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The System of Rice

Intensification (SRI):
Opportunity for Food Security
and Water Saving in N. Ghana?
NARMSAP III Conference
Tamale, Ghana
December 16-19, 2002

Norman Uphoff,
Cornell International Institute for
Food, Agriculture and Development
More tillers and more than 400 grains per panicle
SRI is giving remarkable
and promising results
though still “a work in progress”
• SRI appears ‘too good to be true’
-- the agronomists’ equivalent of the
economists’ $100 bill on the sidewalk
• But there is increasing evidence that
this system is ‘for real’
• SRI is being used successfully by
– a growing number of farmers in
– a growing number of countries (16)
including Sierra Leone and The Gambia
SRI IS A METHODOLOGY
rather than a “TECHNOLOGY”
-- not a fixed set of techniques
Different paradigm for growing rice
that can be explained from the literature

SRI is basically a set of INSIGHTS


and PRINCIPLES that get applied
through a set of PRACTICES
that farmers are encouraged to
adapt to suit their local conditions
Basic idea of SRI is that
RICE PLANTS DO BEST
(A) When their ROOTS can grow large
and deep because they have been
• transplanted carefully, and there is
• wide spacing between plants; also
(B) When they can grow in SOIL that is:
• well aerated with abundant and diverse
• soil microbial populations
“Starting Points” for SRI
• Transplant young seedlings, 8-15 days
(2 leaves), quickly and very carefully
• Single plants per hill with wide spacing
in a square pattern, 25x25 cm or wider
• No continuous flooding of field during
the vegetative growth phase (AWD ok)
• Weeding with rotating hoe early (10 DAT)
and often (2 to 4 times)
• Application of compost is recommended
These practices produce a
different PHENOTYPE
• Profuse TILLERING -- 30 to 50/plant,
80-100 possible, sometimes 100+
• Greater ROOT GROWTH -- 5-6x more
resistance (kg/plant) for uprooting
• Larger PANICLES -- 150-250+ grains
• Higher GRAIN WEIGHT -- often 5-10%
• POSITIVE CORRELATION between
tillers/plant and grains/panicle
Comparison of high-yield rice in tropical and
subtropical environments: I: Determinants of
grain and dry matter yields
J . Ying, S. Peng, Q. He, H. Yang, C. Yang,
R. M. Visperas, K. G. Cassman
Field Crops Research, 57 (1998), p. 72.

“…a strong compensation mechanism exists


between the two yield components
[panicle number and panicle size]” with a
“strong negative relationship between the
two components…” (emphasis added)
OBSERVABLE BENEFITS
• Average yields about 8 t/ha --
twice present world average of 3.8 t/ha
• Maximum yields can be twice this --
15-16 t/ha, with some over 20 t/ha
• WATER REQUIRED about 50% less
• Increased factor productivity from the
land, labor, capital and water used
• Lower costs of production -- this is
most important for farmers
LESS OR NO NEED FOR:
• Changing varieties, though best yields
from high-yielding varieties and hybrids
-- traditional varieties produce 4-10 t/ha
• Chemical fertilizers -- these give a very
positive yield response with SRI, but
best results are obtained with compost
• Agrochemicals – plants more resistant
to pests and diseases with SRI methods
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
• Seeding rate reduced as much as
90%, 5-10 kg/ha gives more than 50-
100 kg
• No lodging because of stronger roots
• Environmentally friendly production
due to water saving, no/fewer chemicals
• More accessible to poor households
because few capital requirements
DISADVANTAGES / COSTS
• SRI is more labor-intensive, at least
initially -- but can become labor-saving
• SRI requires greater knowledge/skill
from farmers to become better decision-
makers and managers -- but this contri-
butes to human resource development
• SRI requires good water control to get
best results, making regular
applications of smaller amounts of
water -- this can be obtained through
investments
SRI is COUNTERINTUITIVE
• LESS BECOMES MORE -- by utilizing
the potentials and dynamics of biology
• Smaller, younger seedlings will give
larger, more productive mature plants
• Fewer plants per hill and per m2 can
give more yield
• Half the water can give higher yield
• Fewer or no external inputs are
associated with greater output
New phenotypes from existing genotypes
Plant Physical Structure and
Light Intensity Distribution
at Heading Stage
(CNRRI Research: Tao et al. 2002)
These results more often come from
farms than experiment stations
• SRI is the due entirely to the work of
Fr. Henri de Laulanié, S.J. (1920-1995),
trained in agriculture at INA (1937-1939)
• He lived and worked with farmers in
Madagascar, 1961-1995, SRI from 1983
• SRI now being promoted by NGO named
Association Tefy Saina, working with
CIIFAD since 1994
• This is an innovation of civil society
Spread beyond Madagascar
• Nanjing Agric. University, China - 1999
• Agency for Agricultural Research and
Development, Indonesia - 1999-2000
• Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, etc.
• China Hybrid Rice Center - 2000-2001
• International conference, Sanya, China,
April 2001 -- 15 countries represented
Reports from Sanya Conference
COUNTRY No. of Data
Sets/Trials
Ave. SRI
Yield (t/ha)
Comparison
Yield (t/ha)
Max. SRI
Yields (t/ha)
(No. of farmers)
Bangladesh 4 On-farm (261) 6.3 4.9 7.1
6 On-station 5.25-7.5 4.4-5.0 5.6-9.5
Cambodia 3 On-farm (427) 4.8 2.7 12.9
3.4-6.0 2.0-4.0 10.0-14.0
China 7 On-station w/ 12.4 10.9 13.5
hybrid varieties 9.7-15.8 10-11.8 10.5-17.5
Cuba 2 On-farm 9.15 6.2 NR
8.8-9.5 5.8-6.6
Gambia 1 On-farm (10) 7.1 2.3 8.8
1 On-station 6.8-7.4 2.0-2.5 8.3-9.4
Indonesia 2 On-Farm 7.4 5.0 9.0
5 On-station 6.2-8.4 4.1-6.7 7.0-10.3
Madagascar 11 On-farm 7.2 2.6 13.9
(3,025) 4.2-10.35 1.5-3.6 5.6-21.0
3 On-station
Philippines 4 On-farm 6.0 3.0 7.4
(47) 4.95-7.6 2.0-3.6 7.3-7.6
1 On-station
Sierra Leone 1 On-farm 5.3 2.5 7.4
(160) 4.9-7.4 1.9-3.2
Sri Lanka 6 On-farm 7.8 3.6 14.3
(275) 7.6-13.0 2.7-4.2 11.4-17.0
2 On-station
Results Keep Coming In
• West Timor, Indonesia: June 2002
• Yield with farmer methods -- 4.4 t/ha
• Yield with SRI methods -- 11.6 t/ha
• Lampung, Indonesia -- 3 to 8 t/ha
• Pucallpa, Peru (jungle): Oct 2002
• Traditional yields -- 2 t/ha
• SRI yields -- 8 t/ha -- plus a
• Ratoon crop -- 70% of first crop (5.5
t/ha)
Analysis of SRI in Sri Lanka
Standard SRI _Δ_
• Yields (tons/ha) 4 8 +88%
• Market price (Rs/ton) 1,300 1,500 +15%
• Total cash cost (Rs/ha) 22,000 18,000 -18%
• Gross returns (Rs/ha) 58,500 120,000 +74%
• Net profit (Rs/ha) 36,500 102,000 +180%
• Family labor earnings Increased with use of SRI
• WATER SAVINGS 40-50%compared to usual
Data from Dr. Janaiah Aldas, formerly economist at
IRRI, now at Indira Gandhi Development Studies
Institute, Mumbai, based on visit to Sri Lanka and
interviews with SRI farmers, October, 2002
Key Insight:
Rice is not an aquatic plant
 Standard view in the literature is that:
• “Rice thrives on land that is water-saturated
or even submerged during part or all of its
growth cycle.” (p. 43)
• “Most varieties maintain better growth and
produce higher grain yields when grown in
flooded soil than when grown in unflooded
soil.” (pp. 297-298) (emphases added)
S. K. DeDatta, The Principles and Practices
of Rice Production, J. W. Wiley, NY, 1981.
Abstract
Nature and growth pattern of rice root system
under submerged and unsaturated conditions
S. Kar
Kar,, S. B. Varade,
Varade, T. K. Subramanyam
Subramanyam,, and B. P. Ghildyal
Ghildyal,,
Il Riso (Italy), 1974, 23:2, 173-179

