Gerald Aruna, ENGIM Internazionale, has modified the traditional planting method for the local krain krain leafy vegetable (Cochorus Olitorius) to use System of Crop Intensification (SCI) methods. Called "SKKI" (System of Krain Krain Intensification), the modifications use: Less seeds, more organic matter, wide spacing between plants, transplanting of young seedlings between 8 to 15 days old, and overhead shading. The crop is harvested twice, the first time by cutting / pruning branches of the plant at a point which leaves at least two other branches for fast re-growth and for collecting seeds at the end, so farmers can replant with their own seed. Weeding / earthing up / soil aeration of the crop is done every 7 days. This promotes robust root and plant growth and results in robust leaves as well as very big pods of seeds at the end to be harvested.
This issue will present findings on ways in which SRI concepts are being utilized in diverse environments with modified practices, such as reducing labor requirements through mechanization and improving the production and profitability of crops other than rice. Various objectives are also being served, such as enhancing crops’ resilience to the stresses of climate change, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, increasing the micronutrient content of the grain, and conserving crop biodiversity. The ten papers included in this issue will thus update our understanding and application of the original ideas that constitute SRI, welcoming critical and empirical evaluations of SRI.
Join the NEW System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Global Research Network, which is jointly hosted by the Indonesian SRI Research and Innovation Network (IndoSRInet) and the SRI-Rice Center at Cornell University. By becoming a part of this network, you will gain access to a wealth of cutting-edge SRI research, facilitated through our comprehensive upgraded Zotero library offering research abstracts, metadata, and full-text content of refereed and high quality material.Don't miss our first SRI Research Newsletter, which will come out April 2024! [See contacts on the website to subscribe.]
In addition, we provide comprehensive updates on the latest research news in the field of SRI, ensuring you stay informed about current trends and breakthroughs. We also share news on funding and educational opportunities. Finally, upon joining the SRI Global Research Network, you will have the opportunity to actively participate in discussions with fellow members, fostering the exchange of insights and knowledge within our community.
... Over a period of four years (2016–2019), we quantify the benefits accrued to the uptake of SRI among smallholder farmers in Oluch irrigation scheme western Kenya. Our comparisons are in reference to a baseline study conducted prior to the full-scale promotion of SRI in the study area. Our study findings reveal that the uptake of specific SRI practices increased by at least 30–80%, and acreage under rice farming increased by 50%. Although SRI required more production costs per acre (as much as 63% increase), SRI had at least 28.6% higher return per shilling invested. Our findings underscore previous results in the literature that SRI is associated with not only productivity but also economic benefits justifying the need for scaling especially among smallholder farmers.
This presentation by one of the earliest investigators of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) will review the practices, principles and effects of SRI and then some of the initial criticisms and objections. The main focus will be on scientific issues and opportunities that warrant investigation from agricultural science and/or social science perspectives.
SPEAKER: Norman Uphoff, DATE: February 21, 2024, [see video] VENUE: Cornell University, 175 Warren Hall; or, online via zoom ORGANIZERS: Dept. of Global Development, Cornell University. This presentation is part of the "Perspectives in International Development" seminar series
Berhampur: SRI (System of Rice Intensification) method of paddy cultivation can help check climate change and benefit the farmers as it consumes less water in comparison to other methods of cultivation. ...In Ganjam district hundreds of acres are left uncultivated [due to climate change]. In this situation, the district project management unit under the Berhampur Forest department is laying stress on SRI cultivation. This has come as a relief for the distressed farmers fed up with crop loss and reduced output in the traditional method of cultivation. SRI method of cultivation is being implemented in the district with the support of the state government, the Green Climate Fund, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Farmers think that this new method is helping them raise their crops without hassle.
