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Sustainable SRI and Rice Production
In Tamil Nadu, the extreme variation in rainfall had reduced the availability of water to agriculture and caused the groundwater table to fall by 37%. The production of rice, an important crop, had became particularly precarious. A well-designed upscaling strategy boosted and sustained the production of rice; it also helped the build-up of organic matter and improved soil fertility. This experience shows that the System of Rice Intensification offers an attractive opportunity for increasing food production per unit of water and improving efficiency.
The views expressed in this article by the authors are purely personal.
Over the past half century, technical advancements have significantly changed the ecosystem of rice production in India, but rice production has not increased apace with the increases in the population. The shrinking area, declining soil fertility, growing water scarcity, and climatic adversity affected production and food insecurity.
Paddy is believed to be an aquatic crop, and the cultivation field is kept flooded, but submergence suffocates and degrades the roots and drastically reduces production capacity. To achieve more food with less water, there is an urgent need for innovation in production.
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