The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : SRI method to deal with erratic monsoon

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SRI method to deal with erratic monsoon

Staff Reporter

Paddy farmers in the State face extreme crop loss due to low rainfall

A myth that paddy cultivation needs standing water is broken by SRI method, says a farmer
The method uses less seed and plants are kept moist during vegetative phase

- Photo: Lingaraj Panda

ALL SMILES: Pravasini Maharana, a farmer of Panibandha village in Ganjam district, proudly shows her healthy paddy field on Friday.

BERHAMPUR: ‘System of Rice Intensification (SRI)’ method of paddy cultivation is proving to be the means to deal with the problem of erratic monsoon.

While paddy farmers in the State face extreme crop loss due to low rainfall and pest menace, the small and marginal farmers in Ganjam district who experimented with the SRI method are confident of a good harvest. With the technical support of the social organization ‘United Artistes’ 1481 marginal farmers of Ganjam, Chatrapur and Beguniapada blocks of Ganjam district had taken up paddy cultivation through SRI method.

Most of them had less than two acres of land under their possession. There were 128 share croppers among them. Most of them have not suffered any crop loss due to low rainfall or pest menace.

D. Anuradha, a woman farmer of Panibandha village said she was expecting better harvest than the conventional method of paddy cultivation although no chemical fertilizer or pesticide was used during the SRI method of cultivation taken up by them.

Showing up the standing crop in her field Prabhasini Moharana said she had never expected she would get a good yield despite the low rainfall. “A great myth in our minds that paddy cultivation needs standing water was broken through SRI method of cultivation”, she said. T.Bhagirathi was confident that he would harvest more than 40 quintals of paddy from one acre land where SRI method was taken up.

According to him the progress of plants shows that they would have higher yield of grain as well as straw. These experimenters totally depended on biofertilisers and bio-pesticides rather opting for chemical counterparts.

Ms Anuradha said this method was beneficial for small and marginal farmers like her.

These farmers feel their success would surely change the mindset of other farmers to believe in the magic of SRI method. This method uses one tenth of the seed used in conventional cultivation as it has 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. During later phases presence of water of only one inch depth is sufficient. This method requires less than half the water used in traditional form of paddy cultivation.

It may be noted that SRI method was developed in Madagaskar during 1980’s. It is now being experimented in India.

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