Karla Cordero-Lara, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA-Chile), presented "A novel climate smart rice production system based on SRI and new varieties in Chile" on October 8, 2025, at the "International Scientific Conference on Problems and Achievements of Rice and Legume Crops in the Context of Global Climate Change" in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Ñiquén (Chile) (AFP) – A cold, dry part of Chile might not sound like the best place to grow rice, a famously thirsty grain that thrives in tropical conditions. Javier Munoz has been trialling the "Jaspe" strain created by experts at the Agricultural Research Institute's (INIA) Rice Breeding Program, in combination with SRI, which cut the Munoz family's water consumption in half in a country that has for generations cultivated rice in flooded paddies.
The Jaspe rice strain was obtained by INIA agricultural engineer Karla Cordero and colleagues by crossing a Chilean seed with a Russian one better adapted to cold and dry climates. The modified seed is then grown using the SRI technique that involves spacing seedlings further apart in enriched soil, and watering only sporadically to build a more resilient root system. Apart from using less water and fewer seeds, the new Jaspe-SRI method also emits less methane. The team hopes to test Jaspe soon in other South American countries. "This is the future," said Munoz. "If we want... food security and care about the environment, this is the way."
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At the same time, yield rocketed, with each seed yielding about thirty plants -- nearly ten times more than a conventional rice field.
Validación de tecnologías del Sistema Intensivo del Cultivo de Arroz (SICA) sobre prácticas agrícolas arroceras para mejorar la productividad y el uso eficiente de agua.. Parcela Piloto SICA - Comunidad de Buenos Aires, Corregimiento El Bebedero del Distrito de Tonosí, Provincia de Los Santos.
SRI-Rice's insight:
Validation of SRI (SICA in Spanish) to improve productivity and efficient use of water in rice production. SICA Pilot Plot - Community of Buenos Aires, Corregimiento El Bebedero of the District of Tonosí, Province of Los Santos, Panama. .
La creciente sequía llevó a investigadores de INIA a incorporar una forma de regar campos arroceros sin afectar la calidad ni el rendimiento del cultivo.Este sistema llegó para quedarse”, sostuvo el productor arrocero Luis Valenzuela del sector Santa Amelia, en San Carlos, al referirse a la implementación del SRI (System of Rice Intensification) o sistema de intensificación del cultivo del arroz, que está implementando el INIA como nueva forma para producir arroz en Chile.
Esta metodología utiliza riegos intermitentes, en reemplazo de la tradicional inundación que ha caracterizado a este cultivo, cambio que no es antojadizo, ya que responde a la creciente disminución de agua para riego, en gran parte del orbe.
SRI-Rice's insight:
“This system is here to stay,” said rice producer Luis Valenzuela from the Santa Amelia sector, in San Carlos, Chile, when referring to the implementation of the SRI (System of Rice Intensification), which is being implemented by the INIA. SRI uses intermittent irrigation, replacing the traditional flooding-- a change that is not taken lightly, since it responds to the growing decrease in water for irrigation. Also the application of nitrogen has an efficiency of 70% in dry soil, while in flooded soil it only reaches 30%. An additional benefit noted was savings in products for weed control. Agronomist Karla Cordero added that, with the absence of flooding, “methane is no longer produced and the production of nitrous oxide is reduced."
El proyecto busca aumentar la productividad del cultivo del arroz a través del uso del SICA, mejorando las condiciones productivas, sustentabilidad, rentabilidad y seguridad alimentaria de la AF de Chile, Venezuela, Panamá y Argentina. Atendiendo la demanda social por alimentos producidos en sistemas de manejo sustentables, que consideren la preservación de los recursos naturales con un menor impacto ambiental. Implementando y escalando un conjunto de prácticas de manejo específicas para cada región que permitan una mayor adaptación del cultivo al cambio climático.
