Providing significant increments to rice grain productivity in the Maroon community in Suriname is the main goal of the trilateral project that involves the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC/MRE), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), the Ministry of Agriculture of Suriname, and the Embassy of New Zealand in Brazil. The project started in April with the establishment of experiments to assess cultivars (four Brazilian ones and three local varieties from Suriname) and experiments to assess nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilization levels. In Suriname, a South American country that shares a border with Brazil in the states of Pará and Amapá, upland rice is cultivated through traditional practices by the quilombola people (descendants of fugitive African black slaves, a.k.a. Maroons) and yields less than 1,000 kg/hectare. In the country, the area used by such family farmers for upland rice cultivation varies between 1 and 10 m². In these areas, rice is cultivated alongside other crops, such as cassava, banana, vegetables or cowpeas. The project aims at conducting local research and demonstrating cultivation techniques such as fertilization, plant spacing and population, and weed control, to growers in order to promote a significant increase in rice grain productivity in the country. On August 18 - 27, a mission from Embrapa Rice and Beans traveled to Suriname to harvest the experimental parcels and check whether the yield was higher than the one the Maroons would obtain. The mission verified that the Brazilian cultivars had a shorter cycle (around 100 days) in comparison with the local Surinamese varieties (around 120 days). The Brazilian varieties were assessed and obtained the following yields: BRS Esmeralda, 2,903 kg/ha, BRS Sertaneja, 2,802 kg/ha, BRSMG Curinga 2,255 kg/ha and BRS Pepita, 1,153 kg/ha. In other words, all materias presented higher productivity than the average in Suriname, and BRS Esmeralda and BRS Sertaneja particularly stood out. The data from the Surinamese materials has not been tabulated yet. During the mission, the Embrapa Rice and Beans researcher Dr. Adriano Stephan Nascente (project coordinator on Embrapa's side) and the technician Antônio da Conceição Teixeira visited the experiments, sampled the parcels, assesses productivity, guided the technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture of Suriname on the assessment of rice production components, and participated in technical meetings with the Ambassador of Brazil in Suriname and with the country's Minister of Agriculture. For the Brazilian ambassador, Mr. Marcelo Baumbach, actions like the project strengthen the relationship between both countries and open doors for new partnerships. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Soeresh Algoe, reiterated the importance of the project and stressed that, with the Brazilian government's aid through Embrapa, it will be possible to ensure food security in the country and help smallholders produce their own food. Next steps Based on the results, the best nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents will be selected to fertilize the demonstration parcels in the next rainy season, which starts in late November. According to Adriano Nascente, the idea is to launch demonstration units in three sites (Adjonie, Klarkrec and Brokopondo) that concentrate a large Maroon population so that they can have access to the technological innovations and use them in their lands. For the technician from the Ministry of Agriculture of Suriname Ms. Ruby Kromokardi, project coordinator for the Suriname government, the implementation of such activities will contribute to enable the population that cultivates rice to increase productivity and produce enough food for the entire year instead of buying rice from other regions. Moreover, there is a plan to offer a course in March 2017, the time to harvest the demonstration units, to build professional capacities in the use of rice cultivation techniques in order to provide further assistance to Maroon growers. Author: Organizational Communications Team - NCO Translator: Mariana de Lima Medeiros