SRI Global News: May - July 2024 *SRI-Rice -- System of Rice Intensification

Paddy farmers in  Nepal’s Province 1 are using a low-water and labour-intensive growing method called System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in a bid to increase yield. A decade ago, Rajendra Upreti introduced the system in Nepal after reading a news article about the SRI method published in a magazine in the Netherlands. He then wrote to Norman Uphoff, a professor at Cornell University, explaining the technology in detail. Upreti had then piloted it in Bahuni of Morang with a handful of seeds using SRI. Nepal’s average paddy productivity is less than 4 t/ ha; the average yield, after adopting the SRI in Morang, was 7 tonnes. The maximum yield reported was 12 t/ha. In Morang, more than 500 farmers have been planting paddy with SRI.

Upreti said that the ministry was working to promote this system more widely. At first, Upreti was afraid while requesting farmers to adopt this method. “Many farmers called me crazy. But they were surprised when they saw the yield,” Upreti told the Post. According to Upreti, if the government makes this technology mandatory for all farmers in the lowlands and hills, it will boost national food security with increased productivity.

Kathmandu, Nepal, April 13, 2019: While climatologists, health experts and others believe a more diverse food supply is preferable, rice will remain a staple for years to come.

Efforts can focus on growing rice in way that puts much less stress on natural systems. Since so much of this staple is grown by family farmers, that's a good place to start. That's exactly what's happening in Nepal with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). The result is faster and greater yields with far less water and minimal if any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This means lower costs—and higher profit--for family farmers.

Excepts from the National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast on Jan. 28. 2019] - Click on the blue arrow at left to listen to the interview:
BHOLA MAN SINGH BASNET: We are getting more than 50% or in some cases 100% increase in yield by following the SRI.
DANIELLE PREISS: Bhola Man Singh Basnet is a retired agronomist from Nepal's National Agriculture Research Council. He says SRI is not a technology but a set of practices that helps plants grow stronger roots and more seeds per plant. Small farmers in India have broken yield records, and Nepal plans to incorporate it into next year's agriculture policy. ...SRI appeals to Basnet because there's no need to invest in new technology or buy seeds.
BASNET: I like this SRI system very, very much as an agronomist, also because farmers, without spending extra money, they can increase yield.

An article by World Neighbors documents the process by which the farmers in Mahadevsthan achieved and monitored their their success. Seven women farmers came forward to do experimentation with SRI, and WN trained them in SRI principles and practices, and then provided them with regular technical support. The farmers used a local variety of rice seed and also used organic fertilizer to give their seedlings a good start. People were very excited with the yield results, which were 30-50 % higher than obtained with general practice

...[Nepal's Ministry of Agricultural Development](MoAD) will carry out drought resistance plantation technology in the districts where planting is yet to be carried out. “We plan to introduce System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which needs less water and less seedlings, because seedbeds in these districts are overaged or crossed the plantation period.” Under the SRI technology, paddy can be planted using 35 per cent less water compared to normal plantation method. The MoAD has set a target to increase the paddy output by 3.25 per cent in this year to 5.4 million metric tonnes.