When to plant Rice in Bopa

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Rice

Mono, Benin

Rice is a grass that lives on water.

Rice in Bopa, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 1 Apr 2027 – 11 May 2027 opens in 26 weeks 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest about 3.7 t/ha about 7.0 t/ha
Harvest From 30 Jun 2027 to 8 Oct 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 90–150 days after planting
Work it takes 69–107 days per hectare, by hand
Rain meets its needs 75%

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 1 May 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Bopa leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.

Planting after 11 May 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Bopa

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 88%
The lie of the land 88%

For rice in Bopa, the soil is the tightest of the three at 88%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.

The 2027 season in Bopa

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedMarch 2027 to November 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 895 mm
This season's rainLeaning dry — September and October look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +0.6 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 93% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
93% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 255 growing days · about 910 mm · March to November
7% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 253 growing days · about 950 mm · March to November

last updated 30 September 2026

Limited water holds back about 25% of yield here.

What rice needs to grow here

Soil it likes loam, clay loam or clay
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 5.5 and 7.0
Spacing 20 cm between rows, 20 cm between plants
Feed it most with nitrogen and zinc

What it takes to grow rice in Bopa

Planting materialAbout 600,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 56 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 18 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 81 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work69–107 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a rice crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableEarly-maturing — escapes late drought

Grow Rice with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Bopa as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Where to sell Rice nearby

Rice in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will rice grow well in Bopa?

Bopa rates as favourable for rice.

When should I plant rice in Bopa?

Typically 1 Apr 2027 to 11 May 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Bopa, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Bopa

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.