…This year over 900 farmers in Chikiti, Rangeilunda, Khallikote and Ganjam blocks have taken up SRI. Assisted by two voluntary outfits Lipika and Pallishree and supervised by 30 experts, an additional 870 farmers have taken up SRI on 200 acre of farmland. The cultivation was initially started by training the farmers in 39 villages
This declaration recognized the increasing vulnerability of agriculture and food systems to climate change, highlighting the escalating threat to their resilience. Regrettably, however, this declaration did not directly address the substantial emissions from agriculture, nor the low cost of mitigating thesehttps://www.sri-2030.org/the-alliance. Following the declaration, the Food, Agriculture, and Water Day at COP28 saw further announcements aimed at increasing climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture. (See article for list). Other organizations such as the Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative (SLRI) and Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) have been working on addressing the environmental impacts of rice production for several years.
During 2023, SRI-2030 launched the Sustainable Rice NDC Alliance to bring together countries with rice-related commitments in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). In fact, more than 30 countries include rice in their NDCs and 13 countries specifically listed SRI methods as a mitigation and/or adaptation option. Encouraging more countries to commit to sustainable rice production in their NDCs would channel resources toward actionable strategies benefiting farmers, consumers, and the environment.
SRI-Rice's insight:
Read more about the NDC Alliance on the SRI-2030 website.
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.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) has trained Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) and farmers on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) activities under the RICOWAS scaling up climate resilient rice production in West Africa project. Dr Issah Sugri, Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-SARI and Project Monitor, said the four-year RICOWAS project, was funded by Adaptation Fund supported by Observatoire Du Sahara Et Du Sahel Sahara and Sahel Observatory. The project, implemented by CSIR-SARI, is to strengthen human and institutional capacity in climate-resilient rice production (CRRP) and also to assist farmers to scale-up CRRP...
SRI-Rice's insight:
The USD 14 million RICOWAS project will be operating in 13 countries in West Africa during the next four years. We also found articles recently on the RICOWAS efforts getting going in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Initial evaluations of the System of Rice Intensification focused mainly on its impacts on yield and income. Researchers at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research have conducted a more comprehensive evaluation of SRI methods over six years, comparing them with three alternatives: modified, partially mechanized SRI (MSRI); direct-seeded rice (DSR); and conventional rice with flooding of fields (CTF). Grain yield with SRI methods was found to be about 50% higher than with CTF (6.35 t ha−1 vs. 4.27 t ha−1), while the MSRI yield was essentially the same (6.34 t ha−1), 16% more than with DSR (5.45 t ha−1).
Water productivity with SRI methods was 5.32–6.85 kg ha-mm−1, followed by 4.14–5.72 kg ha-mm−1 for MSRI, 5.06–5.11 kg ha-mm−1 for DSR, and 3.52–4.56 kg ha-mm−1 for CTF. In comparison with CTF, SRI methods significantly enhanced soil microbial populations over time. Biological activity in the rhizosphere was also higher. Similarly, an indicator of soil organic matter, glucosidase activity, was 78% higher compared to CTF. SRI management reduced GHG emissions by 21%, while DSR reduced them by 23%, and MSRI by 13%, compared to CTF. Economic analysis showed both gross and net economic returns to be higher with SRI. While the study documented advantages of SRI, it also showed that MSRI is a promising adaptation that provides similar benefits but with lower labor requirements.
SRI-Rice's insight:
R.M. Kumar, P. Chintalapati. et al. 2023. Comparison of System of Rice Intensification applications and alternatives in India: Agronomic, economic, environmental, energy, and their effects. Agronomy 13(10): 2492. doi:10.3390/agronomy13102492
Conservation Agriculture (CA) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) are both agroecologically-oriented production systems that support more productive, sustainable, and resource-conserving farming, with synergies arising from their respective assemblages of reinforcing agronomic methods.
SRI-Rice's insight:
Carnevale Zampaolo, F.; Kassam, A.; Friedrich, T.; Parr, A.; Uphoff, N. Compatibility between Conservation Agriculture and the System of Rice Intensification. Agronomy2023, 13, 2758.
In the recent SRI Forum facilitated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), stakeholders urged the government to promote SRI adoption. As conventional rice production practices become increasingly unprofitable, many farmers are turning to SRI.
