EGM on Promoting Empowerment of People in Advancing Poverty Eradication, Social Integration and Decent Work for All

Empowerment of Farmers through ICT:

The case study of SRI

Norman Uphoff Cornell University, USA

UN-ECOSOC, New York, Sept. 10-12, 2012

Case Study: System of Rice Intensification An agroecological innovation from Madagascar more yield with less inputs (less seeds, water, fertilizer, even labor) too good to be true?

SRI developed in 1980s; Association Tefy Saina (1990), collaboration with CIIFAD (from 1994);

CIIFAD was not very persuaded until 1997First demonstrations outside Madagascar were in China, Indonesia (1999-2000); now the merits of SRI have been shown in 51 countries

Ideas and methods

are being extended to other crops: wheat, sugarcane, finger millet, teff, mustard, turmeric, etc. farmer innovation

NEPAL:Single riceplant grownwith SRI methods, Morang district

CUBA: farmer with two plants of same variety (VN 2084) and

same age (52 DAP)

IRAQ: Comparison trials at Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station, Najaf; SRI plots are those on the left

INDONESIA

‘Rice Aplenty in Aceh’

CARITAS NEWSSpring 2009

SRI methods were introduced in Aceh in 2005, after the area had been devastated by a tsunamiNew methods raised local rice yields from 2 t/ha average to 8.5 t/ha: “Using less rice seed, less water and [more] organic compost, farmers in Aceh have quadrupled their crop production.”

AFGHANISTAN: SRI field in Baghlan Province, >1600m,supported by Aga Khan Foundation program, now EU funding

2008:

6 farmers got SRI yields of 10.1 t/ha

vs. 5.4 t/ha regular

2009:

42 farmers got SRI yields of 9.3 t/ha

vs. 5.6 t/ha regular-2nd

year SRI farmers got 13.3 t/ha

vs. 5.6 t/ha

-1st

year SRI farmers got 8.7 t/ha

vs. 5.5 t/ha

2011:

106 farmers got SRI yields of 10.1 t/ha

vs. 5.04 t/ha regular

All with reduced water applications

MALI

–

an SRI nursery in the Timbuktu region –

8-day seedlings are ready for transplanting

SRI transplanting in Timbuktu, Mali

Farmer in Timbuktu region, working with the NGO Africare, showing difference between regular and

SRI rice plants

2007/08:

1 farmer - SRI yield of 8.98

t/ha

2008/09:

60 farmers -9.01

vs. 5.49 t/ha

2009/10:

130 farmers – 7.71

vs. 4.48 t/ha

with 32% less water

Other Benefits from Changes in Practices1.

Water saving

–

major concern in many places, also

now have ‘rainfed’

version with similar results2.

Greater resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

–

less damage from pests and diseases, drought, typhoons, flooding, cold spells [discuss tomorrow]

3.

Shorter crop cycle

–

same varieties are harvested by 1-3 weeks sooner, save water, less crop risk

4.

High milling output

–

by about 15%, due to fewer unfilled grains (less chaff) and fewer broken grains

5.

Reductions in labor requirements

–

widely reported incentive for changing practices in India and China; also, mechanization

is being introduced many places

6.

Reductions in costs of production

–

greater farmer income and profitability, also health benefitsSRI LANKA:

Rice fields 3 weeks after irrigation stopped;

conventionally-grown field on left, and SRI field on right

VIETNAM:Dông Trù

village,

Hanoi province, after typhoon

Conventional field and plant on right;SRI field and plant

on left

Indonesia: Fields affected by both brown planthopper (BPH) and by storm damage (typhoon): rice on left is grown with standard practice; organic SRI

on right

Modern improved variety

(Ciherang) –

no yield

Traditional aromatic variety

(Sintanur)- 8 t/ha

Before 1999:

Madagascar1999:

China, Indonesia2000-01:

Bangladesh, Cuba, Laos, Cambodia, Gambia, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand 2002-03:

Benin, Guinea, Moz., Peru2004-05:

Senegal, Pakistan, Vietnam2006:

Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, Zambia

2007:

Afghanistan, Brazil, Mali 2008:

Rwanda, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Japan 2009: Malaysia, Timor Leste2010:

Kenya, DPRK, Panama, Haiti2011: Colombia, Korea, Taiwan, Tanzania 2012: Burundi, Dominican Republic, Niger, Nigeria, Togo ...

