1. State Level Workshop on “Promoting SRI Paddy Cultivation for Achieving Food Security
in Uttarakhand”
December 11, 2008
Hotel Great Value, Rajpur Road, Dehradun
Background
People’s Science Institute (PSI), Dehra Doon is popularizing the System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) method on mountain farms of Uttarakhand for the last three years. Starting
with 22 farmers in 2006, in 2008 about 9,000 farmers adopted this method in all the 13 districts
of the state. At the completion of the activities of the kharif season of 2008, PSI organized a one-
day State Level Workshop on “Promoting SRI Paddy Cultivation for Achieving Food Security in
Uttarakhand” at Hotel Great Value, Rajpur Road, Dehra Doon on December 11, 2008. The
objective of this workshop was not only to share the experiences but also to evolve a strategy for
up scaling SRI across the state. At the workshop, PSI, its partners and SRI farmers from
Uttarakhand shared their field experiences. Besides, officials from other states briefed about the
strategies they have adopted for SRI promotion in their respective states.
National and international level experts, government officials from rural, agricultural, and
irrigation departments, agricultural university and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs),
representatives from various NGOs, and farmers attended the workshop. The schedule of the
workshop and list of participants present at the workshop are given as Annexures I and II.
The minutes of the State Level Workshop on “Promoting SRI Paddy Cultivation for
Achieving Food Security in Uttarakhand” are presented here.
Introduction
The workshop began with the arrival of Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand, Mr. Indu Kumar
Pandey, the Chief Guest. In the introductory welcome session, Ms. Amita Sharma, Programme
Assistant, PSI, welcomed the Chief Guest at the Workshop. She also welcomed the other
participants to the workshop including Mr. N.S. Napalchayal, Additional Chief Secretary and
Forest and Rural Development Commissioner (FRDC); Professor Norman T. Uphoff,
Programme Leader for Sustainable Rice Systems, Cornell International Institute for Food,
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2. Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), New York; Uttarakhandi SRI farmers; representatives
of partner organizations; agricultural scientists and experts as well as officials from other states.
She also introduced the theme and purpose of the workshop along with a short description of the
workshop objectives and schedule.
PSI’s Experiences on SRI
Immediately after the introductory welcome session, a film on SRI titled “SRI Vidhi:
Kisano Key Liye Vardaan” produced by PSI, was screened. The film broadcasted procedural
aspects of SRI and benefits obtained by different SRI farmers of Uttarakhand.
The film was followed by a presentation on “Upscaling SRI in Uttarakhand’: PSI’s
experiences” by Mr. Debashish Sen, Director, Center for Participatory Watershed Development
(CPWD). In the presentation, Mr. Sen briefed about PSI’s experiences with SRI farmers in
Uttarakhand since 2006. In the initial years, PSI undertook trials and demonstrations and found
SRI to be very effective in enhancing paddy productivity for addressing food security and
livelihood needs of the farming families, and hence it further embarked on a mission to promote
the widespread use of SRI in the mountain farms of the state. He said that in 2008, PSI
formulated a practical strategy for popularizing and promoting SRI among at least 10,000
farmers in Uttarakhand and sought funds from Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Mumbai. The Agriculture
Directorate, Government of Uttarakhand (GoU) also came forward to support the above cause.
In 2008 kharif, PSI conducted training workshops for 11,377 farmers with the help of
trained master trainers from 30 partner organizations. Of these, 8,996 adopted SRI in 181 ha of
paddy lands across all the districts of the state. Crop cutting exercises conducted in the presence
of outside agricultural experts to compare SRI fields with the conventional methods showed an
average increase of 65 per cent and 41 per cent in grain and straw yields respectively. Debashish
said that SRI farmers have expressed immense satisfaction with the perceived benefits of saving
seed, water, physical labour and increased grain and straw yields.
Giving an outline of the paddy scenario in Uttarakhand such as total cultivable area,
productivity and the state’s position in paddy producing states in the country, he emphasized that
upscaling of SRI in the state could play a major role in fulfilling the foodgrain requirements of
the projected population of the state.
