03/05/2023

Farmer Adaptation of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Methods in the Lower

Mekong Basin Region

Dr. Abha MishraCo-Director, ACISAI Center, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand,

Team Leader, SRI-LMB

SRI-Rice, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 12 October 2015

SRI @ AIT

SRI at AIT

Why SRI at AIT Global interest Major attraction at farmers‘field; Asia: largest producer of rice; Asia: largest consumer of agricultural water; Asia: 50-70% farmers are engaged in rice farming; Asia: Food security is linked to rice production; SRI: Provides larger ambit to address the multiple issues associated with sustainable agricultural development in the context of climate change

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Out of 65 millions inhabitants, 60 millions reside in LMB

Agriculture, fishing and forestry employs 90%

Rice cultivation in 10 million hectare out of which 6 million hectare is rainfed

wide spread poverty in the region, mostly smallholder farmers who are engaged in rice farming in rainfed area are poor

Costly farming techniques are not applied with the given level of uncertainty

Rice contributes 75% towards people per capita calorific supply

Food insecurity Productivity of rice is low

Why LMB region

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Characteristics of the rainfed areas

Household characteristics Av. Landholding is 1-2 ha Average age of farmers is 50+ More than 70% are women Grow only one crop of rice in wet season with very

limited diversification Subsistence type rice farming in Cambodia and Laos

where as in Thailand rice is grown for export and now also in Vietnam

Average rice yield is 2-3 t/ha Increasing households loans Increasing out-migration of farmers Food insecurity

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WBI workshop and genesis of the SRI-LMB

Goal

• Development of adaptive measures to protect against climate change so as to address the food security and livelihood issues of rainfed smallholders farmers in lower Mekong river basin (LMB) countries

Action

• Develop local, national and regional platform for joint initiative and coordinated actions

• Increase crop yield, productivity and profitability on sustainable basis at smallholders farmers’ field in rainfed areas of LMB region. Partners stimulate and support local innovation through farmers participatory action research

http://www.ait.ac.th/research/workshop-reports/AIT-WBI-Workshop-Report.pdf/view#.VWafG820jjA

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SRI ‘Menu’ for change

Capturing farmers imagination by enabling them to get higher yield with reduced external inputs, and fuelling their

capacity for innovation

Offers low cost solution

Doesn’t require external inputs

Practices are amenable to farmers experimentation

Follows agro ecological principles

Transplanting younger and fewer seedlings/hill

maintaining wider spacing

Avoiding continuous soil saturation

Applying compost as much as possible

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SRI-LMB @ACISAI Center, AIT

Regional innovation platform for linking local to global actors and institutions to

meet the goals of food security and environmental sustainability through generating and providing innovative

solutions under the overall concept of sustainable agriculture intensification.

AIT Research Strategy (2012-2016)

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Sustaining and Enhancing the Momentum for Innovation around the System of Rice

Intensification in Lower Mekong River Basin (SRI-LMB)

http://www.sri-lmb.ait.asia/

Royal University of Agriculture

National University of Laos Hanoi University of AgricultureRajabhat University

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SRI-LMBworking in 30 districts of 10

food insecure provinces

Increase productivity

Reduce input cost Make rice

cultivation profitable

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Implementation structure and methodology

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SRI-LMBWorking in collaboration

Farmers

Researcher

Trainers

Local consortia

Ministry

Farmers group

Regional consortium

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PMU CAMBODIA Implementing

consortia include NGO, GO, academics

PMU LAOS Implementing

consortia include NGO, GO, academics

PMU THAILAND

Implementing consortia include

NGO GO, academics

PMU VIETNAM Implementing

consortia include NGO, GO academics

P1

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

D1

D2

D3

Provinces

Districts

Oxfam policy dialogue

FAO Action research

implementation at national level

(Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)

P2

P3 P1 P

3P2

P1

P2

P1

P2

UQAdvisory support

on FFS based action research

SRI-RiceAdvisory

support on SRI

Loca

l co

nsor

tia

Nat

iona

l co

nsor

tia*

Reg

iona

l co

nsor

tia*

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4th post FFS site (2 FT)

