Wageningen University: Exploratory Study Spread of the System of Rice Intensification

03 November 2009 Wageningen University and Research Centre

A team of researchers from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, will investigate the adoption, spread and potential benefits of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). SRI comprises a set of rice cultivation practices that differs from traditional methods, and has actively been promoted for the last decade to farmers as a ‘best management practice’ by some governments and many non-governmental development agencies, predominantly in Asia. Supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the researchers will document how SRI has evolved over time in different agro-ecologies and examine the reasons underlying farmers’ adoption, nonadoption or disadoption of this practice as a method to increase their rice yields and incomes.

The insights to be generated by this project are expected to help understand the performance, adoption and impacts of SRI, which have been disputed by some scientists. In this way, the project aims to create opportunities to develop and promote more effective methods for the sustainable intensification of rice production that are attractive to farmers and have a positive impact on rice yields. Increasing rice yields is of crucial importance to safeguard the world food supply, because rice is the staple food for about 2.4 billion people. Experts believe that this number will increase to about 4.6 billion people by 2050. To meet increased demand, annual rice production will have to increase by about 70 per cent by 2025, while resource availability for agriculture, in terms of land, water and labour is expected to decline.

The Wageningen team is part of a wider research network that includes researchers from Cornell University, the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines and various partners in Asia and Africa. The study will focus on two countries, Madagascar, where SRI first emerged, and India, where farmers and scientists have gained considerable experience with SRI and are working together to carry out field-level experiments in both experiment stations and farmers’ fields. These countries serve as case study areas to investigate how SRI functions, both technically and in terms of the channels and mechanisms through which it has spread into farmers’ practice.

Although SRI was originally described in terms of a set of core practices, relating to transplanting methods, water management, soil aeration and use of organic nutrients, field observations and scientific studies have indicated that there is considerable variation in both the ways in which SRI is applied and in its effects in different contexts. The flexibility of cultivation methods is important in adapting rice farming to specific climatic, agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. Identification of the variation that exists in SRI applications and insights in the underlying drivers will facilitate comparison and possible integration with other recommended ‘best management practices’.

Until now, most studies evaluating SRI have focused almost exclusively on its technical aspects and its economic effects on farmers’ livelihoods. This grant allows for the introduction of an additional element in the analysis: the social interactions and communication processes that take place between farmers and the various Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations that are involved in promoting SRI. This broader perspective will help clarify how the methods by which SRI is promoted help to shape small farmers’ enthusiasm for the new system and their willingness to adopt different combinations of techniques.

Given the intensive involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations in the promotion of the SRI technology, it is important to identify how the information reaches smallholder farmers. Understanding how Non-Governmental Organizations interact with smallholder farmers will help in explaining the dynamics of SRI as an institutional network or social movement. This understanding may form the basis for promotion of these and other effective techniques in areas that are poorly served by traditional extension services.

This grant to Wageningen University is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Agricultural Development initiative, which is working with a wide range of partners to provide millions of small farmers in the developing world with tools and opportunities to boost their yields, increase their incomes, and build better lives for themselves and their families. The foundation is working to strengthen the entire agricultural value chain—from seeds and soil to farm management and market access—so that progress against hunger and poverty is sustainable over the long term.