SRI

Potential of the System of Rice Intensification for systemic improvement in rice production and water use -
The case of Andhra Pradesh

This paper discusses the advantages of system of rice intensification over normal paddy cultivation. The researcher compare the performance of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and normal rice fields in two mandals (subdistricts) of Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The yields from these two systems and agronomics are compared.

The need to find less water intensive methods of agriculture become important as there is a reduction in the scope of enhancing irrigation base for increase in food production. It is in this context that this research has been carried out.
The study was carried out in the rice growing areas of Andhra Pradesh where the main sources of irrigation are canal systems, tanks and tubewells. The researchers quote findings which state that the canal irrigation systems are operating at very low efficiencies and that almost 11% of the canal irrigated area has turned saline. Further the groundwater resources in almost 43% of the states local administrative blocks have been classified as over-exploited, critical, or near-critical with respect to extraction levels and proportional recharge. The researchers also list out other issues in the irrigation sector.

Food Sovereignty: SRI sets the platform in irrigated rice systems of Tamil Nadu

By V.K.Ravichandran, K.R.Jahanmohan and B.J. Pandian

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, a pioneer public sector research institute has piloted the innovative method of rice cultivation called SRI. It has spread SRI over a large area in the irrigated rice systems of Tamil Nadu through well designed strategies for upscaling.
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a novel method of rice cultivation based on a set of simple synergistic practices.They aim to change the management of rice plants and soil,water and nutrients that supports them in simple but specific ways.Success of SRI depends on strict adherence of its five critical steps viz., young seedlings, single seedling, square planting, water management and mechanical weeder usage. Among the five critical steps, raising young seedling, planting single seedling and square planting paves the way for food sovereignty in irrigated rice systems of Tamil Nadu. Since SRI method of rice cultivation is an innovative concept in the production environment, it is being given support by various institutional agencies. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, a pioneer public sector research institute has piloted this method of rice cultivation and designed strategies for upscaling SRI in the irrigated rice systems of Tamil Nadu through TN-IAMWARM (Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization and Water bodies Restoration and Management Project) – a world bank assisted project.

Upscaling an innovative practice in rainfed paddy cultivation

By Sangeetha Pati, LEISA India, Dec 2009

Farm practices, even with inherent merits, are often difficult to spread over a large area. It is much more challenging for a practice like SRI to be tried and scaled up under rainfed conditions. In such situations, a well planned strategy is required.
Paddy is one of the important food crops grown in Veerapur,Kallapur, Ramapur and Nagalavi villages in Dharwad district in Karnataka. The farmers in these villages have been following time-tested methods of growing crops to accomplish the challenging task of feeding themselves. Paddy is the major crop occupying 95% of the total cultivable area in the villages.The region receives moderate to heavy rainfall, with an average annual rainfall of 772mm. Paddy is therefore cultivated under rainfed conditions. Majority go in for direct sowing using seed drill.Less than 2 per cent farmers undertake transplanting.

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Maharashtra
by RURAL COMMUNES

System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

SRI paddy cultivation requires less water & less expenditure and gives more yields. Beneficial for small and marginal farmers for food security
Father de Laulanie, who first promoted SRI, intended that it should enhance the human conditions, not just meet people’s material needs, thus human resource development
SRI provides immediate benefits: There is no transition period, even first season yield are usually higher than before and improve increase yield over time.
Accessibility for the poor: The lower capital costs of using SRI means that its economic and other benefits are not limited by access to capital, nor does it require loans and indebtedness. Thus contribute rapidly to greater food security for the poor.

Read more: SRI in Mahrashtra

Slide 1 : Comparison of finger millet panicles grown with SFMI (SRI) methods on left and conventional methods on right Slide 2 :System of Finger Millet Intensification on left; regular management of improved variety and of traditional variety on right, picture courtesy of PRADAN, Orissa
Comparison of finger millet panicles grown with SFMI (SRI) methods on left and conventional methods on right (Powerpoint Presentation)

by Norman Uphoff, Pardan, 31 March, 2007

Paddy Cultivation Through Conventional and SRI Method - Comparative Results from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
Paddy Cultivation Through Conventional and SRI Method - Comparative Results from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

by , SRI, 01 January, 2006

Rice is the most important food crop in Orissa grown throughout the state covering over 64 % of the net sown area, often as a single crop though with tremendous diversity of rice varieties. The cropping intensity is also quite low with over 75% of the net sown area not having a second crop. The climatic conditions and landholding pattern (predominantly small holder) has meant farmers opting for predominantly subsistence and rainfed agriculture with low use of inputs. Despite several interventions there seems to be a mismatch between technological efforts and farmers practices resulting in large yield gaps and stagnant agricultural productivity. In such a context practices that rely on low inputs and yet provide increased productivity have immense potential in the state with enormous implications for food security where close to half the population is below the poverty line.
State level workshop on System of Rice Intensification in Orissa