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3. Farmers’ Experiences on SRI
PSI’s presentation was followed by sharing of experiences by Uttarakhandi farmers and
PSI’s partner organizations. The farmers who spoke on the occasion include Mr. Rikeshwar
Prasad, a farmer from Doni (Megadhar), Tehri Garhwal and Ms. Meena Devi of village Pathuli,
Rudraprayag.
Mr. Rikeshwar Prasad spoke about the various benefits of SRI method such as seed
saving, water saving, less disease occurrence, less lodging, better grain quality, increase grain
and straw yield etc. In 2006, when he adopted SRI method in half a nali of land, the yield
doubled from 25 kg to almost 50 kg. He has subsequently adapted SRI in 4 nalis of land.
According to him, in 2008 about 1044 farmers in his block had planted paddy using the SRI
method. He said that now he had completely stopped using chemical fertilizers and applies only
organic manure preparations such as Panchgavya, Amrit Ghol and Matka Khad. He said that the
SRI method ought to be followed by all the paddy growing states to help double foodgrain
production. He, however, said that the government should provide support in terms of improved
equipment and quality manure to motivate the farming communities to adopt SRI.
Sharing her experiences at the workshop, Ms. Meena Devi of village Pathuli
(Rudraprayag) said that initially 10-12 women of her village were mobilized to carry out this
activity, who have now gradually increased the area under SRI to almost 15 nalis over a period
of three years. Initially, people expressed their skepticism at the appearance of the freshly
transplanted fields with 10-12 days’ old seedlings. However, following the weeder operations
and application of organic manure, a large number of tillers were produced changing the mindset
of the farmers. She termed the method as “highly productive, time-saving, water-saving, and
seed saving”. She further said that at present there is no government support system for farmers,
especially poor and marginal farmers who are practicing SRI. She made a special request to the
government officials for not only providing seeds and organic preparations but also to help fix a
premium price for the SRI produce to actively promote SRI across the state.
Other farmers and representatives of partner organizations expressed their satisfaction
and further made commitments to upscale SRI and enhance its spread to the nook and corner of
the state in the coming seasons.
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4. Experiences from Other Countries
In the next session, a presentation on “Experiences from other countries” was given by
Professor Norman T. Uphoff, Programme Leader for Sustainable Rice Systems, Cornell
International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), New York. Professor
Uphoff at first congratulated PSI for successfully conducting research on application of the SRI
method on other crops such as wheat, mandua and rajma in Uttarakhand. He clarified that SRI
was not a technique but “a set of few ideas”. Prof. Uphoff briefly explained the six principles of
SRI and their benefits. He also compared the Green Revolution and SRI method. According to
him, the Green Revolution focused on genetic potential and external inputs. It had financial and
environmental costs and now the productivity levels are almost stagnant. In SRI, the focus is on
creating a healthy environment (involving plants, soil, water and nutrients) for a better
phenotype. He emphasised that better roots results into successful plants.
Prof. Uphoff informed the workshop participants about the international experiences of
SRI promotion. He said that currently SRI has been adopted in as many as 34 countries
worldwide and narrated the experiences from Nepal, North Korea, Burkina Faso, Timbuktu
(Mali), Zambia, Cuba, China, Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan,
Iraq and Iran. He said that the governments in these countries have also started taking active
interest in promoting SRI there. He said that in India, SRI method is being followed in altogether
220 districts out of a total of 564 paddy districts in the country and the state governments
particularly need to assist in upscaling efforts to spread SRI method to the nook and corner of the
different states.
At the end of his presentation, Prof. Uphoff said that farmers should be encouraged to
continuously innovate and adapt SRI.
Viewpoints of Officials
The session “Experiences from other countries”, was followed by the Chief Guest’s
address. Chief Secretary Mr. Indu Kumar Pandey, said that it had been a learning experience for
him, to know about a new method of paddy cultivation, i.e., System of Rice Intensification
(SRI). He said that the discussions that had been organized in the interest of Uttarakhand’s food
security were highly appreciable. He said that the farmers have shared a direct first-hand
experience at the workshop and the SRI experiment had been a successful one. He said that like
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5. all good things, SRI needs to be propagated extensively to cover as many farmers as possible. In
this endeavour there can be no better method than agriculture exposure and it is here that the
existing SRI farmers should play an active role and shoulder responsibility in guiding
neighbourhood farmers who are new to SRI. He said that after having successfully experimented
SRI, the Uttarakhand farmers now need to collectively work towards its extension to increase the
coverage area under SRI in the state. He said that under SRI cultivation, the consumption of
water and other inputs is less than with other practices, and hence it is extremely suitable for
small and marginal land holdings. He also suggested application of SRI method on other crops.
