Farmers are adopting the System of Rice Intensification method in order to minimise the usage of water and seeds in rice cultivation

Scarcity of water due to low rainfall in the country has compelled farmers to adopt a new method of rice cultivation, which will lead to high production of the commodity. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has been introduced in Tamil Nadu, Tripura and parts of Kerala. The implementation of the new method will aid in minimising the usage of water during rice cultivation.

Cultivation of rice requires an adequate supply of water as the crop needs to be inundated in water for around 80-90 days. However, the new method helps in lowering the water requirement by 50%, while increasing rice cultivation by 30-50%. According to Alok Agarwal, director of Santi Rice Mills Private Limited, a small-sized rice manufacturer in Kolkata, “SRI will aid in high yield of rice crops as it minimises the production of methane that is emitted during rice cultivation and lowers its production.”

The SRI method, which was first introduced in Madagascar in the year 1980, is fairly new for the domestic agricultural industry. Apart from India, SRI is currently being tested in countries such as Thailand, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Benefits of SRI

The traditional and new methods of rice cultivation are very distinct from each other. Under the traditional cultivation process, rice plants are grown for a month in the nurseries. Thereafter, they are uprooted in bunches and cultivated in fields submerged in water. In the SRI method, rice plants are uprooted after 8-12 days and planted in fields with minimum supply of water. In the old method, rice plants are uprooted in bunches, whereas in the SRI method one or two rice plants are uprooted.

During the implementation of the SRI method, farmers are supposed to maintain a distance of 25 cm between two plants. “The adoption of the SRI method will limit the usage of seeds that will reduce the cost production of rice in the country,” says Madhavan Deivasiga Mani, director of Natura Bio Tech, a mid-sized rice exporter in Chennai. It has been noted that by adopting the new method, farmers would require 10 kg of seeds per hectare of land instead of 70 kg of seeds. Therefore, farmers will be benefited by adopting the new method as less seeds and minimum supply of water are required during rice cultivation.     

Sabrina Mitchell