Upscaling SRI in Orissa State

Dr. Arabinda K. Padhee, IAS

Director of Agriculture and

Food Production, Orissa

. Productivity of Rice in Orissa & All India (in kg./ha)

Year

Total

Cereals Rice

All-India Orissa All-India Orissa

1950-51 522 668 520

1960-61 710 906 1013 986

1970-71 872 847 1123 917

1980-81 1023 865 1336 1026

1990-91 1380 992 1740 1198

2000-01 1626 884 1901 1041

2006-07 1707 1213 2084 1557

2007-08 1854 1344 2203 1712

Government Interventions

• Earlier interventions facilitated by CBOs/NGOs

• Research by OUAT,WTCER,CRRI

• Learning Alliance• NFSM, RKVY, ATMA,

Work Plan Schemes• SRI Villages• SRI in State Agricultural

Policy, 2008

LIMITATIONS– In cases of small holdings of land surrounded by normal

flooded rice fields, it becomes difficult to control water at saturation level.

– Sufficient quantity of organic matter may not be available.

– All the lands may not be perfectly leveled to practice SRI.

– The availability of cono-weeders that are suited to particular soil types is a problem.

– Preparation of the bed before transplanting needs precision.

– It is risky to adopt this method in rainfed areas.– All types of soils may not be suitable to achieve higher

productivity through SRI method

ISSUES • SRI for rainfed areas is needed• Monitoring the nutrient status of rice

in continuous cropping with SRI• Development of low-cost power weeder• Development of low cost transplanter

for SRI planting• Use of chemical fertilizers in SRI

method, even though SRI is perceived bto be an organic system

• The use of herbicide as pre-emergence application and even to substitute for weeding

• Evaluation of rice cultivars of different maturity groups for their suitability

• Direct-seeded vs. transplanted SRI• SRI as an adaptation strategy to

reduce vulnerability to climate change

THANKS