Mr. Pandey said that paddy productivity level in Uttarakhand is very low. With SRI,
productivity level of about 5-6 tons per hectare has so far been achieved as compared to paddy
yields of 11 tons per hectare witnessed in other states. Through the SRI method, it might take
some time before the figure of 10 tons per hectare is achieved but farmers in Uttarakhand who
have made a beginning can and should surely make efforts to raise their paddy productivity
levels to about 6 - 7 tons per hectare. Mr. Pandey said that it was only through crop
intensification that problems of low productivity in farming in the state can be combated.
Mr. Pandey further said that measures such as SRI were required especially in view of the
gradual decline in the cultivable land in the hill state due to growing pressures of urbanization
and industrialization. He said there is an impending need for the farmers to adopt interventions
that can enhance the productivity and are easily adaptable. He said that equipments need to be
modified so that women could easily use them. He said that the Pantnagar Agricultural
University in the state would be asked to conduct the required experiments to improve the SRI
method and equipment and the principle of “lab-to-land” would be applied to ensure transfer of
improved practices to the farmers in the state.
Mr. Pandey’s address was followed by an address by Mr. N.S. Napalchayal, Additional
Chief Secretary and Forest and Rural Development Commissioner (FRDC). In his address, Mr.
Napalchayal complimented PSI’s endeavour in promoting and popularizing SRI in the mountain
farms of Uttarakhand. He said that the workshop sessions had provided in-depth information
about the SRI method and its experiences from other countries. He said that SRI and its
application to other crops such as wheat has a great potential in Uttarakhand. The research
institutions and Agriculture University in the state should undertake further research to improve
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6. the method. The agriculture department should be able to provide seed and equipments to the
farmers. Hence convergence of SRI with other government programmes and schemes is
desirable and would be pursued. The farmers themselves need to innovate and should therefore
be encouraged. Mr. Napalchayal said that the state should move forward from “SRI Vidhi” to
SRI Vriddhi”. He invited PSI for a collaborative effort with Uttarakhand Institute of Rural
Development (UIRD) for conducting SRI training sessions in order to promote the SRI
programme in the state of Uttarakhand,
At the end of the session, Dr. Ravi Chopra, Director, PSI said that the Institute’s
experiments in undertaking intensification in wheat (System of Wheat Intensification-SWI)
were the first of their kind and the results hold good promise for the future. Dr. Chopra said that
similarly, PSI’s experiments in intensification of other crops show that their productivity can be
doubled. He said that if farmers get proper institutional and financial support, then crop
intensification can make Uttarakhand a food-secure state. On the occasion, he also thanked all
the workshop participants including Professor Uphoff and his wife, Mr. Kishan Rao, the officials
from other states, PSI’s partner organizations and farmers for extending tremendous help and
assistance for the programme. Dr. Chopra’s address was followed by a Tea break.
Experiences from Other States
The post-tea session on “Experiences from other states”, at the workshop, invited
speakers from other states for narrating experiences of extending SRI practices in their respective
states. Officials from other states like Tripura and Bihar briefed the participants about the
strategies they have evolved to promote SRI in their states.
Mr. Anil Kumar Verma of PRADAN briefed about how SRI is being promoted as an
important livelihood activity under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Programme, in the state. The
SRI programme is being promoted with the help of skilled extension workers under whom there
are village resource persons for guiding the farmers. The village resource persons undergo
training in three phases. The Bihar government has set a target of covering 1 lakh hectare under
SRI. At present there are about 2500 farmers who have adopted SRI in their farmlands.
Innovative practices such as mobile nurseries, integration with Dhaincha crop, etc. are also being
tried out for promoting SRI in the state.
