SRI International Network and Resources Center

NEPAL SRI ARCHIVES (1998-2015)

Overview of SRI in Nepal	Reports and Articles	SRI-Nepal Discussions
Progress / Activities ('16-'20)	Evaluations / Research	PowerPoints
Activity Archives ('98-'15)	Practical Information	Photo Collection

Activity Archives 1998-2015

(for more recent information, see main Nepal page)

2015

• New National SRI Network for Nepal Organized at Knowledge-Sharing Event in Lalitpur

  [July 2015] A meeting for sharing knowledge on SRI and organizing a new National SRI Network for Nepal was held on June 19, 2015, at the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) Hall, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), in Khumaltar, Lalitpur. (An earlier SRI-Nepal network organized in 2002 was no longer active). The program was chaired by Bhola Man Singh Basnet and convened by Ram B. Khadka. The chief guest was Neeru Dahal Pandey, Director, Directorate of Agriculture Extension, Department of Agriculture. Presentations by Ram B. Khadka (see ppt) Rajendra Uprety, and Kem Raj Dahal (see ppt) were followed by technical sessions, general discussion, addresses by senior officials, and a plan for convening a national SRI Network in Nepal.

  Structure of the new network: The Secretariat office will be at the NARI Building in the Socio-economic and Agricultural Policy Research Division (SARPOD), NARC. Khem Raj Dahal was selected as the network coordinator. The executive committee consists of the coordinator and 12 members who represent government extension and technical personnel, universities, national and international research centers, and the private sector. A seven-member advisory board, comprised of senior officials, was also selected. The Network plans to have trimonthly meetings and organize the First National SRI Conference for March 2016. Information-sharing will be done by e-mail group and social media (see item directly below). The network members will mobilize themselves to undertake demonstrations, trials and trainings, identify issues related to the low adoption of SRI, and propose required policy changes in research, extension, education and at the ministry level. All were in agreement that advocacy is necessary to change the government policy in favor of SRI in research, teaching, and extension; a meeting with the Parliamentary Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee is planned for November. Field visits will be organized for people holding positions at the policy level to make them convinced of the fact that SRI is the best alternative to increase rice production. A meeting with executors of the upcoming Mega Rice Mission program will be undertaken to identify how SRI technology can be incorporated in the Mission. Dr. Bhola Man Singh Basnet, chair person, noted in the closing speech that the meeting was very helpful to understand the new progress in SRI in Nepal and will hopefully create a new momentum in SRI research, advocacy and promotion. (See workshop report for details).

• Nepal SRI Network Gets New Facebook Page and Twitter Account

  [June/July 2015] The newly (re)forming Nepal SRI Network has a new Facebook page and twitter account! Please check out the facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/NepalSRINetwork. Those who are interested can "like" the page to keep up with progress on SRI efforts throughout Nepal. The network's twitter account is located at https://twitter.com/nepalSRI/.

• Farmers in Morang and Sunsari Combine SRI and Mechanization

  According to an article by Sonia Awale in the Nepali Times, combining SRI with mechanization and setting up farmers’ cooperatives boosts productivity, creates jobs and empowers women. If scaled up to the national level, Nepal could even export rice again. "We are aiming at a paradigm shift in the way we do agriculture,” said Birendra Basnet, founder of Buddha Air whose interest in farming led him to set up Nepal Krishi Company which now helps four cooperatives in Sunsari and Morang to upgrade management and mechanize agriculture. Using power tillers to level fields, transplanters for seeding, weeders and harvesters makes SRI even more viable by saving time and cutting waste. SRI plants 10-day old seedlings one row at a time so that weeders can be used. The seedlings are stacked in trays at the back of the machine which plants them over 1.5 hectares land in one hour, a job that would have earlier taken 25 people two days to do. The article explains that while Nepal’s average rice production is 2.8 tons/hectare, mechanized SRI in cooperatives here yield up to 9 tons/hectare, using half the amount of seeds and slashing costs. But even with this, farmers cannot compete with cheap Indian rice, so Nepal Krishi Company is moving into premium Basmati varieties. (See YouTube video of the mechanized transplanter.)

