1. Minutes
SDTT - SRI PARTNERS’ MEET
Hotel Aketa, Dehradun
22-24 February 2011
A three day National Level Meet of SDTT SRI Partners was organized at Hotel Aketa,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, from 22nd to 24th February 2011. The meet witnessed active
participation of 71 participants from the Government, NGO, Civil Society organizations
and several other notable persons working in the development sector. The meet was
supported by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and Allied Trusts, Mumbai and organized
by the SRI Secretariat (Livolink Foundation), Bhubaneswar and Peoples Science
Institute (PSI), Dehradun. During the course of the three days, the first two days
comprised of in-house discussions at Dehradun and on the final day a field exposure
visit was organized to a project area of Haridwar Block.
The objective of organising this meeting at Dehradun was to share experiences of
promoting SRI from different parts of India. This meeting presented an opportunity to
chalk out ideas aiming towards meaningful attempt by NGO partners working for
promotion and greater adoption of SRI. It also aimed at application of the same SRI
principles to other important crops for ensuring food security. Additionally, this platform
necessitated contextual review of current activities under the project at the national level.
Representatives of partner-NGOs working under the SDTT-SRI programme were invited
to share their experiences on SRI in their respective areas and thus facilitate greater
cross learning. This event helped partners discuss about constraints in programme
implementation and finding out probable solutions. PowerPoint presentations, group
discussions, short films on SRI were the mode of deliberations in this two day meeting.
NGO partners also exhibited a wide range of teaching and learning materials like training
manuals, booklets, pamphlets, posters, implements and machineries etc. for information
dissemination on SRI in a small display-exhibition co-currently being displayed in the
Somerset Hall of Hotel Aketa, Dehradun.
Day 1
Inauguration and Welcome
An overview of the SDTT SRI programme along with core objectives of organizing this
meet was provided by the SRI Secretariat. Dr Ravi Chopra, Director-PSI, Dehradun
chaired the inaugural session of the meeting.
Overall experience of SDTT SRI Program
Mr M. Biswanath Sinha, Senior Programme Officer, SDTT & AT, Mumbai provided a
broad overview of experiences from the SRI programme initiated by Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust and Allied Trusts. While mentioning about all the collaborations made in the SRI
programme with various State governments, Jharkhand has made notable strides. He
also cited collaborations in research on SRI being made with Bidhan Chandra Krishi

2. Vishwavidyalaya (BCKV), Kalyani amongst others. Mr Sinha emphasized on the need to
incorporate SRI in programmes of various Government agencies. He provided details of
the geographical outreach and state-wise farmer coverage in the SRI programme. It was
worth mentioning that in the plains, expansion could be made possible rapidly in
comparison to hilly or mountainous regions. Intensifying crop productivity by applying
SRI principles to other major crops has also been a distinct feature of this programme.
He also highlighted on the fact that small and lesser known NGOs were successful in
promoting SRI and also in leveraging funds from NABARD.
Learnings of NABARD SRI Programme
Mr Sanjiv Dhameja from the NABARD Regional Office, Dehradun, provided an overview
of NABARDs intervention on SRI. The role of NABARD has been to broad-base the SRI
methodology and creation of volunteers for the spread of SRI at the grassroot level. As
of now NABARD has initiated SRI in 14 states of the country covering an area of 28,000
hectares. The two dedicated funds available for the purpose are the Farmers
Technology Transfer Fund (FFTF) for enabling appropriate technologies for improved
productivity through farmers clubs and the Farm Innovation Promotion Fund (FIPF)
applicable for promoting innovations in the field of agriculture and farm sector activities.
Comments from the Chair
Dr Ravi Chopra while addressing the house as the session chairperson praised Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) with specific reference to supporting activities for research
purposes on SRI. Dr Chopra expressed concern on the prevailing gap in production and
demand of essential food grains. He remarked that SRI should be adopted not as a
technology, but as a method on some set of principles only. He also expressed
apprehension on the soil nutrient status due to increased productivity and yields arising
from practicing SRI. Dr Chopra stated the difficulty in roping the Government for
collaborations initiatives like SRI. He emphasized on the need to strengthen collective
groups like farmers groups for upscaling SRI and towards its future sustenance.
