Title: System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Opportunities for Liberia By: Erika Styger, Director of Programs, SRI-Rice Presented at: Agriculture Coordination Committee (ACC), Ministry of Agriculture, Monrovia, Liberia Date: February 17, 2014

1. System of Rice Intensification (SRI):
Opportunities for Liberia
Erika Styger, SRI-Rice, Cornell University
Presentation to Agriculture Coordination
Committee (ACC), Ministry of Agriculture
February 27, Monrovia, Liberia
Improving and Scaling Up SRI in West Africa Regional Project

2. Improving and Scaling Up
SRI in West Africa
• 1st Phase 3 year regional World Bank funded
commissioned project to increase rice productivity
in 13 ECOWAS countries, as part of the West Africa
Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP), steered
by CORAF/WECARD.
• Regional coordination for implementation:
– Institute Economie Rural (IER) National Center for
Specialization on Rice (CNS-Rice), Mali;
– SRI-Rice Center from Cornell University is principal
technical partner
• January 2014 – December 2016

3. Improving and Scaling Up
SRI in West Africa
• Project developed through participatory process
with representatives from research, extension,
farmers from 13 countries
– First workshop in Ouagadougou July 2012
– Second workshop in Saly, Senegal, July 2013
– Launching of project Porto Novo, Benin, February 2014
• Each country has its own implementation plan.
• Drivers of project: WAAPP coordination, designated
focal points, SRI champions (farmers, technicians)
and associated partners (open platform)

4. Country group and
climate zones

5. Rice cropping systems integrated in SRI West Africa Project
Source AfricaRice, 2010

6. What is SRI?
• The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is
an agro-ecological and climate-smart
methodology
– For increasing the productivity of rice and other
crops
– By changing the management of plants, soil,
water and nutrients, while reducing external
inputs
• SRI provides principles, guidelines and ideas – to be
adapted to local environment
http://sririce.org

7. Main principles of SRI method
1. Healthy early crop establishment
–
Seed selection & treatment, raised bed
nursery, transplanting at young age
1. Reduced competition between plants
–
–
Increased spacing
1 plant / hill
1. Healthy soils, rich in organic matter
– Add manure, compost, green manure, crop residues
1. Aerobic soil management
–
–
Reduced water applications (Alternate wetting and
drying irrigation management)
Mechanical weeder use

8. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
System of Rice Intensification
Early healthy crop
establishment
Leveled uniform soil
Seed selection
Seed treatment
Careful uprooting
Fast transport
Careful planting
Shallow planting
Young plants
Light irrigation
Keep weed free
Mechanical
weeding
PRACTICES
Reduced
competition
Healthy soils, rich in
organic matter
Wide Spacing (25x25 or
more)*
Organic matter
application
before soil preparation
1 plant /hill
Grid pattern
Transplanting
Raised-bed
nursery
Non-dense
seeding
1-2x water/day
METHODOLOGY
Direct
seeding
Mechanical weeding
•
•
•
1-2 seeds/hill
Shallow
seeding
•
Manure
(decomposed)
Compost
Cover crops/ green
manure
Return crop residues
PRINCIPLES
Aerobic soil
management
Create aerobic soil
conditions
Mechanical weeding
Irrigated rice
Alternate wetting and
drying (AWD), allow soil
to dry, 7-10 d irrigation
Rainfed
Keep weed
free
Incorporation
Surface mulching
Bunding of fields, good
field leveling
Light
irrigation
Aerobic soil conditions
High rainfall
- Drainage
Mechanical
weeding
Low rainfall
• Surface mulch
Single seedling
* In red: most common SRI practices

9. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
System of Rice Intensification
Healthy early Crop
establishment
Reduced
competition
Climate zones
Arid
Semi-arid
Semi-humid
Humid
Upland systems
Practices
Lowland systems
Practices
Irrigated systems
Practices
Others: Mangroves, deep water rice etc.
Practices
Healthy soils, rich in
organic matter
METHODOLOGY
PRINCIPLES
PRACTICES
Aerobic soil
management

10. SRI practices for irrigated rice
1. Single plant /hill
2. Transplant young
seedlings (2 leaf stage)
3. Adopt wide spacing planted in a grid
4. Minimum water
application during
vegetative growth
5. Use mechanical weeder
6. Use organic amendments
as base fertilization