• Nepal Represented at Southeast Asia Regional SRI Conference

  [May 28, 2015] Ram Bahadur Khadka (at far right) made a presentation at the Southeast Asia Regional Conference on SRI, which was held at the TH Hotel in Alor Setar, Malaysia, May 26-28, 2015. He also participated in the pre-conference event on Rice IPM: Workshop on Agroecological Dynamics in Rice Management, and side events on the developing of the global SRI Equipment Community and the Global SRI Research Network. The workshop was preceded by a May 24 meeting of participants from the on-going SRI Arsenic Project, which includes researchers from Nepal as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. (See more on the multi-country arsenic study that Nepal is involved in.)

2014

• Delegation from Nepal Attends SRI Equipment Workshop in Bangkok

  [November 10, 2014] A Nepali contingent attended the Workshop on Smallholder Crop Production Equipment for SRI, held November 1-3, 2014, at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Pathumthani, Thailand. Rajendra Uprety and Ram Bahadur Khadka, who both made presentations, were among 60 participants from 12 countries who attended the event. (See presentations). They presented posters the 4th International Rice Congress and Workshop (October 27-31) and attended The Workshop on Building Alliances around SRI and Agro-Ecology (October 26-27), both of which were held in Bangkok, Thailand.

• Women's Groups Implement SRI in Western Nepal Region

  [October 14, 2014] The System of Rice Intensification is being implemented by women entrepreneurs, mainly in Mukundapur village. According to an article in the press, three women’s groups, Kalika, Shreejana and Chetana, have been using SRI in their collective farming with two types of paddy: Gorakhnath and Sabitri. The latter group is receiving technical support from the Agriculture and Forest University, Rampur, Chitwan. The farmers have constituted a common fund with the money they have earned from selling their produce which provides loans to farmers’ groups.

  Sahamati, a non-government organization in Gaidakot, and Oxfam Nepal, have been providing support to the farmers by providing them improved paddy seeds and organizing them into groups. The farmers transplant 10-day-old paddy saplings at intervals of 25 cm, applying fertilizers 15 days later, and weed three times before the harvest. Encouraged by the high production at lower cost, many farmers are reported to have expanded cultivation to a large plot of land. Karuna Sagar Subedi, advisor of Sahamati Gaidakot, said the technology could provide respite from the problem of food shortages since it gives high yields. He noted, that while it is necessary to weed the fields several times with SRI, the farmers have been attracted towards it as it saves time and effort. [See e-Kantipur article.]

2013

• Video about SRI in Nepal Highlights SRI Farmers in Far Western Nepal's Kailali District

  [May 2013] A video on SRI in Nepal was produced by Flooded Cellar Productions in partnership with SRI-Rice during May 2013. A long version (12:29 min.) and a short version (4:54 min) is now available on YouTube. The video covers the SRI experiences of several farmers and researchers in the Kailali district of Far Western Nepal. More information about the development of SRI in the Kailali district can be found a recent article, Food security in floodprone areas, written by Ram B. Khadka and Ranjana Rawal and published in the March 2013 edition of LEISA India magazine.

• SRI/SWI Articles by Nepali Authors Appear in Global and Regional LEISA Editions

  SRI/SWI in Nepal appeared in several articles in AgriCultures Network magazines in the first months of 2013. In addition to Khadka and Rawal's article mentioned above that appeared in the March LEISA India edition devoted to SRI, Khadka also coauthored a Chinese language article with Norman Uphoff on SRI in LEISA China. An article by Rajendra Uprety, Hybridizing technology: The case of rice farming in Nepal, appeared on May 8 in Landscape for People, Food and Nature blog. Uprety also wrote an article about Learning from farmers that appeared in the recent Farming Matters edition on SRI and several of its regional editions in Chinese and in Spanish.