Plants of the rice cultivar Taichung (Native) were grown in pots of


sandy loam under 2 water regimes in an attempt to identify critical
root-growth phases. Observations on root number, length, volume,
and dry weight were made at the early tillering
tillering,, active tillering
tillering,,
maximum tillering
tillering,, and reproductive stages.

Rice root degeneration, normally unique to submerged conditions,


conditions,
increased with advance in plant growth. At stage of flowering,
78% had degenerated.
degenerated. During the first phase under flooding, and
throughout the growth period under unsaturated conditions,
roots rarely degenerated.
degenerated. (emphasis added)
Root cross-sections of
upland (left) and irrigated (right) varieties
ORSTOM research (Puard et al. 1989)
Dry Matter Distribution of Roots in SRI
and Conventionally-Grown Plants at
Heading Stage
(CNRRI research: Tao et al. 2002)
Root dry weight (g)
Root Activity in SRI and
Conventionally-Grown Rice
(Nanjing Agr. Univ. research: Wang et al. 2002)
(Wuxianggeng 9 variety)

500
W
S
400
Oxygenation ability ofα-NA

300
(ug/h.gDW)

200

100

0
N-n n-2 Heading Maturity

Development stage
Importance of Root Growth
• Supports more vigorous tiller growth and
then more grain filling
• Makes rice plants better able to
withstand effects of drought and disease
• Root growth and performance is result of
both chemical nutrient and physical
factors, but also of microbiological
processes in the soil
Paths for Increased Grain Yield in
Relation to N Uptake, using QUEFTS
Analytical Model (Barison, 2002)

N Internal Efficiency

12000
10000
G rain yie ld (kg /h a)

SRI grain yield


8000
(kg/ha)
6000
Conv. grain yield
4000
(kg/ha)
2000
0
0 100 200 300

N u p take (kg /h a)
The contributions of
soil microbial activity need to
be taken more seriously
“The microbial flora causes a large
number of biochemical changes in
the soil that largely determine the
fertility of the soil.” (DeDatta,
1981, p. 60, emphasis added)
SRI Raises More Questions
than It Gives ANSWERS
• This is a PRACTICE-LED innovation
• Scientists have a challenge/opportunity
to develop and “retrofit” explanations
• By raising factor productivities and by
reducing the need for irrigation water
and agrochemicals, SRI should benefit
particularly poor households and the
environment -- explore opportunities
• Water saving is becoming more crucial
THANK YOU
More information is available
on the SRI WEB PAGE:
http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/
including Sanya conference proceedings
E-MAIL ADDRESSES:
ciifad@cornell.edu
tefysaina@simicro.mg
ntu1@cornell.edu

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