BACKGROUND

Rice is the staple food of India. India has the largest area under rice (44 million ha) accounting for almost 29% of the global rice area and is the world’s second largest producer of white rice next to China, accounting for 20% of all world rice production. Rice contributes to 14.6% of India’s Gross Domestic Product.

In order to ensure the food security of a large population in India, initiatives were taken during the First Green Revolution itself in terms of introduction of advanced technologies so as to increase crop production and productivity. Although introduction of advanced technologies has increased production, simultaneously it has increased input costs also. During the twenty-first century a saturation point has reached and rice productivity now has become almost stagnant. Further increase in inputs does not have any significant impact on productivity. Rice production in the country has also declined drastically in the past couple of years. Introduction of advanced technologies has proved beneficial to big and economically well-off farmers who could afford cost of fertilizers, pesticides and hybrid seeds. Moreover, indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and synthetic chemicals has drastically deteriorated soil health with adverse effect on environment and bio-diversity.

At this juncture, there arises a need of a low cost and eco-friendly practice which would increase productivity in a sustainable manner. System of Rice intensification (SRI) probably is one of the answers to this impending situation. SRI methodology is a set of simple farming practices and was introduced in India a decade back. This innovation has been established as having potential to meet the requirements of poor, small and marginal farmers. Synthesis of SRI has proceeded empirically but the central underlying principles are quite simple and can easily be adopted by the poor and marginal farming communities for increasing rice production, productivity and establishing food security.

System of Rice Intensification

 

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a set of farming practices developed to increase the productivity of land, water, labour and capital by utilizing less seed, less water and less chemical fertilizer. There has been marked increase in root volume, profuse tillering with bigger panicles and well-filled spikelets with higher grain-weight.

System of Rice Intensification was first developed in Madagascar during ’80s. It was not known outside Madagascar till about 1997. The last decade has witnessed its spread and adoption amongst the agriculture community in several countries across the globe. The potential benefits of SRI are being tested in predominantly rice growing countries like India, China, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
 

An Overview of Important Agriculture Practices in Conventional and SRI