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To: SRI-RICE-L@cornell.edu (SRI-UPDATE-L)
From: Norman Uphof
Subject: SRI-RICE-L #10 (March 11, 2007)

Dear SRI-RICE-L subscriber,

This is the tenth in the SRI UPDATE series sent out occasionally throughout the year. Additional information on subscribing to SRI discussion groups in other countries can be found at http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/listservs/

The numbered listing of sections below provides an overview of the contents of this Update, to let you know what items are included. To subscribe to the update-only SRI announcement list, instead of this discussion list, see http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/listservs/index.html#update.)

-Norman Uphoff
for CIIFAD SRI Group
++++++++++++++++

1. Nine Seasons of Results Reported from Indonesia
2. Iraq is 27th Country to Report SRI Benefits with Adaptations
3. Bhutan is 28th Country to Document SRI Performance
4. Proposal Submitted to Gates Foundation to Expand Marketing Opportunities
5. Report on SRI Performance at 2300 Meters in Nepal
6. Nutritional Values of SRI Rice Being Assessed - More Evaluations Needed
7. SRI Considered in the Context of Genetic Modification Debate
8. Articles Invited for Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
9. SRI Mentioned by Indian Water Resources Minister for Inclusion in New Water Management Schemes

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1. NINE SEASONS OF RESULTS REPORTED FROM INDONESIA - AVERAGE YIELD BENEFIT OF 3.3 T/HA FOR >12,000 COMPARISON TRIALS
Shuichi Sato, Nippon Koei team leader for the Decentralized Irrigation Systems Improvement Project in Eastern Indonesia, has sent in cumulative results from 9 cropping seasons (2002-2006). The data set includes 12,133 on-farm comparisons covering a total SRI area of 9,429 ha in Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi provinces where DISIMP operates. Tables are posted on the Indonesia SRI page: http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/indonesia/indodsimpdata06.xls.

Average SRI paddy yields for this period within the DISIMP service area were 7.61 t/ha, compared to 4.27 t/ha using standard practices. The average SRI increase of 3.3 t/ha represents a 78% average increase. Average dry season SRI yields were 7.77 t/ha vs. 4.57 t/ha (total SRI area: 4,313.7 t/ha with 5,423 farmers); wet season SRI yields were 7.43 t/ha vs. 4.04 t/ha (5,059.1 ha under SRI, with 6,577 farmers managing them).

The total paddy production increase attributable to SRI methods 2002-2006 was 30,931 tons (3.3 t/ha x 9,373 ha). At $120/ton, this represents an addition of $3.7 million to farmers' income. Since farmers' costs of production are reduced with SRI (by an average of 25%), this is all net income, and farmers' net benefit from SRI was considerably more. See calculation of cost reduction in a 2006 paper (http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/indonesia/wwfindosato06.pdf), which reporting that the increased yield was achieved with a 50% reduction in fertilizer use. For more Indonesia news, see item 4 below

2. IRAQ IS 27TH COUNTRY TO REPORT SRI BENEFITS WITH ADAPTATIONS
Dr. Khidir Hameed at Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station near Najaf in S. Iraq has reported on SRI adaptation studied in 2006 (http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/iraq/iraqhameedrpt06.pdf). Because labor scarcity makes transplanting difficult in this country, a "parachute planting method" has been introduced, throwing young seedlings onto a shallow-puddled field, where they establish themselves without being pushed into the soil.

The average yield increase across all trials was only slightly positive, but this included trials where yields were constrained by improper nursery management, lack of water control, and high water salinity. Where SRI elements were conjoined effectively, yield increases of 20-26% were achieved with reduction in water requirements, important in this area. SRI concepts have led researchers to pay more attention to use of organic matter, instead of relying entirely on chemical fertilizer, with promising results. Researchers plan to establish committees in all rice-growing provinces of Iraq for further SRI trials and demonstrations in 2007.

3. BHUTAN IS 28TH COUNTRY TO DOCUMENT SRI PERFORMANCE
After conducting replicated trials of SRI methods at three locations in Kanglung district (1800m elevation), Karma Lhendup (Sherubtse College, Royal University of Bhutan) has sent in a report on the results ( with pictures -- http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/bhutan/bhlhendup06px.pdf ; without pictures: http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/bhutan/bhlhendup06nopx.pdf). Only some SRI methods were used in these initial trials -- young seedlings (3-leaf stage), single seedlings, wide spacing (30x30 cm gave better performance than 20x20 cm), and reduced water application (no flooding). There was no evaluation of organic soil fertilization (standard chemical fertilizer applications were made), and no active soil aeration (only hand weeding, not using a rotary hoe).

The average yield increase comparing replicated plot results was 0.65 t/ha, significant at the .05 level of confidence. Profuse increase in tillering was observed, and farmers were impressed with plant growth and cost-saving opportunities (http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/bhutan/bhfieldday1006.pdf). The results have evoked interest in further evaluations and demonstrations in other parts of the country (http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/bhutan/bhrnrexpo06.pdf).

4. PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO GATES FOUNDATION TO EXPAND MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SRI FARMERS
A concept paper prepared by Olivia Vent and Norman Uphoff, submitted last summer to the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation, was one of 47 (out of >1,300 submitted) invited to submit a full proposal. This was submitted January 22, based on cooperation among CIIFAD, acting on behalf of the wider SRI network; Lotus Foods, a company based in San Francisco that imports specialty rices from China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and other countries for sale in US stores; and two SRI farmer-producer networks in Cambodia and Madagascar, assisted by CEDAC and the National Federation of Koloharenas, respectively.

