System of Rice Intensification

COSTA RICA

Progress and Activities	Documents / Pages in Spanish	PowerPoint Presentations
Reports and Articles	Conferences / Workshops	Photo Collection

Progress and Activities

2012 Updates

• EARTH University Follows Up on International SRI Conference with Numerous Projects

  Following the First International Latin American Workshop on SICA, held on the campus of EARTH University in November 2011, freshmen at EARTH began implementing the Sistema de Intensificación del Cultivo del Arroz, (SICA, or, in English -SRI) as part of their field laboratory with very good results. Importantly, the potential to promote the evaluation of SICA methods regionally through EARTH students is great since the current class (2012-2015) includes students from from 26 countries. At right, the students are shown in their SICA plots at the EARTH campus.

  Other efforts SICA efforts that EARTH University is involved in are:

  • Adaptation of SICA to organic production system: Graduation project of Francisco Leiva, a year IV EARTH University student
    
  • Inclusion of SICA in the rice germplasm evaluation by the rice breeding program at Instituto Nacional de Innovacion y Transferencia en Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA)
  • Integrating the use of machinery for planting rice with SICA methods at EARTH's center in La Flor (led by Diddier Moreira)
  • Integration of SICA methods in the study of endophytic fungi inoculation of rice seedlings at EARTH.
  • Beginning development of an IICA-EARTH research project proposal in collaboration Dr. Manuel Sanchez, IICA representative of the Dominican Republic.
    
  • Admission of Eng. Jorge Buitrago Acosta to CATIE. (Acosta attended the International SICA conference and has extensive experience in SICA.He will do his thesis on SICA in collaboration with EARTH).
    
  • Following up on offers from the private sector in Costa Rica and Nicaragua to implement SICA demonstration plots in both countries.  

2011

• First International Latin America Workshop on SRI Held in Costa Rica

  The First International Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean was held at Earth University in Costa Rica on October 31 and November 1, 2011 (see Cornell Chronicle article).

  
    Photos of LAC SRI Workshop - See also album

  The objectives of the workshop were to:

  • Bring to together for the first time SRI practitioners and researchers from Latin American Countries and the Caribbean,
  • Assess the achievements and opportunities of the System of Rice Intensification in Latin America and the Caribbean;
  • Brainstorm potentials and constraints for improving rice production practices in the region; and
  • Develop a plan for the next steps in advancing SRI in Latin America.
  • 
    

  Jointly organized by SRI-Rice (Cornell University), Earth University (Costa Rica), and the Better U Foundation (Los Angeles), 27 participants from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA met to assess achievements of SRI in the region to date. (See workshop page, which contains report, presentations, news article, and program.)

2005

• Mechanized SRI Effort Successful in Northwestern Costa Rica
  [details in Spanish or English]

  The first trials with SRI (SICA in Spanish) were undertaken by Mr. Oscar Montero in northwestern Costa Rica in 2005. Due to a shortage of manpower to transplant, he began by modifying a AP100 Yanmar mechanical transplanter (which was designed to sow between 3 and 5 seedlings) to sow single seedlings at a distance of 22 x 30 cm. Seedbeds are planted with pregerminated seeds sown in planting trays with a substrate that includes a soil additive (EcoMic) and controlled-combustion (not the burnt) rice hulls obtained from the ovens used to dry rice (see details with photos). Ten day old seedling mats are removed from trays, folded and transferred to the field to be planted by the transplanter. After solving the transplanting dilemma through the transplanter modifications and planting tray system, he began to carry out the five basic recommendations for SICA. (Further information: in English or Spanish).

  With virtually no labor force and using marginal rice land with a severe red rice infestation, Montero has, with the application of SICA principles, practically doubled the average national rice yield to 8 tons/ha as of 2008.

  Oscar Montero also traveled to Guatemala to start another "SICA mechanizada" effort. He has been exchanging information with Rena Perez, who spearheads much of the SICA work in Cuba and provides information on SICA in Spanish throughout Latin America.

Reports and General Articles (Costa Rica)

• 2011. First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean. System of Rice Intensification website. December. (25 p., 2.9MB pdf) [For more information, see workshop page]

Articles in Spanish (en español)

• Montero, Oscar. 2005. SICA en El Pedregal, Costa Rica. System of Rice Intensification website.

Workshops

• First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean

  Twenty-seven participants from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA met to assess achievements of SRI in the region to date.(see workshop page, report, presentations and agenda)

  Organized by: SRI-Rice (Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development) and EARTH University with funding from Jim Carrey's Better U Foundation
  Date: October 30 - November 1, 2011
  Venue: EARTH University campus, Costa Rica

PowerPoint Presentations

• 2011. 1) Arroz competitivo:A través del Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo Arrocero (SICA) (SRI) and 2) Sabemos que el SICA funciona. Two PowerPoints by Oscar Montero, Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.
  Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.
• 2011. Estado Actual de la Producción de Arroz en LAC (The State of Rice Production in Latin America and the Caribbean). PowerPoint by
  Luis Pocasangre, Professor of Tropical Crops, EARTH Univeristy – Plant Protection Department (PPD), Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.
• 2011. Arroz en Costa Rica: Investigación y Producción (Rice in Costa Rica: Research and Production), PowerPoint presentation by Roberto Tinoco and Roberto Camacho, Instituto Nacional de Innovacion y Transferencia en Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.

Photo Archive

• The Costa Rica Photo Collection contains pictures obtained from Norman Uphoff and others. They are shown above as a slideshow in the summary section. If you do not have Flash 9 or 10 installed, click here to see individual photos which are made available on Picasaweb. (see also SRI photo collection for all countries).