   Paul Van Mele
   WARDA, Benin