• Eight-day-old Seedlings Planted at 25x25 cm2 Spacing Give Best Results in Far Western Nepal Experiments
  

  An article by Khem Dahal and Ram Khadka in the Nepal Journal of Science and Technology provides the results of on-farm experiments conducted to assess the performance of rice (var. Sabitri) cultivated with SRI methods during 2010 with Farmers' Field Schools (FFS) in four VDCs of Kailali, far western Nepal. The experiments, which included seedlings of various ages (8, 15, 22 and 29-days) and planting geometry (15x15 cm2, 20x20 cm2, 25x25 cm2 and 30x30 cm2), measured number of tillers per hill, effective tillers per m2, 1000 seed weight (TGW) and grain yield. Results showed that 8-days-old seedlings produced significantly higher number of tillers per hill (40) and effective tillers per m2 (373), higher 1000 seed weight (21.10 g), grain yield (7.8ton/ha), net return (Rs.71900/ha) and B:C ratio (1.594). Planting geometry of 25x25 cm2 produced significantly higher number of tillers per hill (36), effective tillers per m2 (328), higher 1000 grain weight (21.50 g), grain yield (8.54mt/ha), net return (Rs.83350/ha) and B:C ratio (1.84). (See Dahal and Khadka article; for location of Kailali district see map.)

2012

• SRI Prioritized as Food Security Intervention by Nepali Ministry

  On January 3, 2012, a SRI-Nepal group post included information from Ram Bahadur Khadka that "the Ministry of Local Development has directed all its local bodies (village development committees and district development committees) to allocate at least 15% of the development budget in agriculture sector. They have prioritized the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as an important intervention for food security in Nepal. This is one of the great achievements of our advocacy campaign for SRI conducted in last year."

• System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) Trials Undertaken in 2011-2012 in Central Nepal

  The System of Wheat Intensification, an adaptation of SRI principles to wheat, was tried out in 2011- 2012 by the Integrated Crop and Water Management Program (ICWMP) Farmer Field School (FSS) in Sindhuli District (left) in Central Nepal. Trials (4mx1m) undertaken at 397 masl with the wheat variety Bhirkuti compared SWI methods with the traditional broadcast as well as in line plantings. The SWI plots were sown at 20x20 cm spacing, hand-weeded and provided with irrigation provided during CRI and tillering stage. In SWI, the tiller numbers and plant height was found to be higher (25 and 61.4 cm, respectively) compared to the conventional broadcast wheat (2.6 and 57.8 cm) and in line sown wheat (3.4 and 60 cm). Yields converted to t/ha were 6.5 for SWI, 5.0 for in line and 3.7 for broadcast.

2011 Updates

• SWI Shows Great Potential in 2010-2011 Trials in Far Western Nepal
  

  SWI has been evaluated since 2010 in four districts of Far Western Nepal by the NGOs Mercy Corps Nepal and FAYA-Nepal. The 2010 trials, undertaken by farmers in their own fields in the districts of Dadeldhura, Doti, Baitadi and Kailali, compared the yield from SWI with yield from traditional practice. Mercy Corps Nepal adopted its Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework and "Farming as A Business" (FAAB) intervention modality for commercial orientation while FAYA-Nepal conducted demonstration trainings for testing this technology. The results indicated that the average grain yield increased by 91 to 100 percent with adoption of SWI technology compared to traditional practice.

  Farmers who participated in the PAR and demonstration trainings were willing to adopt SWI, given that the yield is increased significantly to meet their household level food security. The slideshow at right shows SWI photos from Kailali and Doti districts. Since seed priming, line sowing, gap filling and weeding are some tedious tasks required to perform in SWI, introduction and use of simple tools for seed sowing and weeding are recommended for ensuring wider adoption of SWI in this region. Results have shown that increased yield through complete SWI techniques can ensure food availability for an extra six months for a typical six-member household with average land holdings. The study concluded that SWI could significantly improve food security of poor, marginal and landless farmers of Far Western Region where wheat is a major food item. For more information, see report.
  