Dept. of Agriculture undersecretary for rice industry development Leocadio Sebastian said that while the country has been left behind by other countries in terms of reaping the benefits of the modern system of rice growing, SRI has a big future in the Philippines. The government is committing to SRI a budget of P250 million, which has been approved by the House of Representatives for its implementation; a bigger budget would be allocated for SRI in the future.
Rice farming is a crucial component of agriculture in the Philippines, given that rice is a staple food for the majority of the population. It plays a vital role in the agricultural landscape, supporting the livelihoods of millions of farmers and contributing significantly to the nation's food security.
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is an innovative and sustainable rice cultivation methodology that originated in Madagascar in the 1980s. It focuses on improving rice yields while using fewer resources, promoting environmental sustainability, and increasing the resilience of rice crops. SRI has gained recognition and adoption in various rice-growing regions around the world, including the Philippines.
The adoption of the System of Rice Intensification in the Philippines and other countries reflects a shift towards more sustainable and resource-efficient agricultural practices. Farmers, agricultural researchers, and policymakers continue to explore and refine the implementation of SRI to enhance its impact on rice production and sustainability.
This study undertook to identify a ‘best-bet’ version of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for conditions in northwestern Nigeria, considering what is feasible for farmer use. Two years of experimental data from 260 farmer-managed rice plots evaluating four of the SRI practices in Zamfara State were analyzed. The variables evaluated were seedling age at transplanting, plant density, irrigation schedule, and fertilizer application. Farm budget analysis showed that the best-bet SRI practices most productive given the natural environment and farming system were transplanting 11-day-old seedlings at 25 cm × 25 cm spacing, with alternate wetting-and-drying of fields, as well as providing full compost plus some inorganic fertilization.
Net economic returns were found to be highest with best-bet SRI practices and ranged from USD 1450–2120 ha−1. While rice production was profitable under both SRI and more conventional management, the return on investment was at least 40% higher with SRI practices than with the other practices evaluated. Based on our data and analysis, we recommend that the Nigerian government and its development partners prioritize and expand the testing and promotion of SRI in the northwest and other regions of the country. This initiative can significantly enhance farmers’ incomes and, ultimately, bolster food security.
Seorang pria di Kota Banjar, Jawa Barat hampir separuh hidupnya fokus wujudkan gagasan selamatkan bumi dengan pertanian organik. Dalam perjalanan hidupnya, ia mengembangkan System of Rice Intensification atau SRI di bidang pertanian. Alik Sutaryat, warga Lingkungan Sukarame, Kelurahan Mekarsari, Kecamatan Banjar yang kini berusia 63 tahun itu sejak tahun 1991 berjuang menyelamatkan bumi dan masa depan.
Aliksa Organik SRI Consultant yang ia dirikan, hingga saat ini sudah sekitar 47000 orang yang belajar langsung melalui berbagai pelatihan. Bukan hanya dari wilayah Kecamatan Lakbok, Kabupaten Ciamis yang menjadi awal mula ia berjuang, namun di berbagai daerah di Jawa Barat. Bahkan, Alik menyebut yang belajar sistem pertanian organik tersebut dari berbagai provinsi yang ada di Indonesia, seperti Aceh, Sulawesi, Kalimantan dan provinsi lainnya. Dari puluhan ribu petani yang belajar itu, ia pun mengklaim lahan yang dikelola secara organik seluas 10.320 hektar. Alik menilai, saat ini di Indonesia terjadi kerapuhan alam pertanian dan kerapuhan pangan.
SRI-Rice's insight:
Alik Sutaryat, of Mekarsari Village in Banjar District of West Java has focused almost half of his 63 years on realizing the idea of saving the earth with organic farming. For the last several decades, he promoted the System of Rice Intensification or SRI. Through his organization, Aliksa Organik SRI Consultant, around 47,000 people have participated directly in his trainings-- not only in West Java, where his began is work, but in Aceh, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and other Indonesian provinces. From the tens of thousands of farmers trained, he has had an influence on 10,320 hectares of organically managed land.
