SRI Global News: Nov. 2024 - Jan. 2025 *SRI-Rice -- System of Rice Intensification

In Chilean fields in the Ñuble region, techniques are beginning to be adopted to reduce water consumption in crops by more than 50% and to grow in extreme weather conditions. An atypical method adapting the System of RIce Intensification (SRI) has begun to attract farmers to fields in the Las Rosas sector to witness that it is possible to produce rice with half the water resources normally used as well as reduce methane emissions. This is being studied together with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Chilean National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) at an experiment station in Ñuble.

They also evaluated almost 300 genotypes of different varieties, four of which have been selected for their ability to adapt to both droughts and floods. “This is revolutionary, since in many countries they are still not thinking about planting varieties of this type,” says Cordero. The intention is that this Chilean formula for adapting the SRI will be used on a large scale in the future. Efforts to measure and adapt low-emission production systems have also been applied in Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Panama, and Argentina.

The Kingabwa Rice Intensification Project phase II (PIRK II), which began in 2015 and is slated to run until 2018, is a continuation of the 2011-2015 Rice Intensification Project funded by USAID. The project partners are Winrock (lead), BATIDE, National Rice Programme, National Nutrition Programme, Kingabwa Farmers Association and Cooperative. In the second phase of the project, the European Cooperative fro Rural Development (EUCORD) continues to build on the existing relationship with local NGOs and the private sector partner. The goal is to develop 120 ha of irrigation land in the Malebo pool, demonstrate SRI, and support the development of a brand for Kingabwa rice (“Ngwele” rice) to improve marketing.

According to an article in the January 2017 Mazao Newsletter, SRI training in Mazao's SRI Project in Kalemie, D.R. Congo, has led to visible results only two months after sowing: The ears of rice grown from each seed have literally doubled in 80% of fields compared to rice cultivated with traditional techniques. While before the plants accounted for an average of 30 ears, now plants 60-70 ears. Barring any unforeseen events, the farmers are expected to harvest at least 5 tons of rice per hectare. Field staff and farmers have been congratulated!