Partners’ Presentations
GO-NGO Collaboration for upscaling SRI in Uttarakhand
Upscaling SRI in Uttarakhand through GO-NGO collaboration was rendered by Mr
Debashish Sen who commenced with PSI’s upscaling strategy for SRI and related
objectives. While outlining GO-NGO collaborations, targeting 10,000 farmers from all 13
districts, orientation workshops for agriculture officers, training programme for ADOs at
the Block level, exposure visits etc. was mentioned. In case of ATMA few partners
received support in the form of seeds, equipments and conducted training in seven
districts. Training programmes in two districts for farmers and master trainers were done
under Uttarakhand Decentralized Watershed Programme. Linkages with Agricultural
Universities and Research Institutions have been initiated. NABARD is also supporting
nine partner organizations to promote SCI for the year 2011-12. In the state of Himachal
Pradesh also, PSI could leverage funds under the RKVY programme of the Himachal
State Government.
GO-NGO Collaboration for upscaling SRI in Orissa

3. A PowerPoint presentation on GO-NGO collaboration in the State of Orissa was
rendered by Ms R Pradhan, CWS, Bhubaneswar. While speaking on interventions made
with PRIs, activities under SRI being taken for inclusion in village level plans,
involvement of PRIs in mobilizing critical input support etc were mentioned. Formation of
farmers clubs, federations and SHGs has also been a feature to propagate SRI. Women
SHG leaders have been capacitated to act as trainers for upscaling the methodology.
Collaborative events such as with Department of Agriculture in organizing State level
SRI symposium, district level workshops, exposure visit of Government and media men
to SRI fields, publications in print as well as coverage in electronic media has been done
by them.
GO-NGO Collaboration for upscaling SRI in Bihar
Mr Anil Verma, PRADAN, Gaya, discussed on the GO-NGO collaborative modalities on
SRI upscaling in the state of Bihar. Some of the broad strategies undertaken in this
regard have been the use of audio-visual aids, village campaigning, associating
government extension and KVK officials, organizing workshops and participating in
Kisan melas of the state government. Notable organizations with whom collaborations
could be taken up are Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Technology Management
Agency and DRD, Patna.
Findings of On – Farm Research
The detailed research findings were undertaken by the SRI Secretariat, Bhubaneswar.
Mr Ashutosh Pal, Executive, SRI Secretariat rendered a presentation on the subject. A
detailed overview of the objectives of undertaking this research was outlined. The SRI
Research is in the second year of its trial and it can be validated only after trials
undertaken for a period of three years. For the present year, six partners had undertaken
SRI research on several aspects. The partners who had undertaken research trials for
Kharif 2010 are PRADAN-Gaya, PRADAN-Raigarh, Harsha Trust-Kalahandi, Rajarhat
PRASARI-Kolkata, PRAGATI-Koraput and PSI-Dehradun.
Partners’ Presentations
Parallel Session I
The first parallel session comprised of five presentations from partners. Mr Anil Verma
was the session moderator and Mr Girija Nanadan Upadhyay was the rapporteur.
Presentation by SPWD Jharkhand
Mr Sharat Panda, Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development, Ranchi rendered a
presentation on their activities in the SDTT-SRO Program. At the onset Mr Singh
provided a detail on the three agro – climatic sub-zones prevailing in Jharkhand and
their characteristics. Target wise achievement for all the partners under SPWD was
provided. In terms of convergence, training to 2200 farmers through ATMA on SRI has
been provided. Poor monsoon has resulted in few numbers of drop-outs from the

4. methodology. Amongst future strategies enlisted atre senstization for Panchayat leaders,
linkages with government programmes and initating SRI in un-served distrcists of
Jharkahdn.
Presentation of MVDA Uttarakhand
Mr Avtar Singh Negi, Secretary, Mount Valley Development Agency, Tehri Garhwal,
commenced with the project objectives and implementation stategies adopted. Before
proceeding to the SRI activities, Mr Negi also mentioned important milestones reached
by his organization such as formation of a milk marketing federaton, more than a 1000
member women CBO, more than three dozen bal panchyayats and five successful
models of livelihoods. 5420 farmers are promotiong SRI in an area coverage of 367 Ha.
