INTERNATIONAL SRI EVENTS IN THAILAND
October / November, 2014
4th INTERNATIONAL RICE CONGRESS (IRC)
The 4th International Rice Congress (IRC2014) took place October 27- 1 November, 2014, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Bangkok, Thailand. The IRC2014 theme was "Rice for the World", reflecting IRC as the largest regular conference and exhibition of the global rice scientific research community and industry. The event, which included an SRI booth, was organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Kenes MP Asia Pte. Ltd. Six of the 150 oral presentations at the IRC were about SRI. These are listed below along links to the 36 poster presentations that relate to SRI.
SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) BOOTH AT THE IRC
SRI-Rice, Oxfam and SRI Global cosponsored an SRI booth at the IRC. The booth, which was open October 28-31, 2014, in the Exhibition Hall of the
Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre, attracted numerous visitors. Many members of the global SRI community were on hand to answer inquiries from the various IRC participants who stopped by. On hand was a Rice Dragon rotary weeder that was provided by Oxfam's Cambodia office as well as six handouts prepared by SRI-Rice.
Handouts prepared by SRI-Rice and their colleagues available at the SRI booth included the following:
- Studies on SRI management and impacts - Reports from 19 countries. (2p., 469KB pdf)
- SRI's impact for farmers and their families - Reports from around the world. (2p., 462KB pdf)
- The System of Rice Intensification and its impacts on women. (4p., 532KB pdf)
- Scientific research documenting and explaining SRI. (3p., 419KB pdf)
- SRI: Sources of institutional support. (2p., 247KB pdf)
- The System of Rice Intensification (SRI)…... is climate-smart rice production. (2p., 371KB pdf)
POSTERS ABOUT SRI AT THE 4th IRC:
- Thirty-six posters about SRI were presented at the IRC. Of these, 18 can be found online on the SRI-Rice website.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS ABOUT SRI AT THE 4th IRC:
- System of Rice Intensification research: A review (right)
by Erika Styger, SRI-Rice - System of Rice Intensification research in China: Research dynamics, adaptations and innovations,
by Zhoucen Feng and Erika Styger, SRI-Rice - System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in India: Historical antecedents, present dynamics, and future possibilities
by Harro Matt and Rob Schiffer, Wageningen University, Dominic Glover, IDS-Sussex, UK;
and Sabarmatee, Sambhav, Debashish Sen, People’s Science Institute, A. Ravichandran, WASSAN,
and C. Shambu Prasad, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, all India - Assessment of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for its potential to enhance the productivity of rice
by R. Mahender Kumar and colleagues at the Directorate of Rice Research, Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Hyderabad - Improving the phenotypic expression of rice genotypes: Reasons to rethink selection practices and ‘intensification’ for rice production systems
by Norman Uphoff, SRI-Rice; Vasilia Fasoula, University of Georgia, USA; Amir Kassam, University of Reading, UK;
Iswandi Anas, IPB-Bogor, Indonesia; and Amod K. Thakur, Directorate of Water Management, Bhubaneswar, India - User adaptations in water management for rice farmers in Uttarakhand, India: Landscape and farm-level interactions and negotiation
by Debashish Sen, People’s Science Institute, and Harro Maat, Wageningen University
OPEN LETTER TO THE INTERNATIONAL RICE CONGRESS
Participants of the Workshop on Building Alliances for System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Agroecological Innovations authored an open letter to the 4th IRC, which began the day after the close of the workshop. The letter noted why it it is important that the IRC support agro-ecological production methods such as SRI, which can utilize more productively the resources that are available to farmers with positive effects on soil and environmental quality. While the 4th IRC has provided opportunities to share this knowledge and experience, the signatories of the letter registered their hope that the 5th Congress several years from now will give greater attention to agro-ecological practices and opportunities such as SRI given the productivity and sustainability challenges that agriculture faces. The letter is available on the Oxfam website.
WORKSHOP ON BUILDING ALLIANCES FOR SRI AND AGROECOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
The Workshop on Building Alliances for System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) and Agroecological Innovations was held October 27-28, 2014, at the Maple Hotel, Bangna, Bangkok, Thailand. Co-organized by Oxfam and SRI-Rice at Cornell University, the workshop focused on the agro-ecological innovation known as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), developed in Madagascar and now spreading around the world. The workshop directly preceded the International Rice Congress (IRC), which convened October 28-31, 2014. Fifty-one participants from 16 countries and from even more disciplines and professions attended the workshop. An open letter to the IRC encouraging SRI study and promotion was authored by workshop participants. (See summary report; for the full length report, please contact SRI-Rice or Oxfam)
WORKSHOP ON SMALLHOLDER RICE PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT FOR THE SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI)
A Workshop on Small-Scale Rice Production Equipment for SRI was held November 1-3, 2014, at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. Sponsored by SRI-Rice and the Asian Centre of Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (ACISAI), the event was attended by 60 participants from 12 countries.
A field trip to farms associated with the Thailand Weekend Farmers Network included demonstrations of SRI weeders and markers as well as group transplanting using the "dart method" that is gaining popularity with the network farmers throughout Thailand. The workshop report is forthcoming. Nineteen presentations made at the SRI equipment workshop are available on the SRI-Rice website. Contact SRI-Rice for more information.