A new article in Agronomy shows that there doesn’t need to be a trade-off between food security and climate change mitigation. A review of field studies found that SRI is associated with both reduced GHG emissions and higher yield compared with conventional flooded rice farming. The authors, James Dahlgreen and Adam Parr, found that the mean reduction in emissions per kilogram of rice produced was 48% when SRI is compared with conventional practices. The yield benefits of SRI compounded the already significant reduction in emissions associated with alternate wetting and drying (AWD). The authors recommend that farmers should be encouraged to adopt SRI practices given the dual benefits for food security and climate change mitigation. They also cited the other benefits of SRI, and call for more research into the potentially even more significant benefits of soil carbon sequestration with SRI.
New and ‘improved’ rice varieties have contributed greatly to increased production over the past 50 years, but the rate of rice yield increase based on genetic changes has declined in recent decades compared with the early years of the Green Revolution. In fact, many rice consumers continue to prefer to consume ‘traditional’ rice varieties because of their taste, aroma, texture, and other qualities. Furthermore, many farmers prefer to cultivate these varieties because of their better adaptation to local climatic and soil conditions and their evolved resistance to endemic stresses.
The practices that comprise the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) provide traditional rice varieties with micro-environments that are more favorable for the expression of their genetic and agronomic potentials. Interactions among rice plants, soil characteristics, water, energy, and other inputs improve the phenotypic and physiological performance of rice plants. This paper considers how the cultivation of traditional rice varieties with SRI methods can raise yields, reduce farmers’ costs of production, and generate higher incomes while contributing to the conservation of rice biodiversity.
BA’KELALAN, Jan 31: The System of Rice Intensification (SRI), a sustainable farming project supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) in partnership with CIMB Islamic, began in Ba'Kelalan and has now expanded to four additional villages...
The SRI rice farming project stands as a shining example of how collaboration between local communities, corporate partners, and conservation organisations can create a lasting positive impact on both people and the environment. According to WWF-Malaysia, this expansion reflects the positive impact and widespread acceptance of SRI as it promotes chemical-free farmers and employs targeted methods to reduce pests like the golden apple snail....
[Video]: Economic empowerment of Women through the application of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method in Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra, India (2022-23)
Rice farmers have expressed their satisfaction with the project of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Tanzania that helps them withstand the effects of climate change and reduce production costs; at the same time, productivity is double that of conventional agriculture. This was stated during the SRI Stakeholders Annual workshop held in Mbeya Region on January 24 through 27, 2024, at the centre of Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute - TARI Uyole. While sharing his testimony, Mr. Filbert Kadebe a farmer from Mkula scheme found in Kilombero District, Morogoro Region, said that with SRI he managed to reduce cost by using 2 to 3 kilograms of seeds per hectare from the 30 kilograms he used to plant. Kadebe continued say that in SRI, with mat nursery technology it’s much easier for farmers to simplify the transplanting exercise as well as managing to transplant a single seedling.
The SRI project is implemented by the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Bio economy research (NIBIO) and the Swamination Research Institute (MSSRF) based in India.
SRI-Rice's insight:
The above link goes to the TARI home page. Once there you can find the article described above.
Video: La plaine rizicole de Karfiguéla s'est transformée grâce au projet « Eau, CLÉ du Développement Durable » (ECDD). Autrefois désespérée en raison du changement climatique et de pratiques agricoles inefficaces, cette région prospère à nouveau. Le projet ECDD a expérimenté avec succès des pratiques agroécologiques sur une superficie de 500 m². Des agriculteurs témoignent de l'impact positif sur leurs rendements et la qualité de leurs cultures. Le projet, mis en œuvre par l’Organisation néerlandaise de développement (SNV) et l’ONG World Waternet.
SRI-Rice's insight:
English: The rice-growing plain of Karfiguéla has been transformed thanks to the “Water, Key to Sustainable Development” (ECDD) project which successfully experimented with agroecological practices, including SRI. Farmers testify to the positive impact on their yields and the quality of their crops. The project, implemented by the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) and the NGO World Waternet.
