Evaluation and Spread of the System of Rice Intensification

in ASIA

2nd National SRI SymposiumOctober 3-5, 2007 – Agartala, India

Norman Uphoff, CIIFADCornell University, USA

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,

committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, that is the only thing that ever has.

-- Margaret Mead

Knowledge/practice of SRI: As of 1999

Madagascar

SRI field in Madagascar, with a traditional variety of rice

The Start and Spread of SRI

• Devised by Fr. Henri de Laulanié, 1983-84

• Formation of Association Tefy Saina, 1990

• Collaboration of ATS and CIIFAD, 1994-98

• 1st trials outside of Madagascar, 1999-2000

– CHINA: Nanjing Agricultural University

– INDONESIA: Agency for Agric. Res. & Dev.

– BANGLADESH: CARE/BD and DAE

• Then spread: Cambodia, Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Cuba, Peru, Gambia, Sierra Leone …….

Knowledge/Use of SRI: As of 2006

BHUTAN, IRAN, IRAQ, Zambia; Senegal, PAKISTAN, Mali, VIETNAM; Benin, Guinea, Mozambique, Peru; CAMBODIA, Cuba, PHILIPPINES, LAOS, THAILAND, MYANMAR, Sierra Leone, Gambia, SRI LANKA, NEPAL, BANGLADESH, INDIA; CHINA, INDONESIA; Madagascar

CHINA• China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, Changsha and Sanya

– Hosted 1st Intl. Conference on SRI, Sanya, April 2002

– Now promoting SRI within China and in African countries

Prof. Yuan Longping, known as “the father ofhybrid rice” – World Food Prize Laureate 2004

SRI plot in Guinea with hybrid variety (GY032) – 9.3 tons/ha

CHINA

• China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou

– Co-sponsored 1st Intl. Conference on SRI, Sanya, April 2002– Hosted 1st National SRI Workshop, Hangzhou, March, 2003– In 2007 season, 333,333 hectares of SRI rice in Zhejiang province

Farmers and officials in Bu Tou village, Tien Tai township, Zhejiang province, with China SRI coordinator, Prof. Zhu Defeng, CNRRI, and Norman Uphoff

SRI

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

IH H FH MR WR YRStage

Org

an d

ry w

eigh

t(g/

hill)

CK

I H H FH MR WR YR

Yellowleaf andsheathPanicle

Leaf

Sheath

Stem

47.9% 34.7%

“Non-Flooding Rice Farming Technology in Irrigated Paddy Field”Dr. Tao Longxing, China National Rice Research Institute, 2004

CHINA• Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu

– Crop Cultivation Research Center– Seed Multiplication Farm, Meishan

• Triangular method of transplanting– 16 t/ha yield in 2001

• Raised-bed zero-tillage alternative– 13.4 t/ha yield in 2004

• 100,000 ha of SRI rice in 2007

Liu Zhibin, CNHRRDC seed multiplication farm, Meishan, Sichuan province – raised beds / zero-tillage – 13.4 t/ha yield

CHINA

• Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiong

• 3-S system of rice cultivation, developed by Prof. Jin Xueyong

• Similar to SRI, with methods adapted for cold climatic conditions

– Heilongjiong province is in northern China adjoining Manchuria

3-S seedlings are started at the endof winter in plastic greenhouses

Normal 3-S

Comparison between 3-S and ‘normal’ rice in Heilongjiong

INDONESIA• Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, Sukamandi

• National IPM Program, starting at Ciamis

• Farmer Field School Program of the Field Foundation, took over IPM work

• Nippon Koei project management team in Eastern Indonesia, from 2002

• Yayasan Aliksa Organik SRI

SRI field, 20x40 cm spacing, at Sukamandi rice research center – 9.2 t/ha

SRI vs. non-SRI plants hanging in Nippon Koei office, Jakarta

SRI vs. non-SRIplants in Lombok,

under DISIMP

Results of On-Farm Comparison Trials in Eastern Indonesia

• Nine seasons: 2002-2006• N = 12,133 Area = 9,429.1 hectares• Ave. increase in yield = 3.3 t/ha (78%)• With reductions in inputs:

– 40% less water– 50% less chemical fertilizer– 20% lower costs of production

“Productivity is increased [with SRI], and at the same time the environment is saved. . . . I want to urge everybody, starting with

the Minister of Agriculture and everyone else -- let us support this SRI method with our maximum capacity.”-- Pres. S. B. Yudyoyono speaking at SRIHarvest Festival, Cianjur, July 30, 2007

CAMBODIA• Center for Study and Development of Cambodian Agriculture (CEDAC)