SRI-Rice's insight:
This project trains technicians and producers linked to the rice sector in LAC on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), to increase productivity and sustainability while reducing costs and inputs in Chile, Venezuela, Panama and Argentina. The Project is executed with the support of FONTAGRO, and leadership of INIA Chile, with the co-execution of IDIAP of Panama and INTA Argentina and in partnership with IICA, FLAR, UNER, UNL and FUNDARROZ from Venezuela. [See this article in English.]
Los agricultores de Ñuble buscan estrategias que den paso a prácticas más sustentables que se adapten a los requerimientos que conllevan los efectos del cambio climático. Desde esta necesidad, expertos realizan pruebas en la zona sur para instaurar como alternativa el Sistema de Intensificación del Cultivo de Arroz (SRI), el cual innova en la gestión de los recursos disminuyendo hasta en un 50% la huella hídrica para la producción de arroz climáticamente inteligente, aumentando competitividad de pequeños y medianos agricultores.
SRI, ejecutada por el Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias INIA Quilamapu, con el apoyo de la Fundación para la Innovación Agraria (FIA) y el financiamiento Gobierno Regional - trata de solucionar el principal desafío de la industria arrocera, la cual se ha visto amenazada por los efectos del cambio climático.
SRI-Rice's insight:
To address climate change-related water shortages, SRI is being tested Ñuble, Chile, by INIA Quilamapu Agricultural Research Institute, with the support of the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) and funding from the Regional Government. SRI, which is reducing the water footprint for rice production in Chile by up to 50%, is expected to increase competitiveness of both small and medium farmers.
In the region of Ñuble, just over 400 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, Santiago, researchers, extensionists and producers are looking for sustainable solutions to adapt to climate change and meet market demands. In a project funded by the Regional Government of Ñuble called “Climate-Smart Rice,” a participatory research group (PRG) has been formed in which innovative rice farmers focus on more sustainable processes.
Of the 57 hectares that he has sown with rice, Nelso Badilla has allocated 2,500 square meters to establish a practice plot where he can try new varieties and a practice that saves up to 50% water, called SRI (System of Rice Intensification), which is being adapted for intensive dry sowing. Along with some 20 rice farmers, he regularly participates in training in genetics, mechanization and monitoring of plant development. The methodology is coordinated by the Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) of Chile and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) as part of a project of the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIA).
At the COP26 in Glasgow, an event by Panama's Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) and Institute of Agricultural Research (IDIAP) highlighted efforts to enhance resilience and reduce emissions from the agriculture sector. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) was included in the presentation. IDIAP began adapting SRI in 2016 in response to climate change. Yields increased from 2.9 to 5.7 t/ha while water and seed use were reduced, which generated farmer interest.
MIDA is also working on developing a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) with support from Euroclima+. Executed by IICA, the project uses farmer field schools (FFS) to encourage innovation and practices that set a strong foundation for an eventual transition to SRI.
IDIAP is part of a new SRI project, More Productive and Sustainable Rice for Latin America, led by INIA of Chile and supported by FONTAGRO. The project, which includes Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Panama, emphasizes farmer innovation to support the socio-cultural changes required to adjust conventional practices. In Panama, the goal is to engage 900 farmers and 210 mechanized farmers across 7 provinces and 3 indigenous regions to employ SRI.
The System of Rice Intensification addresses several key challenges posed by current conventional production methods in Latin America and the Caribbean, including low productivity, high input use (seeds, water and agrochemicals) and climate vulnerability. Between 2015 and 2019, SRI was promoted throughout the Americas by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and its partners, including the National Rice Growers' Association FEDEARROZ (Colombia), the Institute of Agricultural Research (Chile), Nestlé and DANAC Foundation (the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Institute (Panama), the Asociación para la Diversificación y el Desarrollo Agrícola Comunal [Association for Communal Agriculture Diversification and Development] (Nicaragua) and Cornell University. In addition, the project linked interested parties and institutions under the SRI Network of the Americas, which then connects to other regional networks and the global network established by the SRI International Network and Resources Center at Cornell University, with a view to accelerating action in the region by using the knowledge and experiences of others.