3rd post FFS site (2 FT)

2nd post FFS site (2 FT)

1st post FFS site (2 FT)

4th post FFS site (2 FT)

3rd post FFS site (2 FT)

2nd post FFS site (2 FT)

1st post FFS site (2 FT)

4th post FFS site (2 FT)

3rd post FFS site (2 FT)

2nd post FFS site (2 FT)

1st post FFS site (2 FT)

FPAR sites

FPAR sites

FPAR sites

FPAR structure at the local level

Each province has three districts and each district has 4 FPAR sites

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Farmers participatory action research

findings ( year 2014)

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More than 120 sets of experiments @ 62 FPAR

sites in 2014

Cambodia & Thailand In five provinces- 13 districts were rainfed and

2 were irrigated - Broadly two options were

explored using experiments: SRI demonstration (SRI-D) as a ‘test site’ and (2) Integration of SRI practices with existing cultivation practices as learning plot for location specific adaptation (SRI-T)

- And compared with existing conventional management practices (CP) in target area set up as a farmers’ practice.

15 districts, 3 in each province

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Implementation through FFS approach

Season long training & structured

learning sessions at different growth

stages

SRI seedbed Wetbed

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Farmers applied different sets of practices

Crop management

practices

Conventional practices (CP)

SRI-T(SRI-I & SRI-LAP)

SRI-D

Seedling age 40-60 day-old (established by

baseline)

39-20 day-old 8-19 day-old*(8-15 day-old for Cambodia and Thailand)

Seed rate 100-150 kg/ha 20-30% less than CM 5-20 kg/ha

Transplanting spacing

Crowded, 10 x 10 cm 10 x 15 to 19 x 19 cm 20 x 20 – 30 x 30 cm or more

Planting/hill >5-6 4-5 seedlings/hill 1-3 seedlings/hill

Soil condition Flooded (or no effort in maintaining aerobic

soil condition

Relatively aerobic soil condition with respect to CM either through shallow water level or through intermittent

drying

Maintaining aerobic soil condition at

least for a week during tillering

stage

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Experimental method for field testing and data

handlingDesign and data handling

at field• Three treatments and 4

replications (minimum) for each experiment

• Data collection and analysis (average) by farmers at three growth stages (Tillering, flowering, and harvesting)

• Data recorded by farmers using farmers diary

• Data were compiled by district trainer and subsequently by provincial coordinator

• Data collection process was backstopped by researcher

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Data handling at national and regional level

• System Architecture

INTERNETInput Data

Download Output File

Save data into DB

Query Data

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AnalysisQuantitative analysis• ANOVA (significant difference)• Meta analysis (regional trend)• Cluster analysis (adoption response)

Qualitative analysis• Group discussion (at local, national, and regional

level)• Farmers’ response• Feedback from ministries, national & regional

stakeholders

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FPAR results from more than 120 sets of

experiments involving 3200 farmers

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Higher productivity and fertilizer use efficiency in SRI

kg g

rain

/kg

inor

gani

c fe

rtili

zer

appl

ied

Yield Fertilizer use efficiency

Ton/

ha

With reference to CP 100% and 60% yield increment in SRI-D and SRI-T

respectively with reference to CP 46.27% and 36.22% increment in fertilizer use

efficiency

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Meta trend

SRI-I and SRI-LAP and SRI-D indicated significantly higher yield benefit with respect to conventional practices

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Meta trend in rainfed areas

Positive and significant large effect size confirmed the benefit of applying SRI practices even in rainfed environment.

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Higher productivity with less input use

Cambodia Thailand• Seed = 40% seed cost

saving • Water = no difference • Pesticide = 1/3rd cost

saving

• Seed = 93.27%• Water = 2-3

irrigation saving (only for irrigated dist. (Tron and Pichai)

• Pesticide+ fungicide = 208 US$/ha (77% less compared to last season)

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Economic productivity

US

dolla

r ga

ined

/US$

spe

nt/h

a

With reference to CP 339.47% and 284.21% higher in SRI-D and SRI-T

respectively Cost of cultivation included cost of labour and water as

well.