2012: SRI benefits have now been seen in 51 countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America

New farming method boosts food output for India's rural poor

In Ghantadih village in Gaya district, more than half of the 42 farming households have switched to SWI from traditional practices.

Manna Devi, mother of three, was the first woman to use the technique in Bihar state. She says she decided to take a gamble despite jibes from neighbouring farmers who mocked her cultivation methods.

"We were living a hand-to-mouth existence before and we just couldn't manage to eat, let alone put our children through school," she says. "We were only producing about 30 kg of wheat which lasted us four months and we had to take loans, and my husband had also taken a second job as a rickshaw puller in order to make ends meet."

Devi says she now produces about 80 kg of wheat - enough to feed her family for a year – and hopes to start selling extra crop.

Alert Net: Thomson-Reuters Foundation, March 30, 2010

Finger Millet (ragi): Improved variety with SFMI methods on the left; in middle

usual management of improved variety;traditional variety/usual methods on right

ICRISAT-WWF Sugarcane Initiative:

at least 20% more cane yield, with:

•30% reduction

in water, and •25% reduction

in

chemical inputs

“The inspiration for puttingthis package together isfrom the successfulapproach of SRI –

System

of Rice Intensification.”

Use of ICT has been essential for this spread: starting with email

(1997), then

website

(2002) and list-serves

(2007-09) (SICA-America Latina, 2008)

http:sri.ciifad.cornell.edu

--

in 2011-12, 26,818 unique visitors; 123,276 pageviews; website had visits from over 100 countries

--

3.03 pages and 4.23 minutes per visit

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Mendeley Photo Gallery; PPTs (SlideShare)

YouTube listings (>750) -- some videos have been uploaded by farmers

Proliferation of ICT initiatives around world:

CAMBODIA: MAFF SRI Secretariat website established with Oxfam & GTZ support (lapsed)

INDIA: WASSAN website; SRI-India website and e-group (JaiSRI); now SDTT-SRI website

INDONESIA: Ina-SRI website from 2008, e-group currently has 513 members

JAPAN: J-SRI website; meetings, publications MADAGASCAR: Association Tefy Saina website

with Lille-Rotary support; Groupement-SRI website (3 languages) and blog with BUF support

MALI: Africare

blog for SRI introduction NEPAL: Googlegroup

started 2003 (63 members)

Proliferation of ICT initiatives around world:

PHILIPPINES: SRI-Pilipinas network since 2002; email, mobile phone, Yahoo group (180)

VIETNAM: website for national SRI committee maintained by NGO (with Oxfam America support)

WORLD BANK: WBI website on SRI (2010) http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/245848/index.html

with multimedia kits produced in 3 languages AgSRI: SSI (sugarcane intensification) website

is operating in India (www.agsri.com)

Regional initiatives

now for Latin America and Caribbean, and for West Africa –

will use a

variety of ICT means (already IICA program)

Conclusions so far on ICT Opportunities and Limitations for Farmer Empowerment

1. Farmers are becoming more versed

in ICT use

than previously appreciated (Nagipattanam

example) 2. Economics of ICT

are becoming more favorable

3. Mobile phones

are/will be the most widely used ICT among farmers; starting to use ‘smart’

apps

4. ICT is basically an impersonal medium

--

its effectiveness depends on tailoring and personal engagement; need personal knowledge and ‘touch’

5. The volume of ICT communications

is becoming overwhelming --

intense competition for attention

6. ICT can become a ‘time-sink’

for both senders and receivers; need to keep content up-to-date

Conclusions so far on ICT Opportunities and Limitations for Farmer Empowerment

7. The warning ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’

is becoming more relevant; need to improve

the reliability/veracity of web information 8. Big advantage of ICT is the addition of images

(pictures, videos), but these need to be used well 9. With ICT, more than other communication

media, we need to keep mind on your objectives

-- technology can/should not become an end in itself

10. ICT involves more than setting up village kiosks and distributing hardware; there is need to have a

philosophy

of participation/democratization –

or else technology can reinforce hierarchy and control

Picture sent by email to Cornell by a young Indian farmer, Moghanraj

Yadav

in Tamil Nadu, who has now set up own NGO to promote SRI