MVDA has also applied SRI principles to wheat. Some of the challenges faced by them
has been initial dis-trust of the people, prevalent traditional agriculture practices as well
as inefficency of people while operating SRI implements.
Presentation of RNBA Manipur
Mr Gaikhangjang Gangmei, Rongmei Naga Baptist Association, Imphal discussed about
the project implementing partners and operational areas under the SRI programme. A
total of 1625 farmers has been their achievement as of now. He also provided graphical
representations of grain and straw yields resulting from SRI and that of conventional
practices. Some of the major impact while implementing SRI has been improved
agriculture extension in hill districts of Manipur and awareness of farmers to intensify
agriculture productivity through improved methods. Covergence has also been
established in the case of one partner which has collaborated with NABARD for
promoting SRI.
Presentation of PRASARI West Bengal
Mr Rajeev Sharma provided a presentation on behalf of the organization PRASARI in
West Bengal. Mr Sharma gave an overview of the geographic coverage of activities
under PRASAR and mentioned that apart from 1833 farmers who have undertaken SRI,
many farmers especially in Coochbehar District are applying SRI principles in crops like
mustard and wheat also. Problems encountered are like almost no availability of water
from March onwards, saline soils especially in the Gosaba and Basanti Blocks of the
Sunderban region, failure of local seeds etc. He gave the concept of SRI Kendras which
would be promoted and managed by farmers clubs. The concept is however, is yet to be
explored by PRASARI.
Presentation of AAAS Maharastra
Mr H Siddhanti from Amhi Amhcya Arogyasathi, Kurkeda, gave a presentation in which
the background of the project and geographical expansion was mentioned. More than
2400 farmers are undertaking SRI in four of their project districts viz. Chandrapur,
Gadchiroli, Gondia and Bhandara across 1200 acres of land in eastern parts of
Maharastra. Applying principles of SRI to other crops like millets is on the cards. One of
the major positive impacts mentioned by the organization has been the growing
popularity of SRI amongst farmers in the Vidarbha region.
Parallel Session II

5. Presentation by PRADAN Chattisgarh
Mr Kuntal Mukherjee rendered a presentation on behalf of the Chattisgarh’s PRADAN
team. At present a total number of 12 partners are involved in promotion of SRI in
Chattisgarh. Approach for extension, SRI steps follwed by farmers was highlighted.
Comparison between yields resulting from traditional and that of SRI practices was
indicated. He mentioned about a “SRI Manch” formed in Chattisgarh comprising of 11
NGOs that is emerging as an effective forum for policy advocacy on the subject.
Presentation by ASA Bihar
Representing Action for Social Advancement, Mr Shreesh Tripathy commenced his
presentation by stating the organization’s mission, areas of intervention and provided an
overview of their achievements on SRI. ASA has covered more than 1000 farmers for
Kharif 2010 season on SRI in an area spanning 73 Ha. They have also done
considerable application of SRI principles to wheat and successfully covered more than
2000 farmers on an area of 181 Ha till rabi season. ASA’s intervention is in three districts
of Bihar and they have been able to promote 60 farmers groups as of now.
Convergences with NABARD and Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (BRLPS)
have been initiated.
Presentation of RC Maharastra
On behalf of Rural Communes, Mumbai, Ms Trupti Kadam provided an insight on their
SRI activities. Rural Communes works with 12 other NGO partners in Maharastra and
for Kharif 2010 season they have intensified paddy in six districts. 132 VLRPs have been
trained on SRI and support to farmers in terms of exposure, arranging SRI implements,
organic fertilizers, quality seeds is being done. She highlighted on strategies for
upscaling SRI like wall paintings and writings in 55 villages, slogans for village level
awareness, training programmes, street plays etc. Application of SRI principles to other
crops like wheat and vegetables has also been initiated. Organizing state level
symposium on SRI and intensification of the principles to minor millets and other
vegetables tops the future agenda of Rural Communes.
Presentation of GVK Uttarakhand
Mr Parendra Saklani provided an overview of the work done in System of Crop
Intensification (SCI) by his organization Garhwal Vikas Kendra based in Tehri District of
Uttarakhand. Against a set target of 5000 farmers in SRI, GVK has achieved 4766
farmers for 2010-11. In SWI, they have achieved 1126 farmers, more than the stipulated
target of 1000 farmers. Trials with other crops notably tomato, cabbage, maize, chilli and
rajma (kidney beans) has also been experimented by farmers. Mr Saklani mentioned
that heavy floods have affected around 766 farmers over an area of 61 hectares.
