Experiences of Farmers in India Experiences of Farmers in ... - AgSri

Andhra Pradesh
Innovations and modifications
He has been using locally-made markers using rope in place of the mechanical
marker.
Benefits
In place of 12 labourers for transplanting and 12 for weeding in one acre,
which costs Rs.1200/- for wages, SRI cultivation requires only eight labourers
for transplanting and eight for weeding, reducing the cost of cultivation by
Rs.280/.
Narayana was himself able to use the Rotary Weeder for weeding which reduced
dependence on labourers at a crucial stage – due to greater demand for labour
at critical stages, manual weeding increases the cost of cultivation. In some
cases women did weeding with the Rotary Weeder.
Pest incidence was less and he experienced good results with the application of
NSKE solution for the control of Leaf-folder.
With heavy rains, conventional paddy fields were affected by lodging which did
not occur in SRI cultivation.
SRI cultivation has reduced the drudgery on women.
Constraints in adoption
SRI has affected the employment opportunities for agricultural labour due to the
use of the Rotary Weeder.
The quality of the implements is such that they do not last for more than two
seasons.
Lessons learnt
Contrary to the conventional belief that paddy is a water loving crop, Merugu
Narayana is convinced that it grows better under semi-arid conditions with less
water input.
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