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Progress and Activities

2009 UPATES
Drought-Resistance of Adapted SRI Practices Reported in Sichuan Province

Three articles (in Chinese) in the Sichuan Daily, the Science & Technology Daily, and the Journal of Sichuan Agricultural Science & Technology have been summarized in English by colleagues at China Agricultural University (see English language summary of the articles). These articles report on modified SRI cultivation in Sichuan Province, which is frequently subject to drought and where colleagues have combined SRI principles and practices with raised-bed cultivation and plastic-mulch ground cover, with remarkable results.

SRI methods with these associated land and water management and weed control/water conservation practices were found to give even better increases in yield and profitability in a drought year than in a year with normal rainfall -- >200 kg/mu in a drought year compared with 150-200 kg/mu, increases of more than 3.0 t/ha in a drought season compared with 2.25-3.0 t/ha in a season with normal rainfall.

In economic terms, given SRI's higher yield with lower costs of production, net income in a normal year goes from $220/ha to >$1,500/ha, a very big increase. However, in a drought year, the evaluators found farmers' net income going from a loss of $550/ha with usual cultivation methods, to a profit of $880/ha using this modified SRI system.

2008 UPDATES
• SRI is Spreading in Sichuan Province for "Rice High-Yield Creation"
Dr. Zheng Jiaguo from the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences has provided data from Sichuan province, which has become the leading province in China for SRI utilization. There was almost a doubling of SRI area in 2008 compared with 2007, with also a higher average yield increment from SRI methods (1.7 tons/ha) and an increase in net financial returns from SRI use.

* Compared with the Sichuan provincial average for paddy yield and profitability
** Drought year: SRI yields were relatively better than with conventional methods
Source: Data from Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture.

2007 UPDATES
• SRI in Zhejiang and Sichuan Provinces Now Over 200,000 ha.
Through the efforts of colleagues in the National China Rice Research Institute and the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences working with other research, university and government institutions in their respective provinces, the area under SRI methods in Zhejiang and Sichuan Provinces has reached, according to extension programs, 110,000 and 120,000 hectares, respectively. See trip report by Norman Uphoff for details on the SRI activities in both provinces. There is additional SRI in other provinces such as Jiangsu, Hunan and Guizhou that we do not have information about, and also the 'sister' innovation known as 3-S, developed independently of SRI but similar in most respects, is spreading in Heilungjiong Province in the far north of China (see 3-S presentation as well as 2004 description).

In Zhejiang, one of the most technically 'advanced' townships has 80% SRI already. Two 'stereotypes' about SRI -- that is is only good for small farmers, and that it is too labor-intensive for widespread adoption -- are challenged by the Zhejiang experience where large farmers are the quickest to adopt SRI methods -- in part because they are able to make them labor-saving. (See trip report for more details).

2005 UPDATES:
• 2005 was a very bad season climatically for rice farmers in Eastern China, as three typhoons hit Zhejiang and other provinces in August-September,considerably damaging the summer rice crop. Fortunately, the SRI fields of Nie Fu-qiu (pictured in center of photo at left; click on photo to enlarge), farmer-leader in Bu Tou village, Tian Tai township, withstood the effects of the strong winds and rain while neighboring fields succumbed. His harvested yield was 11.38 t/ha despite the adverse climate, with a grain-set ratio of 93.4%, according to Dr. Lin Xianqing, senior researcher at the China National Rice Research Institute in Hangzhou, who has been monitoring SRI experience in Nie Fu Qu’s village for the past three years.

Nie Fu-qiu (left) has been experimenting with variations of SRI concepts, and with direct-seeding (using a drill of his own design and making) and no-till cultivation methods (see trip report from Uphoff visit to Bu Tou in summer 2005). In two nearby villages, 438 households decided to follow Nie Fu-qiu's example by planting 65 ha of paddy with SRI methods this season. We do not have information on their results yet. (Click on photo to enlarge).

1999-2004:
• At the end of the 2004 main season, the Center for Integrated Agricultural Development (CIAD) at China Agricultural University in Beijing sent a three-person team to evaluate the socio-economic impact of SRI uptake in a village in Sichuan Province where use of the new methods had gone from 7 farmers in 2003 to 398 farmers in 2004, thinking that this rate and kind of adoption of an agricultural innovation warranted investigation and explanation. The evaluation is available in both English and Chinese.

• SRI evaluations began in 1999-2000 after Chinese researchers learned about SRI from an ILEIA article by Justin Rabenandrasana, Association Tefy Saina, in 1999, and seminars by N. Uphoff on SRI at China Agricultural University and Nanjing Agricultural University in December 1998 and at IRRI (Los Baños) in March 1999. Trials were undertaken at Nanjing Agricultural University by Dr. Cao Weixing, the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center by Prof. Yuan Longping, and the China National Rice Research Institute by Dr. Zhu Defeng. A Chinese version of SRI had been developed independently at Northeast Agricultural University by Prof. Jin Xueyong between 1994 and 1999, and it began to spread in Heilungjiong Province about the same time that SRI results were being confirmed at these other institutions, as well as by the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences by Dr. Zheng Jiaguo. Thus there are many centers of activity on SRI in China. For more details, see reports and articles, SRI evaluations, and SRI workshops.