by , WWF, 23 June, 2007

A one day dialogue workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Orissa was organised by the Centre for World Solidarity (CWS), Orissa Resource Centre, Bhubaneswar with the support of the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), the Department of Agriculture, Orissa, Oxfam India Eastern Region and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Hyderabad. The workshop was held at IMAGE auditorium, Bhubaneswar on the 23rd June and was attended by 80 participants. Participants in the workshop included representatives from the State Agricultural Department and other Government agencies, Research Organisations like Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Orissa University for Agricultural Technology (OUAT), SRI practitioners from around ten districts including civil society groups such as Sambhav and PRADAN. Important dignitaries who contributed significantly for the success of this workshop include Dr. Arvind Padhee, Director - Orissa State Agricultural Department, Prof. Radha Mohan – Orissa State Information Commissioner,
Orissa State Dialogue On System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

by , WWF, 23 June, 2007

Posters were submitted, 61 in all, from all over India, ranging from Jammu in the north to theAndaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, reporting scientific research findings and results fromfield operations. Presentations on the introduction of SRI and results were made from a widerange of agroecological and socio-economic circumstances, ranging from Tripura to Punjab. Thisyear the Tripura state government is devoting 1/3 of its agricultural budget to the spread of SRI.
Report on the Indian National Sri Symposium Convened in Hyderabad, November 17-18, 2006

by Norman Uphoff, CIIFAD, 17 November, 2006

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a vast country, covering 1,648,000 km2. On account of its highlydiverse climatic and soil conditions, only 12.5 million ha are cultivated annually with a widerange of food crops. Wheat, rice and barley are the most important cereals cultivated.
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI)in Islamic Republic of Iran

by Bahman Amiri Larijani, HARAZ, 01 January, 2006

Scientists were reluctant to accept SRI for two reasons. The high yields of SRI in Madagascar including those that were above what scientists considered to be ‘the biological maximum’ (15 tonnes per hectare) was one reason. The other was the commitment of the scientists to their own methods on increasing rice production which included among others an effort to achieve food security through developments such as the genetically-modified ‘golden rice’. Modern agriculture has proceeded through making genetic changes in plants (and animals) that make them more responsive to external inputs, and then increasing such inputs. Because SRI depended on neither kind of change, instead achieving its productivity gains by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients, it challenged, the power, interests and mindsets of rice scientists. Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) found it very difficult to accept SRI as it questioned many basic beliefs about rice.
Encounters, dialogues and learning alliances among farmers, scientists and others with the System of Rice Intensification in India

by C Shambu Prasad, Xavier Institute of Management, 12 December, 2007

I first heard about SRI or System of Rice Intensification in 2002 while exploring food security options for India as part of an organisation’s campaign strategy on sustainable agriculture. I recall being sceptical when my colleague fresh from her visit to the Philippines was sharing the excitement of this new innovation in rice cultivation and about an American professor from Cornell university who was sharing the new possibilities of growing rice without flooding with Philipino farmers. It then seemed rather distant in the Indian context. My scepticism turned into curiosity closer home a few months later when I heard about it from other friends and farmers in the drought-prone Anantapur district. The group that was initially interested in growing millets, was now keen to experiment with this new system of rice cultivation. Accounts of surfing the internet despite poor connectivity to learn about opportunities elsewhere had me clued in. I later heard the well-known organic farmer Narayana Reddy share his experiences on this new system of growing paddy with Anantapur farmers in the World Environment Day celebrations organised by the Timbaktu Collective. He was not selling a miracle cure to the farmers but inviting them to his farm to see for themselves and participate in this new system.
System of Rice Intensification in India : Innovation History and Institutional Challenges

by Dr. C. Shambu Prasad, WWF Project & Xavier Institute of Management, 01 January, 2006

This Symposium -- hosted by the State Government of Tripura and co-sponsored with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research’s Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), the Ministry of Agriculture’s Directorate of Rice Development and the Central Rice Research Institute, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Andhra Pradesh state agricultural university, ANGRAU, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) -- brought together people from a very diverse set of institutions, indicative of the breadth of interest and support for SRI that is now evident in India.
Report on 2nd National Sri symposium, agartala tripura state, India

by Norman Uphoff, , 03 October, 2007

The following report shares with anyone interested what was learned from four days of field trips in Tripura following the 2nd all-India SRI symposium hosted by the Tripura state government. Below is a summary of the main observations and conclusions deriving from the village visits.
Report on village visits in Tripura state of india to assess progress with SRI

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