  

• Field Visit by Political Leaders to SRI Field in Kailali District

  On July 9-10, 2011, a high-level mission from two major political parties and members of the Constituent Assembly in Nepal made a visit to Kailali District in the far west of the country to view SRI fields. The delegation included Devendra Poudel, a Politburo member of the United Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), and Garima Shaha, a Central Committee Member of the Nepal Communist Party (United Marxism and Leninism) as well as Rabindra Adhikari, Lila Bhandari, Ramesh Lekhak, and Hari Roka, members of Constituent Assembly.

  The mission visited SRI fields (left) and discussed with farmers at Darakh, Ramsikharjhala and Khailad Village Development Committees (VDCs) on the first day, and participated in a district-level interaction programme at Dhangadhi on the second day. The delegation leaders pledged to the stakeholders and farmers participating in the meeting to have a national policy for disseminating SRI methods all around the country. (See report for additional comments and follow up proposed by participating officials). Various reports included a paper on SRI activities and achievements in the western Terai presented by programme coordinator of EUFF project (also with NGO FAYA-Nepal), Ram Bahadur Khadka, who also inaugurated his book, System of Crop Intensification:Experience and Practice on SRI and SWI Technique (cover shown at right), during the event.

• SRI Training in Panchthar District

  A three-day SRI training program, organized by the District Agricultural Development Office (DADO) for Panchthar, was facilitated by Rajendra Uprety together with DADO Jhapa and DADO Panchthar staff on June 24-26, 2011, in Phidim.

  Twenty-five farmers from five village development committees participated in the training, which included two days of classes followed by an SRI transplanting day in the field (shown at right). Participants were motivated by a video and a picture of an SRI plant from Uprety's own garden (left), exhibiting the great tillering possibilities from a single rice seed.

• Season-Long Officer-Level Training of Trainers (TOT) on IPM FFS Focuses on SRI Method

  The Plant Protection Directorate/Department of Agriculture and FAO/EU Food Facility project held a season-long officer level training of trainers (TOT) in Chitwan, Nepal. The training began on March 29, 2011, and continued through the harvest of crop. Thirty participants from all over Nepal participated, including 28 from Department of Agriculture (different district agriculture development offices/regional agriculture training centers/Quarantine and laboratories) and 2 from Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Rampur. This training was facilitated by senior IPM FFS trainers, Rajendra Uprety and several other subject matter specialists. (See report).

• Numerous SRI Trainings Facilitated by Rajendra Uprety in Jhapa District

  During March and April, 2011, Senior Agriculture Development Officer of DADO Jhapa, Mr. Rajendra Uprety, facilitated SRI trainings throughout the Jhapa district. A March 17 training of 28 farmers with the Prithibinagar Village Development Committee (VDC) was followed by an April 4 transplanting training with 45 farmers from 13 farmers groups. SRI transplanting training was conducted on March 21 with 36 farmers from different farmers groups in the Jalthal VDC.

  The District Agriculture Development Office Jhapa organized a training and discussion meeting involving five VDCs at the Agriculture Wholesale Market, Birtamod on Friday, March 4, 2011. The event (right) included 32 participants from the village development committees - Sanischare, Arjundhara, Anarmani, Garamani and Charpane. SRI booklets and posters were distributed among participants, who were anxious to learn more about SRI and try out the rotary weeders for weed control. Some of the participants who had been using hybrid rice seed reported that some of the SRI practices (younger seedlings, single transplanting and wider spacing) were similar to those used in hybrid rice cultivation. At the end of the training, participants using hybrid seed hoped that by using SRI methods they will be able produce high yields expected with hybrids, but without the hybrid seed, which costs ten times more than non-hybrid seed (NRs. 400-500/kg for hybrid seed; NRs. 40-50 for non-hybrid seed). Several participants reported they will try SRI in both the spring season and the upcoming main season.