– Support from GTZ, Oxfam America, Oxfam GB and other donor agencies– SRI Secretariat set up within Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries– National Development Plan, 2006-10

• 70,000-90,000 farmers using SRI

Ms. Im Sarim, Cambodia,with rice plant grownfrom a single seed,using SRI methods

and traditional variety-- yield of 6.72 t/ha

Mok Mareth, Minister for Environment, with Koma Yang Saing, CEDAC,at farmer convention promoting SRI in Ro Veang commune

LDS Charities Introduced SRI in Cambodia, 2006-07 season146 households whose previous average yield was 1.06 t/ha

averaged 4.02 t/ha when using SRI methods

Hang Hein’s sons (left) transplanted his whole SRI field (0.9 ha) in 1 day;Hein’s neighbors (right) who used traditional methods of transplanting

used more labor per hectare and got lower yields with old methods

Hang Hein’s previous yield was 1.2 t/ha -- with SRI methods it was 5.0 t/ha

PHILIPPINES• NGO initiatives: CDSMC, BIND

– Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), affiliate of IIRR

– Establishment of SRI-Pilipinas

• Universities: UPLB, LSU, etc.

• Government agencies: NIA, ATI, PhilRice, Dept. of Agriculture• NGOs: e.g., Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMo)

RESULTING CROP -- 8.9 T/HA

The rice plants are healthy with strong stalks because of the organic fertilizer, soil aeration through intermittent water application, and the 40 cm x 40 cm spacing. With strong stalks, lodging never occurred.

From PP by Engr.Bong Salazar,now Deputy

Administrator, National Irrigation

Administration (NIA)

BANGLADESH• SRI National Network of BD

– BRRI : BD Rice Research Institute

– BRAC: BD Rural Advancemt Comm

– DAE: Dept. of Agric. Extension

– SAFE: Sust. Agric. & Farming Enterprise Development Group

– Syngenta Bangladesh Co. Ltd.

– BRF: BD Rice Foundation -- etc.

• Evaluation funded by IRRI/BD, 2002-04

Final Evaluation Report on Verification and Refinement of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Project

in Selected Areas of Bangladesh (SP 36 02)

AM Muazzam Husain, Gopal Chowhan, Proloy Barua, AFM Razib Uddin, ABM Ziaur Rahman

Submitted to

Poverty Elimination Through Rice Research Assistance (PETRRA)IRRI, Dhaka, Bangladesh

June 2004

Comparative yield (t/ha)8.3

7.77.1 6.8

5.86.5

55.6

BRAC SAFE Syngenta POSD

SRI Farmers' practice

SRI LANKA• Initial collaboration among:

– Senior civil servant: G. Batuwitage, Senior Assistant Secretary of Agriculture– Senior politician: S. Dissanayake, Deputy Minister of Agriculture– Farmer/environmental activist: W. M. Premaratna, Ecological Farming Center

• Some support from government agencies and NGOs, e.g., Oxfam/CAA

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Salinda Dissanayake

Cover photo of W. M. Premaratna, for ecol. magazine

Rice fields in Sri Lanka: same variety, same irrigation system,same soil, same drought : conventional rice (left), SRI (right)

NEPAL• Initial experiments not very impressive

• NEDECO comparison trials by FFSs in Sunsari-Morang Irrig. System, 2002-2003

– SRI average 8.28 t/ha– Improved practice 6.01 t/ha– Farmer practice 4.29 t/ha

• Morang district evaluations, 2004-2006– From 100 m2 to >2,000 farmers in 3 years– 6.3 t/ha SRI vs. 3.1 t/ha with farmer practice

Single SRI plant,Morang District,

Nepal - 2005

Rajendra Uprety, District Agricultural Development Office, Morang Districtreceiving $20,000 award in Nepal Development Marketplace competition

MYANMAR• Metta Development Foundation introduced SRI through FFS methods:

– 29 FFS in 2001– 55 FFS in 2002– 174 FFS in 2003– 5,202 farmers trained in SRI 2001-2003– By 2004, >20,000 farmers using SRI

• Usual yield 2 t/ha; FFS yields averaged 6.5 t/ha -- farmers averaged 4.4 t/ha

Metta facilitates Farmer Field School (FFS)in the northern parts of Myanmar– in Kachin State and Shan State

Farmer Field SchoolFrom PP presentation by Dr. Humayun Kabir, Metta Development Foundation to Department of Agriculture in Yangoon, June, 2002

RICE YIELDS

• Average yield is 2-3 times higher than farmer’s usual yields, with 7.9 t/ha highest yield so far

• Farmers are very interested in SRI

From PP presentation by Dr. Humayun Kabir, Metta DevelopmentFoundation, to Department of Agriculture in Yangoon, June, 2002

LAOS• Community Aid Abroad (CAA), Oxfam affiliate in Australia

– Started SRI trials in 2001, has continued with them since, now getting some assistance from Ausaid

• IRRI office in Laos sponsored trials in 2003 – inconclusive results, since protocols not followed consistently

.…Since the success of the original two-year trials, the SRI method has been extended to more farmers in more regions

throughout Laos. The national average rice yield in Laos is 3.27 tons per hectare. Using SRI, farmers have an average yield of 5.05 tons per hectare. This increase

means there are fewer ‘rice shortage months’ every year...