• An international SRI conference was hosted by Prof. Yuan Longping in April 2002, at Sanya, Hainan, co-sponsored by the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center and the China National Rice Research Institute together with CIIFAD and Association Tefy Saina. Many research results on SRI were reported from China and are available in the conference proceedings (Ang et al; Tao et al; Wang et al; Yan; Zhu et al).

• A Chinese variant of SRI, known as 3-S, has been developed by Prof. Jin, in the northern province of Heilungjiong, near Manchuria. This shows that SRI methods can be adapted to very cold environments. Average 3-S yields are 8.5 t/ha, 40% more than the usual yield of 6 t/ha in the area while using less costly inputs. By 2004, 3-S methods, using single, young seedlings, widely spaced, with unflooded soil and compost, were being applied on over 40,000 ha.

• A triangular planting method is proving to be a productive adaptation of SRI concepts. It was developed by Z. B. Liu, manager of the Meishan Seed Farm in Sichuan Province. This adaptation increases plant density by 50% while maintaining the beneficial effects of wide spacing. In 2002, Liu had a yield of 16 t/ha using SRI methods with Super-1 hybrid rice developed by Prof. Yuan. This was certified by the Provincial Department of Agriculture as the highest yield in Sichuan Province. This staggered spacing promotes 'the edge effect' for the whole field.

• Another SRI adaptation in Sichuan is as part of a rice-mushroom cropping system. Mushrooms grown for export have become an important cash crop. However, they require that no agrochemicals are used on the rice crop as these affect the growth of the mushrooms. It turns out that the raised beds used for mushrooms work well for SRI rice, and vice versa, with rice spacing at 40x45 cm. Yields of 9-10 t/ha of SRI summer rice (May-September) alternating with a good mushroom crop from November to April give a good farm income. Also, since straw is needed as organic matter for the mushroom beds, the greater amount of straw produced with SRI methods permits farmers to grow one ha of mushrooms for every 5 ha of rice, instead of one for every 10 ha with usual rice methods.

• A first national SRI workshop was held in March 2003 with a second workshop planned for August 2003, being hosted by the Northeast Agricultural University. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has supported ongoing SRI evaluations by the China National Rice Research Institute, the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, and the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Nanjing Agricultural University has continue doing evaluations since 1999. There are also various Chinese SRI reports available on the web.

Workshops

• China National SRI Workshop
  Organized by China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI)
  Hangzhou, China, March 2-3, 2003
• International Conference on Assessments of the System of Rice Intensification
  Organized by CNHRRDC and CIIFAD
  Sanya, China, April 1-4, 2002

Reports and Articles

• Weijian, Zhang and Jian Liu. System of wheat-rice intensification (SWRI) with conservation farming in Jiangsu Province, China. Centre for Agro-ecology and Farming Systems, and Institute of Yanjiang Agricultural Science. 2p.(pdf)
• Uphoff, Norman. 2007. Report on a visit to China to review SRI progress. Trip report (Aug. 9-18) for the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development. 23 p.
• Uphoff, Norman T. 2005. Report of field visits in Zhejiang and Sichuan Provinces, China. July 28-August 3. Unpublished. 6p.(pdf)
• Jiaguo Zheng et al. 2004. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for super-high yields of rice in the Sichuan Basin, in Fischer, T. et al. New directions for a diverse planet: Proceedings for the 4th International Crop Science Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 26 September - 1 October. www.cropscience.org.au
• Uphoff, Norman T. 2004. Report from SRI China visit. Trip report (Feb. 22-28) for the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development. 13 p.
• Uphoff, Norman T. 2004. Report on visit to China for review of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) activities and progress. Trip report (Aug. 21-Sept. 11) for the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development. 24 p.
• Six Proceedings articles by Yuan; Ang et al; Tao et al; Wang et al; Yan; Zhu et al) presented at the International conference "Assessments of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)," Sanya, China, April 1-4, 2002

Evaluations
See also a recent list of Chinese SRI research articles (compiled by Norman Uphoff during February 2009)

• Xiaoyun, Li, Xu Xiuli, and Li He. 2004. A Socio-Economic Assessment of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI): A Case Study from Xinsheng Village, Jianyang County, Sichuan Province. College of Humanities and Development, China Agricultural University. 13p. (pdf) (see also Chinese version)
• SRI Practice and Adaptability. 2003.
  Zhu Defeng et al, China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI)
  Lu Shihua, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS)
  Jin Xueyong, Northeastern Agricultural University (NAU), Harbin
• Jiaguo Zheng et al. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for Super-high Yields of Rice in the Sichuan Basin, Crop Research Institue, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS), Chengdu, China
• Jiaguo Zheng et al. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for super-high yields of rice in the Sichuan Basin, in Fischer, T. et al (2004). New directions for a diverse planet: Proceedings for the 4th International Crop Science Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 26 September - 1 October 2004. www.cropscience.org.au
• Wang Xuehua and Peng Jiming. 2002. A Comparison between Sysytem of Rice Intensification and conventional cultivation methods Chinese National Hybrid Rice Research and Development
• Shaohua Wang et al. 2001. Growth characterization and high-yield techniques for paddy rice under SRI management, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing