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

SRI, as a green methodology, holds promise for food security, water savings, health and environmental benefits and improved productivity of rice in Africa. Over the past decade there has been a  steady rise in adoption of SRI in five irrigation schemes in Kenya: Mwea, Ahero, Budalangi, West Kano and South West Kano. By December 2017, over 10,000 rice farmers had adopted SRI in the five schemes. The high adoption was driven by positive results. In Kenya, research has shown SRI increases rice yields by between 20% -100% depending on variety, with water savings of 25%-33%. The effects of SRI on mosquito breeding showed that all mosquito larvae died in paddies under SRI, while they remained alive and multiplied in conventional flooded paddies, indicating the methodology holds promise for reducing malaria prevalence. Furthermore, SRI produces a harder, better grain which has superior qualities on milling and marketing.

Paddy, which is predominantly cultivated under the conventional inundation method, is the largest water consuming crop in India. Given the looming water scarcity, the inundation method of paddy cultivation is no longer sustainable. The impacts of SRI on water saving, land and water productivity as well as on profitability are expected to vary in different ecological settings namely tank, canal and groundwater irrigated areas. In this chapter, utilising data collected from a total of 300 sample farmers from three different settings in Tamil Nadu state, an attempt has been made to fill this gap. The study shows that by adopting SRI method, farmers can save about 40% of irrigation water, increase land productivity by about 46% while reducing 23% in cost of cultivation over the conventional inundation method. While increasing irrigation water productivity and economic water productivity substantially, SRI also generates an additional profit of INR 17,169/acre over the same realised by non-SRI farmers.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one among the most important staple food crops globally. In Asia, more than two billion people are getting 60-70 per cent of their energy requirement from rice and its derived products. Food security depends on the power to extend production with decreasing availability of water to grow crops. Rice is among the greatest water users, consuming about 80% of the total irrigated fresh water resources in Asia. Key technological interventions which could rectify the utilization of freshwater in agriculture include direct seeded rice (DSR), system of rice intensification (SRI), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), furrow irrigated raised bed planting systems (FIRB)... Amongst the water saving techniques, SRI proves to be one of the most promising options to save water and increase water productivity without decreasing land productivity.