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

Preface
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a national phenomenon in India.
Rice-cultivating farmers, particularly those who have less than one hectare of land,
have experimented, refined, adopted and are promoting SRI. It is their hard work
and trust that have spread this unknown method into all rice-growing states. Out of
564 rice-growing districts in India, SRI is being practiced by the farmers in about
216 districts. While many individuals, civil society organizations and government
agencies have played a major role, ultimately it is the farmers who confirmed its
merit by practising it on the ground. This has been now incorporated in the agenda
of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) to improve rice productivity in the
country.
SRI is truly a farmers’ movement. Like any other movement there are leaders,
pioneers and risk-takers. Listening to the farmers and their experiences has been
an important aspect of SRI from the beginning. This book is a small effort to compile
the experiences of those farmers who pioneered the SRI method in their regions.
They experimented in their own way, articulating their point of view on the method.
These articles included in this book provide information on a) SRI can work in many
agro-climatic zones of India b) it can improve yields c) it can reduce water input d) it
can provide more income and e) there is a scope for further improving and refining
it to suit local conditions. The last point is very important. Farmers’ contribution to
the knowledge of SRI is significant and is often ignored. By publishing their views
on SRI, our effort is to help the established research institutes, government-funded
extension organizations, civil societies and aid agencies that are committed to food
security, to come out with solutions and assist farmers in further improving and
promoting SRI.
Some of the case studies are very inspiring and show the determination of
farmers, for example, Anil Changmai from Jorhat district of Assam, tried SRI on his
own after reading about it in the newspapers and listening to the radio. His failure
did not stop his determination to try it again. He tried SRI in 0.48 acre (1.5 bhiga) of
his total 3.7 acres of paddy area that he usually cultivates. His grandmother, who is
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