SRI-documents

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

by Norman Uphoff, , 06 October, 2007

We describe our efforts to provide seed of varieties produced by client-oriented breeding (COB) for upland rice in India and for rainfed rice in the low-altitude regions of Nepal. In India, farmers adopt the new upland rice varieties once they have access to seed and grow them on a very high proportion, sometimes all, of their rice uplands after only 3 seasons. Although the upland varieties are clearly marketable, efforts to involve the private sector in India in their seed production have not been successful because of the unprofitable nature of low yielding upland rice compared with irrigated transplanted rice. Long term seed supply may have to rely on NGOs who currently have large programmes in the supply of these varieties. In Nepal, where we have also produced acceptable varieties from COB, we have been able to catalyse groups to commercially produce large quantities of seed. However, most of this seed was of obsolete varieties. If groups are to be commercially successful and provide seed of newly released varieties then as much attention needs to be paid to supplying information as supplying seed.
Client-Oriented Breeding and Seed Supply

by J.R. Witcombe,K.P. Devkota,D.S. Virk,K.B. Rawal,S.C. Prasad,, CAZS-Natural Resources, Bangor University, 01 January, 2007

Learning, adaptation, innovation, diversity, and system – these seem to be the key words in SRI. All of them require a different framework for understanding – a framework that goes beyond traditional understandings of “transfer of technology.” Reconfiguring agricultural research seems to be the greatest challenge if SRI and other pro-poor innovations are expected to make headway. In the traditional linear model according to which most gricultural research is organized, there is a division of labour whereby public scientific bodies – seen as the primary source of new knowledge – are organized in a hierarchical structure, with a linear flow of resources and information from the top to the bottom. SRI has been, however, an outstanding contribution from civil society – from farmers to the ATS to agricultural researchers. As the spread of SRI in India indicates, extension has been head of research in taking the innovation forward.
Rethinking Innovation and Development: Insights from the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in India

by C Shambu Prasad, The Innovation Journal, 01 January, 2007

The following items were found on the website of the parliament, going to, respectively, the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, doing search questions and filling in “system of rice intensification” for a full text search. Below are the results in the list, and further below are the full texts, plus weblinks. (All references to SRI have been highlighted)
System of Rice Intensification in the Indian Parliament

by Shambu Prasad, , 12 May, 2006

SRI is an agroecological innovation that emerged as a civil society innovation and has since captured the imagination of thousands of farmers across the world, including India. Discussions on scaling-up of SRI in India need to recognise not only the civil society origins of SRI but also the continuing experimentation led by civil society in methods of extension and research in this knowledge- (as distinguished from input-) intensive method of increasing rice yields. This paper provides an overview of civil society engagement and spread of SRI in India. Examining why civil society contribution has been important for SRI dissemination and adaptation in India, and what civil society organisations bring to the SRI agenda., The paper suggests that recognising this and understanding the changing dynamic of state civil society relation is critical for SRI uptake. Civil society involvement in SRI has not only enhanced the spread of SRI but also has brought in important elements, like the establishment of criteria or axioms for research on SRI, and introducing dimensions of equity, gender and resource sustainability into the SRI debates.
Jai Sri: Celebrating Civil Society involvement in SRI in India

by C. Shambu Prasad, , 14 November, 2008

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