   

• Training of Trainers on SRI and Integrated Pest Management Held in Lalitpur District under EU/FAO Auspices

  The Plant Protection Directorate (Department of Agriculture/Nepal) and EU/FAO Food Security project jointly organized a 4-day Officer-Level Training Curriculum Development Workshop on SRI and IPM in the Emergency Rehabilitation and Coordination Unit (ERCU) of FAO in Lalitpur, on February 8-11, 2011. (Click on photo at left to enlarge view of the group). The workshop prepared and finalized curriculum for training of trainers (TOT) for promotion of SRI and vegetable integrated pest management (IPM) through Farmer Field Schools (FFS). The workshop was inaugurated by the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Vijaya K. Mallik, and the opening session has chaired by the IPM national coordinator and program director, Dr. Yubak Dhoj, GC. PPD. (see page 3 of the Nepal 2011 report for details).
  
  

• SRI Training and Program Development in Khotang District

  An SRI orientation was held in Diktel, Khotang District, on January 3-4, 2011. The program was organized by the NGO Janasewa Samaj Khotang, facilitated by Rajendra Uprety, and supported by the Rural Access Program II (funded by Swiss Development Cooperation). The meeting, which included many stakeholders (at right), was held to prepare a plan of introducing SRI in the district in order to increase production of rice. The 38 participants decided to commence SRI in lowland areas in April 2011, with Dil Bahadur Rai, Janasewa Samaj Nepal, working as district coordinator for SRI promotion. The SRI promotion will also stress local seeds preservation, and marketing, as well as increased income through SRI. Thirty-five rotary weeders are to be distributed and 35 demo plots were planned for different areas of the district. The possibility of the Centre for Rural Technology (CRT) getting involved in producing sturdy, low-priced weeders was also investigated. A number of other tasks were distributed among government groups, NGOs, political parties, journalists, and others (see report for details).

• Booklet, Poster and Weeder Distribution Help Scale Up SRI Activity

  The EU/FAO Food Security project recently published an SRI poster (left) in both Nepali and English languages, and a corresponding booklet (right) for wide distribution within the country. (Note: Click on the poster to see the larger version. Click again on the image that appears to further enlarge the poster. The booklet corresponding to the cover page at right is not yet online).

  At the same time, about 700 rotary weeders have been imported from India by the EU/FAO Food Security project, DADO Jhapa and DADO Okhaldhunga and NGOs of Khotang to scale up SRI activity in targeted areas in Nepal.

2010

• Mechanization of SRI in Nepal Reported at 3rd International Rice Congress

  Rajendra Uprety, now with DADO Jhapa, presented a paper on the mechanization trials being conducted in Morang district with support from Buddha Air at the 3rd International Rice Congress held in Hanoi, Vietnam, November 8-12. The farmers who cooperated in the evaluation were already experienced with SRI and adapted their practices for mechanical land preparation, transplanting, weeding and harvesting. Combining SRI with mechanization gave 55% higher yields than conventional cultivation, with 27% reduction in costs of cultivation. Both the amount of labor inputs and the time for operations were substantially reduced. This shows that there are good possibilities for reducing the labor requirements for SRI cultivation where labor shortages are a constraint on SRI adoption.

• Agriculture Students Visit SRI Farmer Field School in Western Nepal

  During August 2010, agriculture students of the Bashudevi Higher Secondary School in Dhangadhi, Kailali District, visited an SRI farmer field school which was established earlier in the year by the Forum for Awareness and Youth Activity in Nepal (FAYA-Nepal) under the European Union Food Facility Project with the collaboration of FAO (described below). The facilitators of the field school, Gyan Bahadur Chaudhary and Arjun Chaudhary, provided details about the farmer field school activities and the two research trials designed to evaluate the different varieties' performance and the effects of crop geometry. Instructor Ram B. Khadka helped students to compare the difference in root development and tillering between the SRI and traditional methods of cultivation. They found remarkable differences in both root length and tiller number between SRI methods (up to 127 tillers in the variety Surju #52) and traditional methods of cultivation. During the visit, the students were also acquainted with the weeder machines developed by Usha Martin, India.

