SRI Global News ++ March - May 2025 System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

Oxfam has launched an ambitious System for Crop Intensification (SCI) programme in Tajikistan with a view to transforming crop productivity and the food security landscape in the country. Oxfam has launched an ambitious System for Crop Intensification (SCI) programme in Tajikistan with a view to transforming crop productivity and the food security landscape in the country. Within the broader framework of SCI, a field trial of System for Rice Intensification (SRI) was carried out in Khatlon region in the summer cropping season of 2018. Preliminary results from the limited trial show an increase in rice productivity of up to 60% using standard SRI methodology (compared with traditional methods). Furthermore, there was a dramatic reduction in the use of seeds, fertilizers and water, which led to a significant cutback in the cost of rice cultivation for farmers.

This research evaluates practices of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in the lowland agroforestry ecologies that have irrigated rice. On-farm testing was conducted in three regions - Tahoua, Zinder and Dosso. SRI practices in these regions were compared to conventional rice production system by forty-five producers. Results showed clearly that relative to conventional practice, SRI methods increases tiller production by 45% and paddy yield by 58.2%. Furthermore, results showed that 55.5% of producers implemented thoroughly SRI methods, and 11% of producers applied them moderately. Despite their moderate usage of SRI methods, the latter group of producers also got a promising gain on their investment. The authors suggest that scaling-up SRI practices in lowlands ecologies of Niger has a high potential to increase returns to rice growers.