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Pakistan’s rice is a highly export centric commodity, with an average 60 percent of total domestic production going towards export. Yet, compared to other major rice exporting countries, Pakistan’s yield per hectare has inched forward very slowly and currently averages 2,500 kilos per hectare in contrast to over 7,000 in China, 6,000 in Vietnam, and 4,000 in India. Since early 1990s, many countries have adopted System of Rice Intensification practices (SRI) to increase productivity of land and water. SRI techniques are neither capital intensive nor require significant investment in modernizing farm infrastructure, including canal to farmgate infrastructure which is the greatest complaint of local farming communities. The techniques are however more labour intensive as single seedling plantation and other practices require greater care.
SRI techniques have increased yields by 50-100% according to one World Bank report, with greatest success in Asian countries such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The practices have also become popular in neighbouring India. And it is the SRI experience of Pakistan’s forever frenemy that carries most lessons for us. Given SRI success not only in irrigated but also rain-fed regions around the world, it presents an obvious opportunity for Pakistani rice farmers to increase yield at a time of water scarcity, given its significant low-cost potential.