11. SRI practices induce a
phenotypical change in rice
SRI
Conventional
SRI
Conventional
SRI
Conventional
in IRAQ’s Al-Mishkhab Research Center, Najaf: SRI on left, Non-SRI on the right

12. Physiological and morphological changes of
SRI plants
Non-SRI
SRI
•
•
•
•
•
SRI
Tillers are thicker (+38%)
Plants are higher (+24%)
More tillers/hill (+100%)
Similar/more # tillers/m2
Greater canopy angle (33° vs 18°)
Non SRI
Thakur, A.K et al (2011) Effects for rice plant morphology and physiology of water and associated
mgt practices of SRI and their implications for crop performance, PAWE 9:13-24

13. • Roots are deeper, longer, double the volume and
weight/ hill
Non SRI - flooded
conditions
SRI – AWD
Thiyagarajan et al. (2009) Principles and Practices of SRI in Tamil Nadu
Thakur, A.K et al (2011) Effects for rice plant morphology and physiology of water and associated
mgt practices of SRI and their implications for crop performance, PAWE 9:13-24

14. Yield performance
• More/similar number
of panicles/ m2
• Longer panicles
(+20%)
• More grains/panicle
• Fewer empty grains
• 1000 grain weight is
heavier
Non-SRI
Non-SRI
SRI
SRI
----- Increased Yields (often >50%)

15. 2014
2012: SRI benefits have now been seen in
>50 countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Before 1999: Madagascar
1999: China, Indonesia
2000-01: Bangladesh, Cuba, Laos,
Cambodia, Gambia, India, Nepal,
Myanmar, Philippines, Sierra Leone,
Sri Lanka, Thailand
2002-03: Benin, Guinea, Moz., Peru
2004-05: Senegal, Pakistan, Vietnam
2006: Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Iran,
Iraq, Zambia
2007: Afghanistan, Brazil, Mali
2008: Rwanda, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Japan
2009: Malaysia, Timor Leste
2010: Kenya, DPRK, Panama, Haiti
2011: Colombia, Korea, Taiwan,
Tanzania
2012: Burundi, Dominican Republic,
Niger, Nigeria, Togo

16. CON 3.6 t/ha SRI 9.5 t/ha
CON 5.6 t/ha
CON 6.5 t/ha
SRI 9.5 t/ha
Tropical Climate, Medium Altitude:
Bhutan
Tropical Savanna
Climate, Cuba
CON: 1.8 t/ha
CON: 5.5 t/ha
SRI 4.0 t/ha
SRI 9.1 t/ha
Arid Climate, Mali
Tropical Climate, Low Altitude
Cambodia – Rainfed SRI
SRI 9.3 t/ha
High Altitude,
semi-arid climate
(1700m)
Afghanistan

17. Summary of Benefits
•
•
•
•
Yield Increase: often >50%
Water savings: 30-50%
Seed reduction: > 90%
Chemical fertilizer
reduction: 20-40% (to
100% = organic SRI)
• Improved tolerance
towards pests and
diseases
Mali
– Pesticide reduction
http://sririce.org
Sheath blight disease

18. Summary of Benefits
• Shorter crop cycle (1-2
weeks)
• Improved drought
tolerance
• Improve resistance to
strong winds
• Costs/ha (reduction by
30%)
• Income increase/ha:
+30-100%
http://sririce.org
After typhoon in Vietnam
SRI
Non-SRI
Improved drought
resistance, India

19. System of Rice Intensification
in Liberia
CHAP farm, 0.3 ha SRI, 39 days after
transplanting, Nerica L19, Feb 2014

20. First SRI plot in Liberia, Dec 2012
by Community of Hope Agriculture
Project (CHAP) Paynesville, Monrovia
First SRI test by Robert Bimba

21. Start up of SRI WAAPP Liberia
Program
• First training of trainers (TOT) in December 2013,
with 77 trainees
• Focal point: CHAP,
Robert Bimba
• Workplan for 2014
approved
• Champions establish
trial plots (at least 5 so far)
• Integration of SRI
into current rice
initiatives
• CHAP to pilot SRI in River Gee, Grand Gedeh
• Technical capacity development: TOTs