Chile's rice-growing area is primarily located in the southern part of the Maule Region and the new Ñuble Region. The approximately 27,000 hectares of rice grown there supply 45% of the national consumption. Eighty percent of the rice grown in Chile is established with pre-germinated under flooded conditions-- with huge volumes of water reaching 22,000 cubic meters/hectare. In a changing agricultural scenario, characterized by greater environmental protection, climate change and scarcity of irrigation water, the Agricultural Research Institute's (INIA) Rice Breeding Program aims to establish more sustainable crop production methods. The merger of new water-use efficient varieties and new agronomic management without herbicides together with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology is part of the country's reorientation towards sustainable production.
SRI-Rice's insight:
The new SRI-Rice Chile page contains links to news, research, presentations and videos about adapting SRI methods in Chile.
Rice is a staple food for the population of Latin America and the Caribbean, where it is grown in 26 countries in the region. In order to help overcome the low productivity of traditional rice systems, IICA partnered with the Dominican Council of Agricultural and Forestry Research (CONIAF), the Dominican Institute of Agricultural Research and Forestry (IDIAF) and the National Rice Federation (FEDEARROZ) of Colombia, to implement a project on SRI aimed at reducing vulnerability and promoting adaptation of farmers to the biophysical and economic effects of climate change. The System of Rice Intensifcation was validated with the participation of producers in thirteen plots in the Dominican Republic and Colombia.
Guiadas por la encargada del Programa de Mejoramiento Genético de arroz de INIA, Karla Cordero, las autoridades de agricultura del Maule, junto a la gobernadora provincial de Linares Claudia Jorquera, visitaron la parcela demostrativa que mantiene el Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) en la comuna de Parral... conocieron los avances que se están logrando en la región con la metodología de cultivo de arroz denominada SRI (System Rice Intensification), la que permite un ahorro significativo en el uso del agua para la producción del cereal. “La metodología SRI o Sistema de Intensificación del Cultivo de Arroz, se enmarca en una reorientación hacia una producción sustentable, dado que nos permitirá avanzar en la reducción de productos químicos utilizados en el cultivo, eliminando el uso de herbicidas..."
SRI-Rice's insight:
Short summary: Karla Cordero, head of the INIA Rice Genetic Improvement Program, together provincial governor of Linares and a number of agricultural authorities, visited demonstration plot maintained by the Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) in the commune of Parral. They learned about the advances being made in the region with SRI (the System Rice Intensification), which is part of a reorientation towards sustainable production, including the reduction of agrochemicals and water use.
El Sistema Intensivo del Cultivo de Arroz (SRI/SICA) permitió cosechar 10.580 kg/ha utilizando solo 10 kg/ha de semillas y cero fertilizantes químicos (Calabozo, Guarico) segun presentación este jueves 12 de Diciembre en la sede de FUNDARROZ Y FONDESOY. En Venezuela se comenzó a validar esta metodología con ensayos demostrativos a partir del 2017, a través del Instituto Interamericano de IICA, el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrícolas (INIA) y la empresa Nestlé, obteniéndose excelentes resultados en el Sistema de Riego Río Guárico de Calabozo, específicamente en la parcela 234 del productor Miguel Agüero, pionero en la implementación del método en su unidad de producción.
SRI-Rice's insight:
SRI (SICA in Spanish) trials resulted in a harvest 10,580 kg / ha, while using only 10 kg / ha of seeds and zero chemical fertilizers according to presentation on December 12 at the headquarters of FUNDARROZ Y FONDESOYA. In Venezuela, System of Rice Intensification (SRI/SICA) validation began in 2017 through collaboration of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) and the Nestlé company. Excellent results were obtained in the Río Guárico Irrigation Scheme in Calabozo, specifically by Miguel Agüero, pioneer in the implementation of SRI in Venezuela.
In Maniche, a commune in southern Haiti, rice production is rebounding after years of decline linked to trade policies imposed by international financial institutions, the influx of imports— particularly subsidized rice from the United States, climate disasters and insufficient state support. With the help of the local group Manichean Organization for South Integrated Development (OMDIS), farmers are transforming once-abandoned paddies into productive rice fields again.
