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An experiment of new method in paddy cultivation

BERHAMPUR: Experimentation of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) cultivation method is on in remote areas of Gajapati district of Orissa.

Taken up for the first time in Orissa, it is an effort to break the old myth that bumper paddy crop needs abundance of water. Initial pilot projects have shown enthusing results. During the current Ravi season which has little rainfall in south Orissa, the SRI method of paddy cultivation is to be taken up by around 150 tribal farmers having non-irrigated fields of medium height, according to Gajapati District Collector D.V. Swami. The reach of this method would surely increase further during next agricultural seasons, he says.

Tribal farmers like Gouri Raita of Gandahati, Gagana Gamang of Lungi, Jhadi Sabar of Nuagarh, who are among the few who have experimented this method say they could produce 40 to 50 quintals of paddy from one acre of land. “It was magic to see paddy could be cultivated without much standing water in field,” they say. There is no need of chemical fertilizers and only two cows are sufficient to generate bio-fertilizer for one acre of field. “We had to make much efforts to change the mindset of tribal peasants related to traditional paddy cultivation as the SRI method is quite unbelievable for them,” says Mr. Swami.

The SRI paddy cultivation needs less water and low expenditure but provides high yield. It is mostly beneficial for small and marginal farmers. It was developed in Madagaskar during 1980’s which is being experimented in different countries, including India.

This method uses one tenth of the seed used in conventional cultivation as it has a fewer plants per unit area. It requires less expenditure on fertilizers, pesticides and bursts the myth that paddy needs deep standing water. Under SRI paddy, fields are never flooded.

They are kept moist during vegetative phase and later presence of water of only one inch depth is sufficient. So, this method requires less than half the water used in traditional form of paddy cultivation.

Mr. Swami has come across the success of this method in adjoining Andhra Pradesh from the agriculture page of The Hindu and initiated the process to implement in this high tribal district.

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