RICE REVOLUTIONIN LAOS

From Oxfam Internationalwebpage: http://www.oxfam.

org/en/programs/development/easia/laos_rice.htm

THAILAND• First trials by Multiple Cropping Center of Chiangmai University and McKean Rehabilitation Center – not very impressive, but work continued

• Thai National SRI Network has functioned informally since 2003

• Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) has done SRI demonstrations in NE (Roi-et province) w/ CGIAR funding

VIETNAM• National IPM Program took lead in evaluating SRI from 2003

• Faculty at Thai Nguyen University and Hanoi Agricultural University have done trials and demonstrations to spread SRI in many provinces

• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences now support

FFS farmer in Dông Trù village, Hanoi province, 2005

Reduction in Diseases and PestsAverage of provincial trial data from the

Vietnam National IPM Program, 2005-2006

Spring season Summer season

SRIPlots

FarmerPlots

Differ-ence

SRIPlots

FarmerPlots

Differ-ence

Sheath blight

6.7% 18.1% 63.0% 5.2% 19.8% 73.7%

Leaf blight -- -- -- 8.6% 36.3% 76.5%

Small leaf folder

63.4* 107.7* 41.1% 61.8* 122.3* 49.5%

Brown plant hopper

542* 1,440* 62.4% 545* 3,214* 83.0%

AVERAGE 55.5% 70.7%* Insects/m2

PAKISTAN• International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in 2004 got 50% yield increase in NWFP

• Water Management Wing of the Punjab Provincial Dept. of Agriculture now taking lead to spread SRI

• Faculty at University of Agriculture at Faisalabad collaborating on SRI

Hafeez Mujib, DOA field manager, on right, with farmer in basmati field

VENTIONAL

IRAQ• Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station near Najaf started SRI trials in 2005 under Dr. Khidir Hameed

• Using ‘parachute’ and other methods

• Water saving (1/3) more important than yield increase (18% average); also appreciate seed reduction of 81%

• National Committee for SRI formed

Dr. Khidir Hameedwith Iraqi farmers

trying out SRI

Comparison of SRI vs. ‘normal’ root growth at MRRS, Najaf

IRAN• Haraz Technological Development and Extension Center at Amol near Caspian Sea started SRI trials in 2005

• Head of Agronomy Group, Bahman Larijani, confirmed a 55% increase in yield -- with a reduction in inputs

• Now starting to disseminate SRI methods within other districts of Iran

Bahman Larijani

Counting SRI tillers

Comparison of roots

BHUTAN• Royal University of Bhutan faculty member, Karma Lhendup, first at Sherubtse College and now at College of Natural Resources, started testing SRI methods in 2006

• With successful demonstrations, FAO and Government are now interested in assisting with SRI

Site I (20x20cm2)Variety:

Khangma maap

Control plot

Site III Plantation Variety: Verna

Site II PlantationVariety: Paropa

Trials conducted at elevationsof 1600 to 2000 meters a.s.l.

AFGHANISTAN• Initial effort to introduce SRI in Ajrestan in 2003 – no outcome?

• Initiative of Aga Khan Foundation in 2007 to introduce SRI in Baghlan Province – Kishan Rao (WASSAN) gave farmers training in May 2007 -- showing good progress

Two days after transplanting – field not very well leveled

30 days after transplanting – average of 11 tillers per plant

96 days after transplanting – some plants had 120 tillers

JAPAN• Formation of Japan Association of System of Rice Intensification (J-SRI) in April 2007, based at University of Tokyo – research in Indonesia

• Special initiative of Shuichi Sato, Nippon Koei team leader of DISIMP in E. Indonesia – good example of international solidarity for SRI spread

J-SRI team visit to Sadang Irrigation System in South Sulawesi, May 2006:1st prize in Consultants Photo Contest organized by the Tokyo Office of

World Bank, and Engineering and Consulting Firms Association of Japan;Prof. E. Yamaji, University of Tokyo, chairman of J-SRI, standing on right