OMDIS, founded in 2016 primarily by farmers, aims to create a replicable model for the future. It supplies training, seeds, fertilizer and has introduced the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Farmers saw the difference immediately in demonstration plots comparing SRI with traditional methods. Altidor, 45, said. "On one plot, about 10 lbs of rice seed yielded nearly four tons per hectare—a result previously unthinkable. He now exclusively uses SRI methods, and his rice yields have more than doubled.
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.
El presente estudio presenta una investigación bibliográfica de trabajos realizados por instituciones de enseñanza superior en el Ecuador sobre el Sistema Intensivo de Cultivar Arroz (SICA). A esta investigación se le añadió la experiencia de los autores siguiendo una secuencia por objetivos. SICA es una práctica de cultivo amigable con el medio ambiente que, a pesar de haber sido introducida en el 2004 y respaldada por varios trabajos de investigación, no ha sido muy difundida entre pequeños y medianos productores.
El arroz climáticamente inteligente, desarrollado por el Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias de Chile (INIA) junto al sistema SRI (System of Rice Intensification, por sus siglas en inglés) e impulsado por el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) en las Américas, tiene como características salientes ser producido con hasta la mitad del agua que necesita el tradicional, un 80% menos de semillas y una reducción de emisiones de metano a través de la siembra directa e innovaciones como el riego subterráneo y por goteo.
SRI-Rice's insight:
In the Americas, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is promoting the salient characteristics of the climate-smart rice developed by Chile’s Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) drawing on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology.
Recientemente viajé a Parral y San Carlos en las regiones de Ñuble y Maule de Chile, donde se produce el arroz del país. Tuvimos la oportunidad de visitar varios de los proyectos que el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) ha estado trabajando con el Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) para mejorar la sostenibilidad de la producción de arroz desde 2017.
Más de 200 agricultores, técnicos, investigadores y otras partes interesadas de la cadena de valor del arroz participaron en las jornadas de campo celebradas. Los socios han estado trabajando para validar y adaptar el Sistema de Intensificación del Arroz, o SRI (por sus siglas en inglés), durante siete temporadas de cultivo.
SRI-Rice's insight:
See English version here:
Most of Chile’s rice is produced in Parral and San Carlos in the Ñuble and Maule regions where Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has been working with the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) on rice production since 2017. …Over 200 farmers, technicians, researchers and other stakeholders attended the field days. The farmers face water shortages, tight margins, limited market options, high input costs, and heavy weed pressure. Project partners have been adapted the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) over seven growing seasons, achieving good yields using half the seed, less herbicides, and half the water at lower costs. Drip irrigation with SRI is being tried to further reduce water use.
Atilio Mendoza Calderón, un pequeño productor de San Pedro, Cantón Santa Lucía (Guayas), se cansó de utilizar productos químicos y gran cantidad de fertilizantes en sus terrenos para la producción de arroz.
Él le apostó a un plan piloto que ejecuta el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) en convenio con la Prefectura del Guayas para la producción de arroz de tipo ecológico [SRI / SICA]
SRI-Rice's insight:
ENGLISH SUMMARY: Atilio Mendoza Calderón, a small producer from San Pedro, Cantón Santa Lucía (Guayas), Ecuador, bet on a pilot plan executed by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in cooperation with the Prefecture of Guayas for the production of ecological rice with less use of fertilizers and that also reduces production costs by around of 600 $/hectare.
Rodolfo Campos, representative of IICA in Ecuador, believes that the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) can be extended to other producing areas of the country. The prefect of Guayas, Susana González, says "This is an inclusive agriculture that makes visible the face of our small producers who are dedicated to cultivating the land to feed Ecuadorians."
"Conoce las 10 acciones de cooperactón técnica más destacadas del 2021." This Spanish language video describes major activities of the IICA Chile office during 2021. The first one talks about trying the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) on a commercial scale…co-innovating with producers!