Under the project, Lotus Foods will help SRI partners develop international markets for organically-grown local varieties of rice, starting in the US. It is planned to develop one SRI rice product each from Cambodia and Madagascar, with a third rice product to be developed from a third country based on likely demand for and assurable supply of a popular local variety. CIIFAD will manage several studies to improve "value chains" generally to benefit SRI farmers, while partners strengthen "backward linkages" for assured supply and quality that will make SRI adoption more attractive and remunerative for farmers. Knowledge will also be generated and shared among partners to assist them in developing national market opportunities for SRI rice.

Lotus Foods expects to pursue development of SRI product lines whether or not the Gates Foundation funds this project; however, these efforts can be greater, quicker and more systematic if we have this assistance. Already in the area around Bandung, Indonesia, >3,000 SRI farmers are marketing organic SRI rice for a 60% premium in local markets, as consumers are becoming wary of the high use of agrochemicals in rice production there and SRI rice is considered to have superior qualities. This effort is supported by a regional training center of Indonesia's Department of Irrigation (PU), which has been training thousands of farmers in SRI methods since 2005. The Department of Agriculture's Directorate of Land Management has recently inaugurated and funded a training program for farmers to produce "organic SRI" in 39 districts across 14 provinces across Indonesia.

5. REPORT ON SRI PERFORMANCE AT 2300 METERS ELEVATION IN NEPAL
Chris Evans, who helped get SRI started in Nepal in 2001, has sent the most recent issue of the Himalayan Permaculture Group's "Newsletter and Progress Report" for June-December 2006. This contains a report from work of the Permaculture Group in Humla region in the Far West of Nepal (http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/countries/nepal/nepatanewsletter.pdf).

A farmer-cooperator Manjit Tanata planted two plots of SRI rice on his farm at 2300 m elevation, it reports. After one month, he became anxious about the slow growth of the SRI plants, so he replanted one of the plots with conventional methods. However, Manjit found that his SRI plot eventually outperformed the replanted plot and all other rice plots in the area. "[Manjit] says next year he will plant more land using SRI principles and will teach other farmers how to do the same." (p. 4) There also a picture (p. 12) of the SRI rice of Shyam Shrestha, who represented Nepal at the first international SRI conference in Sanya, China in 2002.

6. NUTRITIONAL VALUES OF SRI RICE BEGINNING TO BE ASSESSED -- MORE EVALUATIONS ARE NEEDED
Dr. Madhu Nair in the Soil Survey Laboratory of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in Bangalore has communicated some preliminary results from nutrition analysis of SRI rice, showing SRI grains having as much as 25% higher nitrogen content, indicative of a higher protein level. These comparisons were done with standardized methods and controls, so more systematic and controlled analyses need to be done before any conclusions are drawn and any claims are made. Nair has asked whether others in the SRI network can undertake their own evaluations of nutritional value of SRI rice: whole grain, husked grain, and/or polished grain.

SRI grains are usually heavier (weight in grams per 1,000 grains) without being evidently larger, indicating higher grain density. This is consistent with the observation that SRI paddy usually gives higher milling outturn, by about 15%, due in part to less grain shattering. Grain size should be measured along with weight, to assess density, in addition to nutritional content. Nutritional analyses should include all relevant minerals. Where SRI has been grown organically, analyses may also assess chemical residues since these levels reflect on the health value of grains.

We would encourage colleagues throughout the SRI network to try to get comparative nutritional analyses done, under as precise and controlled circumstances as possible, and to report them to ntu1@cornell.edu for compiling and reporting of results. We are looking forward to a report later this year from the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, India, planned under the ongoing WWF-sponsored evaluation of SRI in Andhra Pradesh state.

7. SRI IS CONSIDERED IN THE CONTEXT OF GENETIC MODIFICATION DEBATE
An article by Norman Uphoff on SRI, Agroecological alternatives: Capitalising on existing genetic potentials, has been published in a special issue of the JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (Vol. 43, No. 1, January 2007), This is a paper originally prepared for a conference held at Cornell in November 2004 on "Genetic Modification and the Poor."

8. ARTICLES INVITED FOR JOURNAL OF FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
We have received an email from the editors of this journal (JFAE) inviting submission of articles for publication. All articles to be published must go through the journal's peer-review process and gain acceptance by the editors, but we can expect an objective evaluation. JFAE covers most of SRI's subject areas. If anyone preparing a manuscript would like it reviewed by colleagues in the SRI network for feedback before submission, we will be glad to assist in such internal peer review which should strengthen the article for external review. This offer holds for articles written for submission to any other journals. This is an entirely voluntary process, but even done on an informal basis, it may improve our communication of SRI experience and findings to others.

9. SRI MENTIONED BY INDIAN WATER RESOURCES MINISTER FOR INCLUSION IN NEW WATER MANAGEMENT SCHEMES
According to a recent article in the Hindustan Times about the problematic water situation in parts of India, the country's Water Resources Minister Saif-u-Din Soz "described the prevailing water situation in the country as 'very bad', requiring effective management. The basic idea behind launching the new schemes [described in the article] is to make the latest agricultural techniques available to the farmers. These techniques include the system of rice intensification technology which needed less quantity of seeds and in turn saves water and enhances production."
(http://www.hindustantimes.in/news/181_1945215,000900010001.htm).