22. Press coverage of TOT

23. SRI in Liberia 2014
SRI Fields (1/3 ha) at CHAP, Paynesville
Feb 24, 2014
Samuel Bimba, CHAPS
39 days after
transplanting
(rows are closing)
-
-
Nerica L19
1 seedling/hill, 2
leave stage
25cm x 25cm
spacing
No fertilization (rich
soil)
Hand weeding,
rotary weeder
Alternate wetting
and drying

24. SRI in Liberia 2014
1st SRI Trial at CARI Research Station,
Suakoko, Bong County
Feb 25, 2014
Trial management:
Amis Cecilia Merchant,
Rennie Kollieyoun (left)
- Nerica L19
- Tillering per hill
~ doubled (20)
- Panicles longer
- Plants more
vigorous
- 7kg seed/ha
• 1 seedling/hill, 10 days old
• 30cm x 40 cm spacing
• 1.25t/ha manure, 12
kg/ha urea
• Alternate wetting & drying
• Hand weeding

25. SRI Opportunities for Liberia
• SRI methodology can improve rice
productivity for any variety (traditional and
improved) and with locally available resources
• SRI is farmer-driven and knowledge-based
approach
– SRI was introduced to Liberia through farmers
– SRI can be directly applied with farmers
– Immediate learning with and from farmers creates
fast and relevant results!
– Good technical training needed

26. SRI Opportunities for Liberia
High quality seed
production by farmers
• 1 plant/hill eliminates danger of
mixing varieties
• Purification of seeds /reconstruction
of varieties
• Best plants selected by farmers for
seeds
Individual mother plants
Cambodia
Individual panicle harvest and selection
for seed
• Only 6kg/ha of seeds required
• Multiplication factor for seed
production:
SRI x 1000 (6kg seeds - 6t/ha
yield)Example: 1kg seed, in Year 3: 167,000
ha Traditional x 100 (30kg/ha seeds - 3t/ha
yield), Example: 1kg seed, in Year 3: 333 ha
Cambodia

27. SRI Opportunities for Liberia
Reduced water application to rice –
Creating aerobic soil conditions
• Rice grows better in non-flooded conditions,
alternate wetting and drying
– Roots can breath and develop, support plant growth
and grain filling ( higher yields)
– Diminishes iron-toxicity
– Hypothesis: Reduction of vector breeding for
Schistosomiasis through periodic drying of fields and
canals
• Irrigation infrastructure to be designed for adding
water when needed and for drainage, not for
flooding

28. SRI Opportunities for Liberia
Improved soil and water management
• For water-logged soils
– Improve drainage
– Create permanent raised beds
• Create year-round water availability
– Plant rice in dry season
– Apply new techniques like lock-lodge ratooning
• Avoid heavy soil preparation
–
–
–
–
Move towards conservation agriculture practices
Improve soil through organic matter addition
Save on expensive mechanization costs
Allow for crop rotation

29. Thank You!
Contact Erika Styger: eds8@cornell.edu
http://sririce.org
SRI Liberia Focal Point: Robert Bimba
+231-886543735
robertbimba@yahoo.com
SRI Trial at CARI Research
Station, Suakoko, Bong
County, Feb 25 2014

30. Lock-Lodge Rice Ratooning
Lock Lodging
Line-planted
Stubble (15-20
mandays / ha)
Example of soil too wet.
Ethylene not absorbed. Very
poor re-growth
1st Ratoon Crop
10 Days Re-growth
This photo shows soil too dry &
crop too mature for good
ratooning)
2nd Ratoon Crop...
Yield for Ratoon is
60-120 % of 1st Crop
NOTES:
• When ratooning the soil should be damp
to allow moisture for re-growth, but avoid
dry cracked soil, or standing water.
Correct moisture content allows ethylene
(produced at lodging) to maximise basal
tillering & the plant to re-grow. Level
Fields are important.
• Flood as normal once ratoon shoots
appear after 6-10 days
• Apply 2 split Nitrogen top-dressings, less
P/K
• Harvest at 80% maturity,
• Can repeat ratoon several times
30 Days Regrowth
(Harvest 76 Days after
Ratooning)
Details at PRASAC-Takeo Tel: 032 931 241
Less Labour, No Seed, No Replanting, 80-90 Days to