Authors: Dr. Georg Deichert, Mr. José Barrosand Mr. Martin Noltze
Presented at the 7th Annual Conference of the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering, 7-9 October 2009
0938 Introducing System of Rice Intensification in Timor Leste - Experiences and Prospects
1. Introducing System of Rice Intensification in Timor Leste - Experiences and Prospects Dr. Georg Deichert 1 , Mr. José Barros 2 and Mr. Martin Noltze 3 1,2 RDP II, EU-GTZ Timor Leste, 3 University of Göttingen, Germany Paper presented at 7th Annual Conference of the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering, 7-9 October 2009, Bogor, Indonesia
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9. ICM recommendations (in Timor Leste) Technical Elements SRI recommendations (in Timor Leste) Area estimation Ploughing with tractor Land preparation Good leveling Beds with Drains Improved varieties, ie IR64 Variety Any variety Use of good seed Seed Seed selection with salt water test Mat nursery 10 kg/ha Nursery Tray nursery 5 kg/ha One seedling, 12-14 days old Line tranplanting 25x25cm to 30x30cm Transplanting One seedling, 8-12 days old, Grid (caplak) At least 25x25cm, better 30x30cm to 50x50cm 1 st weeding: 15d after transplanting 2nd weeding: 25d after transplanting 3rd weeding: 35 days after transplanting Weeding 4 weedings with 10 days interval starting 10 days after transplanting Concept of getting air to the roots Feed the plant concept Leaf Color Chart (LCC) 2 applications of chemical fertilizer Soil nutrition feed the soil concept Compost preferred Chemical fertilizer optional 1-3 cm of standing water level Water Management Intermittend flooding with periods of no standing water As IPM (see ICM manual) Pest control Not part of SRI See ICM manual Harvesting Not part of SRI
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11. Achievements with SRI promotion and dissemination (2) Parameter Season 2006/2007 Season 2007/2008 Season 2008/2009 No. of SRI farmers (n) 35 450 1228 Total SRI area (calculated) 297 ha 982.4 ha Average SRI plot size 0.66 ha 0.80 ha Average SRI yield 3 t/ha 4.3 t/ha 5.3 t/ha Minimum Yield 1.4 t/ha 1.6 t/ha Maximum yield 6.8 t/ha 10.0 t/ha National average (MAF estimates) 2 t/ha 2 t/ha 2.5 t/ha Bobonaro average (MAF estimates) 2.5 t/ha 3 t/ha Estimated total SRI production 1,277 tons 5,206 tons
Agriculture remains one of the key aspects for development as an economic activity, as a livelihood and as a provider of environmental services (World Bank 2007). Within the last decades, agricultural extension programs have become one of the largest institutional efforts for agricultural development. Training methods affected both thousands of extension workers and millions of farmers in developing countries (Anderson, Feder 2004). However, most programs are relatively costly and time consuming, thus knowledge about the impact of actions is increasingly required by donors, policymakers and program managers. Development institutions wonder in how far programs have been effective according to defined objectives. Many studies report remarkable success stories, but many fail to address data collection challenges and econometric analysis in a satisfactory way. Data quality, difficult methodological issues of causality and the quantification of benefits do often lack a solid foundation of scientific procedures. This study aims to contribute to the following superior research topics: 1. agricultural extension, 2. technology adoption, 3. impact assessment, and the 4. ‘system of rice intensification’ (SRI) in particular.
The advocates of the system of rice intensification (SRI) have claimed both the world record for rice yield and the highest yields (by a substantial margin!) for any grain crop (Rafaralahy, 2002). This is curious because none of the usual information expected in support of these ‘fantastic yields’ was presented to support the claim. Absent were data concerning cultivar, experimental design, statistical errors, dates of planting and harvesting, soil types, fertilizer inputs, weed control, disease control, insect control, water management and the weather. The System of Rice Intensification 3 is a method that has been promoted and closely followed in Madagascar for more than ten years. It was developed in Madagascar in the late 1980s by a French priest working with Malagasy farmers, who later formed the NGO, Association Tefy Saina (ATS) to promote the method. SRI consists of five recommended practices: early transplanting, the planting of single seedlings, wide spacing, intermittent irrigation and good water control, and frequent weeding. (Moser, Barrett 2002)
The advocates of the system of rice intensification (SRI) have claimed both the world record for rice yield and the highest yields (by a substantial margin!) for any grain crop (Rafaralahy, 2002). This is curious because none of the usual information expected in support of these ‘fantastic yields’ was presented to support the claim. Absent were data concerning cultivar, experimental design, statistical errors, dates of planting and harvesting, soil types, fertilizer inputs, weed control, disease control, insect control, water management and the weather. The System of Rice Intensification 3 is a method that has been promoted and closely followed in Madagascar for more than ten years. It was developed in Madagascar in the late 1980s by a French priest working with Malagasy farmers, who later formed the NGO, Association Tefy Saina (ATS) to promote the method. SRI consists of five recommended practices: early transplanting, the planting of single seedlings, wide spacing, intermittent irrigation and good water control, and frequent weeding. (Moser, Barrett 2002)
The advocates of the system of rice intensification (SRI) have claimed both the world record for rice yield and the highest yields (by a substantial margin!) for any grain crop (Rafaralahy, 2002). This is curious because none of the usual information expected in support of these ‘fantastic yields’ was presented to support the claim. Absent were data concerning cultivar, experimental design, statistical errors, dates of planting and harvesting, soil types, fertilizer inputs, weed control, disease control, insect control, water management and the weather. The System of Rice Intensification 3 is a method that has been promoted and closely followed in Madagascar for more than ten years. It was developed in Madagascar in the late 1980s by a French priest working with Malagasy farmers, who later formed the NGO, Association Tefy Saina (ATS) to promote the method. SRI consists of five recommended practices: early transplanting, the planting of single seedlings, wide spacing, intermittent irrigation and good water control, and frequent weeding. (Moser, Barrett 2002)
The advocates of the system of rice intensification (SRI) have claimed both the world record for rice yield and the highest yields (by a substantial margin!) for any grain crop (Rafaralahy, 2002). This is curious because none of the usual information expected in support of these ‘fantastic yields’ was presented to support the claim. Absent were data concerning cultivar, experimental design, statistical errors, dates of planting and harvesting, soil types, fertilizer inputs, weed control, disease control, insect control, water management and the weather. The System of Rice Intensification 3 is a method that has been promoted and closely followed in Madagascar for more than ten years. It was developed in Madagascar in the late 1980s by a French priest working with Malagasy farmers, who later formed the NGO, Association Tefy Saina (ATS) to promote the method. SRI consists of five recommended practices: early transplanting, the planting of single seedlings, wide spacing, intermittent irrigation and good water control, and frequent weeding. (Moser, Barrett 2002)
The advocates of the system of rice intensification (SRI) have claimed both the world record for rice yield and the highest yields (by a substantial margin!) for any grain crop (Rafaralahy, 2002). This is curious because none of the usual information expected in support of these ‘fantastic yields’ was presented to support the claim. Absent were data concerning cultivar, experimental design, statistical errors, dates of planting and harvesting, soil types, fertilizer inputs, weed control, disease control, insect control, water management and the weather. The System of Rice Intensification 3 is a method that has been promoted and closely followed in Madagascar for more than ten years. It was developed in Madagascar in the late 1980s by a French priest working with Malagasy farmers, who later formed the NGO, Association Tefy Saina (ATS) to promote the method. SRI consists of five recommended practices: early transplanting, the planting of single seedlings, wide spacing, intermittent irrigation and good water control, and frequent weeding. (Moser, Barrett 2002)