Higher economic productivity with SRI

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1a (all inputs valued)

Cambodiarainfed

Thailand rainfed

Thailand irrigated

0.769±0.03 c

(0.05±0.01)

2.655±0.12 a

(0.4±0.01)

2.066±0.08 b

(0.05±0.01)

1b (labour inputs for transplanting, weeding and harvesting were excluded from Cambodia and cost of water from Cambodia and Surin province of Thailand

2.10±0.06 b

(0.66±0.04)

2.9±0.13 a

(0.54±0.01)

2.06±0.08 b

(0.05±0.01)

With producer price @ 0.3 and 0.43 US$/kg paddy for Cambodia and Thailand respectively* Baseline @0.3 US$/kg in both countries

Economic productivity gain was higher in rainfed

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2a (all inputs valued) Cambodiarainfed

Thailand rainfed

Thailand irrigated

0.769±0.03 c

(0.05±0.01)*

2.17±0.11 a

(0.4±0.01)*

1.79±0.08 b

(0.05±0.01)

2b (labour inputs for transplanting, weeding and harvesting were excluded from Cambodia and cost of water from Cambodia and Surin province of Thailand

2.08±0.06 b

(0.66±0.04)

2.4±0.12 a

(0.54±0.01)

1.79±0.08 b

(0.05±0.01)

Average paddy yield at FPAR sites

4.3±0.73 c 5.82±1.29 b 6.26±0.82 a

With domestic price @ 0.3 and 0.38 US$/kg paddy for Cambodia and Thailand respectively* Baseline @0.3 US$/kg in both countries

Economic productivity gain was higher in rainfed

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Adaptation response from farmers for SRI practices

Cluster Profile Plots

1

SOILCONDITIO

SEEDAGE

SEEDRAISE

SPACING

SEEDPERHILL

2

SOILCONDITIO

SEEDAGE

SEEDRAISE

SPACING

SEEDPERHILL

SRI practices F ratioSeedling/hill 7307.98

Spacing 412.39

Seedling raising method

398.12

Seedling age 80.23

Aerobic soil condition at least for a week at vegetative stage

0.358

159 cases 47 casesSeedling/hill and spacing have the highest impact in group formation than any other SRI principles

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Learning

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Factors affecting adoption Less input use, higher yield

and higher net return (+) Quality of grain (+) No lodging (+) Less pest and diseases (+)

Unreliable weather and water availability (-)

Market instability and price volatility (-)

No incentive for good work (-) Transplanting & labour use

(Thailand) (-)

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Factors that will speed up SRI adoption

• SRI with direct seeding with low seed rate (Thailand) • Support for critical irrigation • Better incentive and market stability • Green SRI from farm to fork

http://www.sri-lmb.ait.asia/country/doc/Regional%20Review%20and%20Planning%20Workshop-REPORT%20(02-03%20June%202015).pdf

Economic profitability

encourages farmers to

adopt new technique

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Conclusions and way forward

• Efforts to make SRI knowledge and practices available on a wider scale can raise productivity and incomes and in turn can address food insecurity of the broad population of smallholders without further deteriorating the environment.

• Economic productivity was higher in rainfed compared to the irrigated systems therefore only a small investment is needed to make the rainfed system more productive and resilient.

• Bringing poor smallholding farmers more directly into the process of economic growth can offer more hope at both micro and macro levels.

03/05/2023

Thank You!

Visit SRI-LMB at: http://www.sri-lmb.ait.asia/

SRI-LMB Online

CONTACT US

Asian Center of Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (ACISAI)Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)Gnd. Floor, Admin BuildingPO Box: 4, Klong LuangPathumthani, Thailand 12120 Email : srilmb@ait.asia Phone : +66-2-524-5823 Fax : +66-2-524-5828