• Initiation of SRI Demonstration in Remote Mountainous District of Mid-Western Region at 2100 masl

  A demonstration plot 35 m2 was established in July 2010 at Dunai VDC Ward no. 5, Mehelsera settlement, in Dolpa district of the Karnali zone. The land was provided by Mina Shahi and Khima Kumari Shahi, who are managing the demonstration themselves. They are receiving technical support from Sharad Pandey, who works in the Dunai district office of Development Project Service Centre. DEPROSC is an NGO with a variety of rural development projects across Nepal.

  Seedlings of the variety Chandhannath-1 were transplanted (as seen at right) singly and at 25x25 cm2 spacing at the 3-leaf stage (26 days). Because of the high elevation (2100 masl) and low temperatures, seedling growth in Dunai area is slow. (See also earlier reports by others of rice cultivation at 2300 and 2500 masl). Normal transplanting age in the area is 55-60 days, and most varieties take 160 days after transplanting to mature. The nursery was solarized for 13 days before sowing. The seeds, which were soaked for 2 days, sprouted in 1 day, and were subsequently sown into a warmed nursery bed.

  Sharad Pandey previously did thesis research on SRI methods for his master’s degree in agronomy from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) at Rampur in Chitwan. His thesis assessed the effects of different weed control methods using two rice cultivars grown under System of Rice Intensification (SRI) management methods.

• SRI Demonstration Plot is Established in Kailali District

  A local NGO, "Forum for Awareness and Youth Activity Nepal" (FAYA-Nepal) took the initiative to introduce SRI practices to the rural rice growers in Kailali district. The demonstration plot of area around 500 m2 was established in Bhajani VDC in association with the European Union food facility project. The project was funded by the EU and implemented by FAYA-Nepal in close collaboration with the UN/FAO. Ram Bdr Khadk, programme coordinator and agriculture scientist, is responsible the technical aspects of the demonstration plot, which is visited regularly by numerous farmers from distant VDCs in the district.

  Twenty-five leader farmers from three neighboring VDCs participated in the training. Nine-day-old rice seedlings were transplanted on April 28, 2010, with SRI expert Rajendra Uprety (shown at right) in attendance. These farmers will get together in the demonstration field during at least three important crop stages to learn more about SRI, develop a better understanding of the crop agroecosystem and discuss the problems encountered with those who have substantial SRI experience. (see Khadka report).

2009

• Two Master's Theses on SRI Completed at Tribhuvan University

  Two master's theses were completed at Thribhuvan University during 2009. Keshav Bahadur Karki produced a thesis entitled Productivity and economic viability of rice under different planting pattern and age of seedlings through System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Sharad Pandey completed his work on the Effect of weed control methods on rice cultivars under the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
  
  

• Training Program at Rupandehi District

  Postgraduate students Sharad Pandey and Narayan Kafle at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (IAAS), Tribhuvan University, Rampur, Chitwan served as resource persons for a training program organized in cooperation with WorldVision International/Nepal and Sunaulo Bihani Society Development Center during May 22-23, 2009. Thirty-six farmers (right), four each from 9 wards in the Khaduwa Bangai Village Development Committee (VDC) area, participated in the program. This combination of University, NGO and local organization involvement with interested farmers is exemplary for SRI evaluation and dissemination. (Click on photo at right to enlarge).

  A follow-up training to demonstrate transplanting rice seedlings using SRI techniques was held on July 4, 2009 (see photo at left).