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7. The second speaker of the session was Dr. Baharul Islam Majumdar, Senior Agronomist,
State Agricultural Research Station, Agartala (Tripura), who has been the chief architect of the
success of extending SRI in the entire state of Tripura. He briefly explained the steps adopted by
the state government to work along with Panchayati Raj Institutions for large scale adoption of
SRI in Tripura. The SRI initiative got started in Tripura with the objective of meeting the state’s
foodgrain shortfall. Staring with 44 farmers in 2002-03, the area coverage under SRI has gone up
from 8.8 ha to 50,000 ha (2,50,000 farmers) in 2008-09. The programme is being undertaken as a
mass movement with emphasis on awareness cum training programmes and incentives for SRI
farmers. An incentive of Rs. 4,500/ha is being provided to SRI farmers (for a minimum area of
0.2 ha) for seed, fertilizers, organic manure, bio-fertilizers, nursery materials and contingency
expenditure. He also mentioned that with expansion of SRI, the average yield level is reducing
which needs to be monitored and attended to.
Mr. Majumdar said that the Tripura state government had now set a target to bring at
least 20 per cent of the total cultivable area under paddy under SRI by 2008-09. He said that the
Orissa government has also set a target of establishing one SRI demonstration village in every
district of the state. He said that similar targets need to be established by Utt arakhand, on similar
lines as in the principally SRI states such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Orissa.
At the end of the session, Mr. D.K. Jain, Ex. Chief Engineer, Irrigation from Roorkee
shared his SRI experiments with sugarcane and paddy crops. Dr. P. S. Bisht, Professor
Agronomy, GB Pant University of Agriculture, Pantnagar, U.Singh Nagar also shared the results
of the experiments being conducted by the University on SRI.
The Way Forward
During the last session of the workshop “Policy and Programme Implications: Open
Discussions”, discussions were initiated on setting up targets for upscaling SRI in the state and
developing mechanisms for achieving the same. During the discussions, farmers, voluntary
organizations, subject matter specialists and government officials deliberated on various policy
and programme implications.
The workshop delegates brought the participants’ attention to the future scenario of
projected population rise and the consequent paddy demand for the year 2050. In 2050, about
250 million tons of paddy would be required to meet the demand of a projected population of
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8. about 1.6 billion people. Going by the present annual paddy production trend of about 145
million tons, an additional production of about 2.5 million tons of paddy every year will have to
be brought about to effectively meet the demand at 2050 level. Debashish pointed out that
Uttarakhand ranked 15th in terms of paddy productivity among the paddy growing states of the
country. In view of the plans of the Centre as well as the Uttarakhand state government to raise
the productivity in the years to come, SRI method has assumed added importance. Most
participants laid emphasis on setting of a target in Uttarakhand as has been done in the case of
Tripura, if the objective of upscaling SRI in the state is to be achieved. Participants further
suggested strategies for scaling up SRI and also discussed future plans for extension of the
system across the state.
Mr. Nautiyal from NABARD, Dehradun said that the area coverage under SRI needs to
be increased for which extensive demonstrations needed to be carried out. He suggested that
NABARD’s scheme for ‘capacity building for transfer of technology’ could be used for the
purpose. He further proposed that two villages that have been adapted by NABARD in each
district of the state will now be taken up for demonstration of SRI.
Mr. Sadan Misra, Himalaya Trust, Bageshwar emphasized that extensive information
dissemination and training was required for upscaling of SRI. He suggested that there should be
one master trainer for every 2-3 villages. The master trainer should preferably be a woman SHG
member, who would be able to mobilize the other members. Other representatives from partner
organizations of PSI, e.g. HIFEED, PNVS, GRASS, HWS etc. emphasized on the need of
providing timely training and field support to the SRI farmers. Therefore, they suggested of
enhancing the number of master trainers to about one master trainer for every 50-100 farmers.
Mr. Sadan Misra recommended application of SRI method on vegetables and pulses. Mr.
Avtar Singh Negi, MVDA, Tehri Garhwal suggested that unirrigated/rainfed areas should also be
considered for SRI promotion and trials should be done on crops like wheat, mustard and
soyabean. Mr. Prahlad Koshiyari, KSS, shared his experiences with trials on rajma and mandua
with 40-50 per cent increase in grain yields. He further recommended application of SRI method
on similar crops.