As the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has evolved in many ways and in several directions over the past two decades, this review follows the evolution of SRI over time. This overview explains how rainfed SRI, direct-seeded SRI, mechanized SRI, and other modifications have emerged since 2000, and how versions of SRI have been adapted to improve the production of other crops such as wheat, finger millet, maize, and sugar cane.
SRI thinking and practices are also being incorporated into diversified farming systems, broadening the impact of SRI beyond monoculture to achieve broader objectives like the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the conservation of biodiversity. SRI observations and research have been contributing to the crop and soil sciences by focusing attention on plant roots and soil ecology and by showing how crop management can elicit more desirable phenotypes from a given genotype.
SRI-Rice's insight:
Norman Uphoff. 2023. SRI 2.0 and beyond: Sequencing the protean evolution of the System of Rice Intensification. Agronomy 13(5): 1253. doi:10.3390/agronomy13051253
A delegation from the global SRI community attended the 6th International Rice Congress (IRC) in Manila, Philippines, held October 16-19, 2023. The group included SRI representatives from Chile, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, UK, and USA. Various members of the group made scientific presentations and answered queries at the SRI booth at the IRC, and subsequently participated in side events, including a SRI Research Network meeting, a Philippines Dept. of Agriculture SRI Forum, a SRI meeting for national/regional SRI networks around the world, and field trips to three provinces. The visit was hosted by the SRI-Pilipinas network, organized by SRI-Rice (a program at Cornell University), SRI Global (an NGO in Ithaca, New York) and IndoSRInet (the Indonesian SRI network), and funded by SRI-2030 (an NGO in the UK).
In addition to the IRC events, several participants gave presentations at a Department of Agriculture Forum on SRI on October 20. Organized by the Philippines Council on Agriculture and Forestry (PCAF), the Forum on SRI Practice and Policy: Cross-Country Sharing included an address by the Philippines Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development, Leocadio Sebastian, and helped to strengthen the Philippine Government’s perception of what increased promotion of SRI could achieve within the rice sector. The government has recently approved 250 million pesos for SRI promotion throughout the country. Finally, with the assistance of SRI-Pilipinas members and Adelberto Baniqued, international participants visited SRI-Pilipinas SRI field sites and government assisted programs in the provinces of La Union, Quezon, and Davao del Norte. [contact sririce@cornell.edu for more info]
As part of the International Conference on “Managing Sustainable Transitions in Agriculture (MST 2023)," IRMA hosted a Nov. 8 pre-conference webinar on "Exploring Power, Inclusivity and Intersectionality." The first 20 minutes features Francesco Carnevale Zampaolo of SRI-2030 discussing "The Sustainable Rice NDC Alliance: An Opportunity to Boost Action at Scale." (More on the MST conference 2023 - https://www.irma.ac.in/conference/mst-2023/home)
SRI-Rice's insight:
NDC, or Nationally Determined Contribution, is a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Each Party to the Paris Agreement is required to establish an NDC and update it every five years. To learn more about the Sustainable Rice NDC Alliance, visit https://www.sri-2030.org/the-alliance. For more information on SRI-2030, see https://www.sri-2030.org/
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.]
Konda Mason is co-founder and president of Jubilee Justice, a non-profit dedicated to regenerative agriculture, racial justice, cooperative practices, and healing the wounds of Black American land loss and racism. They are in the fourth year of a rice-growing program, the system of rice intensification (SRI), a dry-land technique for growing rice that’s healthy for land and consumers and efficient and productive for farmers.
(This podcast is a collaboration between Quivira Coalition and Mary-Charlotte Domandi of Radio Cafe.)
The authors analyze the role of agroecological-based climate-smart rice farming systems with focus on system of rice intensification (SRI) in climate adaptation and mitigation. Modern agriculture contributes significantly to climate change through methane production, with paddy rice production being a major source. However, there is the potential to reduce the negative impact through SRI. At the same time, the SRI intervention can increase yield by encouraging aerobic soil conditions, improving soil health and stimulating root systems. The chapter provides a conceptual framework for optimizing the management of ecosystem goods and services reflected in the biodiversity contained in healthy rice paddy fields.
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