2008

• SRI Methods Successful at 2500 Meters above Sea Level

  Chris Evans (Appropriate Technology Asia, ATA), who helped get SRI started in Nepal in 2001, reported that Mr. Singha Buddha at ATA’s demonstration and education center in Madana Village Development Committee (VDC) area has successfully used SRI methods at 2500 m altitude in southern Humla district of Nepal.

2006

• Report on SRI Performance at 2300 M

  A Himalayan Permaculture Group’s (HPG) Newsletter and Progress Report for June-December 2006 contains a report from work of the ATA-funded Permaculture Group in Humla region in the Far West of Nepal. A farmer-cooperator Manjit Tanata planted two plots of SRI on his farm at 2300 m elevation, it reports; but after one month he became anxious about the slow growth of the SRI plants, so he replanted one of the plots with conventional methods. He found that the SRI plot eventually out-performed the replanted plot and all other rice plots in the area. “He says next year he will plant more land using SRI principles and will teach other farmers how to do the same.” (p. 4) See also p. 12 for picture of the SRI rice of Shyam Shrestha, who was the Nepal representative at the first international SRI conference in Sanya, China in 2002.

• SRI Program in Morang District Makes Progress

  Following a review of the SRI program in Morang District during November 2006, Norman Uphoff (CIIFAD) and Rajendra Uprety (DADO Morang) made a presentation on SRI progress to the Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems Promotion Trust's 4th international FMIS seminar in Kathmandu, followed by presentations to the Department of Agriculture, the Poverty Alleviation Trust and several other groups in Kathmandu (see report).

  Two things were repeatedly reported by Morang district farmers: (a) Their SRI crops, in addition to giving often doubled yield, are maturing 2, 3, even 4 weeks sooner than when the same variety is grown with 'normal' methods; this saves water, reduces the risks of crop loss, and makes land available for other crop production; and (b) once farmers have acquired experience and skill with SRI methods, the new system of crop management is proving to be labor-saving rather than labor-intensive; saving labor as well as seeds, water and costs of production makes SRI increasingly attractive to farmers.

  A very inexpensive weeding tool was developed by Govinda Dhakal (right) of Indrapura ward 6, Morang district. The weeder costs only about 20 cents to make, and, according to Govinda, reduces the time required for weeding by 60-65% compared to hand weeding. Additional information on this weeder is included in the report mentioned above. (Click on photos to enlarge).

  A meeting was hosted at the District Agricultural Development Office (DADO) in Biratnagar during May, 2006, to discuss possibilities and problems of SRI dissemination in larger areas of Morang and other districts of Nepal. Winrock International, which was represented at the meeting, is planning to expand its collaboration with DADO Morang in addressing several issues, including possible reduction in greenhouse gas emissions with SRI.

2005

• SRI Farmers Produce Twice as Much in Morang District during 2005

  A year-end report and an economic analysis for 2005 have been provided by Mr. Rajendra Uprety. Data indicate that with SRI methods, farmers in Morang district produced about twice as much as much rice as with usual methods in the 2005 main season. Previously these farmers produced 3.1 metric tons of rice on average with conventional methods. The range of SRI production was 2.5 metric tons to 11.0 metric tons, with an average production of 6.3 metric tons by SRI methods. The majority of SRI farmers produced more than 6 metric tons yield, and very few got less than 4 metric tons.

• Successful ICIMOD-Sponsored 2005 PARDYP Project Leads to 15 Village Evaluation in 2005

  Madhav Prasad Dhakal has sent a report on the SRI evaluation done in 2004 and 2005 by the PARDYP (People and Resource Dynamics in Mountain Watersheds of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region) project sponsored by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal. SRI evaluation started with 6 farmers in 2003 and then 24 farmers in the Jhiku Khola Watership in 2004, leading into a 15-village program in 2005 where over 100 farmers participated in SRI Farmer Field Schools.

  The report notes a 40-50% increase in grain yield and 20-25% increase in biomass production, with a 75% reduction in seed requirements and 50-75% less water. They reported 50% less labor for transplanting, and 50-60% less labor for irrigation, with also less use of pesticides. The cost of weeding was 50-60% more, while costs of fertilizer and harvesting remained the same.