En el sur de Chile se avanza hacia una producción arrocera sustentable y climáticamente inteligente, que ahorra un 80% de semillas, no utiliza herbicidas y utiliza 50% menos de agua. Karla Cordero, investigadora encargada del Programa de Mejoramiento Genético de Arroz del Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) de Chile, es llamada también “la Reina del Arroz", y ha liderado la implementación y adopción del Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo de Arroz SRI (System of Rice Intensificaction) en el país, que se presenta como una solución concreta a los productores de la zona y que básicamente permite plantar en seco y en forma intensificada.
La iniciativa, es financiada por el Fondo de Innovación para la Competitividad (FIC) del Gobierno Regional del Maule, promueve la investigación, la innovación y la competitividad en el sector. Proyecta beneficiar a cerca de 1.100 agricultores arroceros, así como a la cadena asociada al rubro que incluye a los asesores técnicos de los productores, empresas, organismos públicos chilenos como ODEPA e INDAP y de forma indirecta a todos los consumidores de arroz nacional. [See English version of IICA article]
SRI-Rice's insight:
Farmers in the Maule region, who use up to 1,700 liters of water to produce ½ kg of rice, have been affected by a mega drought, making current rice production methods unsustainable. Karla Cordero, from Chile's Genetic Rice Improvement Program, is adapting the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) to Chile’s temperate climate. A regional project, funded by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness of the Regional Government of Maule, is helping 1,100 rice farmers and others in the value chain to adopt SRI and other measures. [See English version of IICA article]
SRI enabled Miguel Agüero from Guárico in Venezuela to obtain greater yields from the crop while using fewer resources. In 2017, he became a pioneer in implementing in Venezuela the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), by devoting a half-acre plot of land on his farm, No. 234 of the Río Guárico Irrigation System (SRRG), in the town of Calabozo.
“Together with our partners, which include several national agricultural research institutes, farmer organizations and Cornell University, we have shown that SRI can work in the Americas, and we now have to overcome the barriers to achieve implementation at a higher level,” stated Kelly Witkowski, manager of the Climate Change and Natural Resources Program at IICA.
Producción de forma más sostenible y rentable mediante la metodología del sistema intensivo del cultivo de arroz (SRI) - cartilla para productores. [Production in a more sustainable and profitable way using the intensive rice cultivation system (SRI) methodology. This instructional brochure is a collaborative effort of CONIAF, IDIAF, FEDEARROZ, IICA, FONTAGRO and fmam.]
[PEDEARROZ/IDIAP project undertaken in several provinces of Panama during 2019.] Cultivar más con menos: Adaptación, Validación y Promoción del Sistema Intensivo del Cultivo Arrocero (SICA) en las Américas como una respuesta al cambio climático.
A través de un programa experimental de siembra de el Ministerio de Gobierno (Mingob) permitirá que privados (as) de libertad siembren, críen y cosechen sus alimentos en la Casa Granja del Centro Penitenciario de Llano Marín. Carlos Romero, titular de Gobierno, explicó que este primer programa trata del Sistema de Riego Intensivo de Arroz, que se efectúa en coordinación con el Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario (Mida) y el Instituto Centroamericano de Agricultura (ICA), y consiste en aumentar la producción dentro del mismo espacio de siembra normal.
En este momento existen cuatro planchas que se cultivó de manera normal para ver la diferencia, pues se espera que produzcan el doble. La privada de libertad, Rosa Vergara, manifestó que lleva los datos diarios del tamaño de la planta de arroz.
SRI-Rice's insight:
English summary: In an experimental program by the Ministry of Government (Mingob), prisoners can grow their food on the Llano Marin Penitentiary Center farm. The first program uses SRI methods to grow rice and is being carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) and IICA. The experiments are expected to double production. If successful, the program is expected to be replicated soon in other penitentiaries. Prisoners monitor the SRI plots daily, comparing SRI with the conventional method. Inmate Jaime Raul Ruiloba Quezda says he hopes to transmit what he has learned as soon as he regains his freedom.
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