Mr. B.P. Bamola, GMVS, Chamoli said that the agriculture department had to play a pro-
active role in promoting SRI now when its success has been successfully demonstrated. He also
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9. suggested that alternatives for manure like Panchgavya, Amritghol and Matka Khad should be
sought for as lot of farmers face difficulties in procuring the ingredients for the recommended
manures. Mr. Ramesh Pahari, Journalist, ANIKET said that the agriculture department should
consider providing subsidy for liquid manures like Panchgavya, Amritghol and Matka Khad
when it can provide subsidy for fertilizers and pesticides. These manures could be prepared at a
centralized location in the village and then distributed to the concerned farmers.
Master trainers from partner organizations of PSI, said that exposure visit of farmers in
different stages of the crop is very effective in motivating them to adopt SRI. They further
suggested adopting the saturation concept (covering all the households of a village where SRI
has been demonstrated) in the coming seasons for upscaling of SRI. The master trainers also said
that adequate and quality markers and weeders are required. They suggested design
modifications in the equipment according to the local conditions and requested the agriculture
department to create awareness regarding SRI through TV and newspapers, and further provide
50 per cent subsidy for the SRI equipment.
Farmers present in the workshop also made commitments of further upscaling SRI
through increased coverage and mobilizing fellow farmers to adopt SRI in their villages and
neighbouring areas. They further requested the state government to provide support in the form
of seed, manure and equipment to encourage the farming communities to adopt SRI. The Chief
Agriculture Officer from Bageshwar agreed with the above opinion of subsidizing equipment
and also informed the workshop participants that the agriculture department has decided to
depute one person for each Nyay Panchayat, whose assistance could be sought for
demonstrations on SRI. The Assistant Director, Agriculture Department, Chamoli assured the
support of agriculture department for promotion of SRI in future.
At the end of the session, Mr. Kishan Rao, consultant WASSAN and a progressive
farmer from Andhra Pradesh said that the farmers should not be insisted to follow all the
principles of SRI. Trained master trainers should encourage the farmers to adapt SRI according
to the local conditions. Two principles however need to be strictly followed, i.e. transplanting of
younger seedlings and non-flooding of paddy lands. He suggested training 1-2 women in every
village for making liquid manure. Framers should be encouraged not to use urea and DAP when
so much of biomass is available in the villages of Uttarakhand. For application of SRI in
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10. unirrrigated lands, he suggested use of biomass (e.g. green manure) so that enough soil moisture
is there for healthy plant growth. He also suggested alternatives for preparation of different
liquid manures.
Thus in the session, the participants emphasized on various institutional and financial
supports required for upscaling SRI in the state. In additions, continued research work was
suggested for improvement in package of practices and tools, besides building a stake-holder’s
network and convergence of different programme.
In the “Concluding Session” of the State Level Workshop on “Promoting SRI Paddy
Cultivation for Achieving Food Security in Uttarakhand”, Mr. Pradyut Mukherjee of SDTT,
Mumbai said that the Trust’s one year old programme of SRI in Uttarakhand had yielded
encouraging results, which needs to be closely monitored while upscaling. The upscaling
strategy had to be carefully worked out in consultation with the stakeholders. The possibility of
convergence of different programmes and linkages with line departments (like irrigation, animal
husbandry, etc.) should also be looked into. He informed that the Trust was starting a new
initiative ‘Diversion based irrigation’ which would further strengthen the SRI initiative. At the
end, he suggested that the basic principles of SRI can probably be applied to all crops and
therefore adaptations should be tried out.
Prof. Uphoff cautioned that though flexibility should be provided to farmers for adapting
SRI, there should be no compromise with any of the principles. One can go for compromise on
practices but not on principles. Farmers therefore need to be made aware of the benefits of each
principle of SRI.
At the end of the workshop Dr. Ravi Chopra encouraged the participants (be it farmers,
NGOs, master trainers, scientists, officials, etc.) to make innovations in their fields for
contributing towards upscaling of SRI. He said that the goal should be to attain total food
security in the state i.e. no household should be below the poverty line, and SRI could definitely
provide the solution. He once again congratulated PSI’s team for its efforts towards promoting
SRI in the state and concluded with a vote of thanks to all.
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