  Getting more production with less total costs was considered a clear net benefit with SRI. Farmers also noted that with reduced frequency of irrigation, there were fewer conflicts among irrigation water users, and fewer terrace 'failures' (collapses) caused by stagnant water, both serious problems in hill irrigation systems.

• ICIMOD Hosts a National Workshop on SRI in Kathmandu

  In December, 2005, the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) hosted a national workshop in Kathmandu on SRI, where SRI experience from various institutions was reported: the National Rice Research Program, the National Wheat Research Program (which has also been evaluating SRI since 2000), the National Agricultural Research Council, the Department of Soil Conservation and Water Management, and the District Agricultural Development Officers for Morang, Dhankuta and Dang Districts, as well as the host ICIMOD. Other participants came from the Department of Agriculture and CIMMYT, with nine farmers participating from different programs. (See report and paper.)

• Uprety Hosts Journalists and Government Officials at Morang District SRI sites

  In early August 2005, Mr. Rajendra Uprety from the District Agricultural Development Office in Morang hosted an international correspondent for the BBC, the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, the Ministers of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and two environmental journalists from a Nepali national magazine at the Morang SRI sites (see report). One field that the DG visited had an SRI plant with 119 tillers just 45 days after transplanting (10-day-old seedling).

• SRI Project among Winners of the World Bank’s Nepal Development Marketplace

  During April 2005, an SRI project was among the winners of the World Bank’s Nepal Development Marketplace (NDM), a national competition for innovative ideas to support the development of rural areas. Mr. Rajendra Uprety from the District Agricultural Development Office in Morang in the terai (plains) authored the proposal to promote SRI within his and neighboring districts in the coming season. The project was ranked second among the 20 awardees and received $20,000 to carry out this proposed work. (See http://www.ndm.org.np for details about the competition). The Agriculture Information and Communication Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative/Nepal, will publish 10,000 copies of the NDM project display poster on SRI technology, which will be sent to all District Agriculture Development Offices and other related agriculture offices through AICC/MOAC.

1998-2004

• Initial Trials on SRI Disappointing

  Initial trials of SRI methods in 1998-2001 were not successful, apparently because of the lack of water control possible at Bhairahawa during the monsoon season. It appeared that possibly SRI would not be applicable in Nepal for certain reasons, possibly due to soil or climate. See data reported from Sipaghat and Rupandehi; also more positive findings at Bhairawa.

• National SRI Network Set Up (2002) and National Workshop Held (2003)

  In April 2002, two SRI presentations were made at the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) headquarters in Kathmandu, sponsored by CIMMYT and Winrock International. From this, a national SRI network was set up. The NGO Appropriate Technology Asia (ATA) prepared Nepali language training materials (note: very large file). The Morang District Agricultural Office has also produced Nepali extension material. A national workshop was held in 2003.

• SRI Makes Progress During 2002-2003

  Farmer Field Schools in the Sunsari-Morang irrigation project supported by DFID in the terai (southern plains) of Nepal undertook replicated trials to evaluate SRI compared with recommended modern methods, including fertilizer use, and with farmer practice in 2002. They undertook more thorough evaluations again in 2003 (see report and FFS yield data.) In both years, the SRI averages were over 8 t/ha, while the improved methods were about 6 t/ha and farmer practice around 4 t/ha. These trials, with thorough analysis of components of yield as well as different spacings, water application practices, and varieties, established that SRI can be productive and cost-effective under at least some Nepali conditions. After DFID funding terminated, the project staff formed their own NGO, Multipurpose Development Management Services (MDMS), to continue promotion of SRI and agricultural development in the area. More and more positive results have been reported since 2002, such as in Taruwa, Bardiya district and elsewhere. The most recent report is from the District Agricultural Development Officer in Biratnagar, Morang District.