System Of Rice Intensification Adoption Research Articles

Introduction of the System of Rice Intensification in Kenya: experiences from Mwea Irrigation Scheme

There are various avenues for intensifying agricultural production, the most common being increased use of fertilizers, supplemental irrigation of crops, and adoption of high-yielding varieties. These options are rather widely known to farmers around the world, but they have not been widely adopted by smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa. The low adoption rate is related to complex technical and socio-economic issues, such as poor extension services, lack of capital, failure to mobilize the requisite water, or simply, poverty. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is in a special category of innovation in that, farmers stand to gain multiple benefits from its use, including the possibility of increasing rice yields substantially, saving water, and getting better grain quality, using differently the assets that they already have. A major impediment for the adoption of SRI in Africa has been lack of knowledge about this intervention, especially for farmers already practicing irrigated agriculture. Farmers generally have good business sense and will adopt technologies or practices once the benefits are proven and the risks are seen as minor. SRI should be attractive for these reasons, but there are various issues to be resolved before large numbers of farmers can adopt the method. This article reports on the steps taken and the technical and socio-economic issues addressed in efforts to introduce SRI and promote it in Kenya, specifically in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme. A diverse set of individuals and institutions in Kenya together embarked on the evaluation and dissemination of SRI methods in this East African country beginning in July 2009. If the new methods can perform in Kenya as in other countries, this will bring much benefit to rice farmers and rice consumers in the region. SRI is coming to Kenya relatively late, as it was the thirty-ninth country from which favorable SRI results have been reported. This means that Kenyans can learn from others’ experience and evaluations, and there is also now more of a supportive institutional framework. The initial results from on-farm SRI trials have been positive, although not conclusive. They have given impetus to Kenyan farmers and institutions to collaborate within a multi-sectoral, multi-level coalition that has provided an informal, multi-faceted platform for the evaluation, adaptation and dissemination of SRI practices. The initiative in Kenya is now gaining more formal status and more resources. This experience is presented to show the kinds of things that have been and can be done to utilize the SRI opportunity for raising land, labor, and water productivity in the rice sector.

Productivity impacts of the system of rice intensification (SRI): A case study in West Bengal, India

The system of rice intensification (SRI) has generated considerable debate globally, particularly with regard to its potential to raise rice yields. Proponents of SRI have reported that the average rice yield with SRI is double the current average yield and can be increased to the level of three to four times. Opponents say the reported high yields are due to measurement error and that usual information expected in support of these fantastic yields is missing. The number of SRI adopters has increased in India in recent years. We evaluate the impact of adoption of SRI practices on rice yields, the economics of paddy cultivation and labour inputs based on field research conducted in Purulia, West Bengal, India. Paddy yields with SRI were higher than those under conventional paddy cultivation by 32% and net returns were higher by 67%. Labour input was reduced by 8%. SRI adoption enabled farmers consistently to enhance paddy yields, increase returns and save labour; and enhance productivity with respect to the key inputs in terms of paddy output per unit of seed, fertilizer and labour-day. SRI promises to be a significant alternative for not only raising paddy yields, but also for managing paddy based farming in resource-starved regions.

The System of Rice Intensification in Practice: Explaining Low Farmer Adoption and High Disadoption in Madagascar

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has received a fair amount of attention in recent years both in and outside of Madagascar, where incredible yield increases have been achieved using few external inputs and less water and seed. SRI initially seemed well suited to Madagascar due to the unavailability or cost of fertilizer and the inability of most farmers to grow enough rice to feed their families. Despite its promise, farmer adoption of SRI in the areas where it was promoted has been low, disadoption (abandonment) of the method has been high, and those who continue to practice the method rarely do so on more than half of their land. To help explain this phenomenon from an economic perspective, a study was conducted in five communities in Madagascar in 2000, using both participatory research methods and a household survey of over 300 farmers. Based on the study, we find that SRI is difficult for most farmers to practice because it requires significant additional labor inputs at a time of the year when liquidity is low and labor effort is already high. Thus, the poorer the farmer and the more his income depends on rainy season crops, the less able he is to take advantage of the technology.