sri

Barb’s notes:

GMO proponents like to say that the use of their products, which include proprietary pesticides and patented seeds that have to be purchased yearly, along with no-till land management, is the solution to world hunger. This is not true. There is an organic solution that is far superior, that actually improves the soil each year, increases crop yields by 50-100%, and cuts seed costs by 80-90%.

Read the following article by SRI, and watch the videos to see how this is done with rice. According to the SRI website, “SRI concepts and methods have been successfully adapted to upland unirrigated rice, and they are now being extrapolated to other crops like millet, wheat and sugar cane.”

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The System of Rice Intensification known as SRI – also as le Systéme de Riziculture Intensive in French and la Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo Arrocero* (SICA) in Spanish — is a methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice cultivation by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. SRI practices lead to healthier, more productive soil and plants by supporting greater root growth and by nurturing the abundance and diversity of soil organisms. The agroecological principles that contribute to SRI effectiveness have good scientific bases. SRI concepts and methods have been successfully adapted to upland unirrigated rice, and they are now being extrapolated to other crops like millet, wheat and sugar cane.

SRI does not require the purchase of new seeds or the use of new high-yielding varieties. Although the highest yields with SRI have been obtained from improved varieties, most traditional or local varieties of rice respond well to SRI practices and command a higher market price. And while chemical fertilizer and agrochemicals can be applied with SRI, their use is not required as organic materials (compost, manure or any decomposed vegetation) can give good or even better results at low cost. Farmers report that when SRI methods are used correctly, rice plants are better able to resist damage from pests and diseases, reducing or eliminating need for agrochemical protection.

Because plant populations are greatly reduced with SRI, seed costs are cut by 80-90%, and because paddy fields are not kept continuously flooded, there are water savings of 25 to 50%, a major benefit in many places. However, cessation of flooding means that increased weeding is required. If this is done with soil-aerating implements like a rotating hoe, this cost has a benefit of enhanced crop production.

SRI does require skillful management of the factors of production and, at least initially, more labor, particularly for careful transplanting and for weeding. Since yield increases are usually 50 to 100%, and possibly several times present levels, the returns to labor can be very great. The profitability of rice production can be greatly increased when yield goes up with a reduction in the costs of production. As farmers gain skill and confidence in SRI methods, their labor input in fact decreases, and over time SRI can even become labor saving compared with conventional rice-growing methods.

SRI is a work in progress, with improvements continually being made, including better implements and techniques that further reduce labor requirements. Farmers are encouraged to make their own improvements in SRI methods and to share experience within the farming community. Yield is the most evident (and controversial) feature of SRI, but many other considerations are also driving its spread around the world. Additional information on SRI benefits such as resistance to drought and storm damage, shorter time to maturity, and more milled rice resulting when SRI paddy is processed can be found in a paper on: Features of the System of Rice Intensification apart from Increases in Yield.

 

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One Response to “SRI – the Natural and Organic Way to Solve World Hunger”

  1. laurel says:

    Excellent information! made me want to rush out and start a rice paddy;-)
    only problem is..I have 3 feet of sand!
    However I will use this method soon, when I plante spelt, and a Heritage wheat variety.
    As the seeds are scarce, improving the yield will be a help.
    The wheat I have maybe 600 seeds of, a 200+ year old variety. I would expect using normal methods for it to take 5 years to get enough to plant large areas. Saving maybe 2 years, would be enormously helpful. I will be sharing this page like mad:-)