Presentation of PRAGATI Orissa

6. Mr Prabhakar Adhikari provided a presentation on the activities of PRAGATI based in
Koraput District of Orissa. He highlighted three major issues prevailing in tribal areas
that are food insecurity, low productivity and migration. Some of the initiatives
undertaken by the organization to promote organic SRI are village meetings, video
shows in villages, farmer’s trainings, ToTs and conducting exposure trips. District level
SRI symposium, block level interface between PRIs and farmers, media consultation as
well as street plays has been organized. Till Kharif 2010 the coverage has been more
than 2300 farmers on SRI. PRAGATI is one of the six organizations undertaking
research trials on select aspects with the SRI Secretariat under the SDTT-SRI Program.
Summary of Parallel Session I
Mr Anibrata Biswas provided the following observations from the five presentations of
this session:
 It was evident that food security is the common objective of most of the
organizations undertaking SRI
 Tribals and vulnerable communities are being served by many of the partners
 All the organizations are emphasizing and motivating farmers to go for SRI.
 Use of organic manures are more pronounced for several SRI partners and
there is an observation on the decreased use of chemical fertilizers
 System of Root Intensification must be emphasized and diversification to crops
beyond rice must be encouraged to increase food security
 All the individual presentations provided encouraging insights and learning for all
present in the meet
Summary of Parallel Session II
DAY-2
Presentation on SCI and Food Security in mountain regions of Uttarakhand
Mr Debashish Sen commenced his presentation on the subject by providing an overview
of the state whereby it was remarked that Uttarakhand is food deficit in terms of the
requirement and production of important crops like rice, wheat, coarse cereals and
pulses. SRI principles has been adopted and applied in Uttarakhand to various crops like
wheat, finger millets, kidney bean etc. Results of trials on other crops have shown the
average percentage increase in grain yield to be more than sixty percent. More than
13,000 farmers have undertaken SRI and 1700 farmers were mobilized to apply SRI
principles to other crops. Even during drought conditions, the SRI crop fared well
compared to paddy under conventional practices. Research trials were also undertaken
for SCI. The BC ratio has been more than 2:1 for most SCI crops. Some of the critical
areas for upscaling SRI suggested by Mr Sen are research on SCI, improvement in
package of practices, effective capacity building strategies, networking amongst
stakeholders and establishing convergences with other programmes.

7. Presentation on SRI Implements
Presentation by IDE (I)
Mr Girija Nandan Upadhyay representing International Development Enterprises (India)
commenced by providing the advantages of weeding and its importance in SRI. A
detailed overview of the KB weeder was pictorized. To provide SRI adopters with easy to
use and low cost implements, Mr Upadhyay mentioned that IDEI has identified and
developed manufacturers in various locations in West Bengal. While discussing about
the supply chain mechanism, it was mentioned that 22 dealers are present for sale of
weeders in remote rural locations. Strict quality control measures are adopted during
manufacture of the SRI implements by the organization.
Presentation by KGVK Ranchi
The presentation was provided by Mr Rajesh Singh and Mr Mohit Kumar from the Krishi
Gram Vikas Kendra (KGVK), Ranchi, which was established as the CSR wing of Usha
Martin Limited. Krishi weeder designed by KGVK is a prominent name in SRI circles in
the country and has now even reached international boundaries like Nepal and the UK.
The Krishi weeder model was described as well as seed drill. A list of partners with
KGVK in this regard was provided both in India and abroad. The plant and
manufacturing process at KGVK was also described in detail.
Sub-Group Presentations
Four sub-groups were formed amongst the participants to evolve standard package of
practices (PoPs) for four prominent crops to which SRI principles have been applied.
The four crops selected were Wheat, Finger Millets, Mustard and Vegetables. Details of
group findings of the four sub-groups are attached in Annexure – I.
Short Pictorial Presentations
Nine short pictorial presentations were part of the event in which the nine select partners
provided brief overview of their work, achievements and innovations on SRI through
photographic illustrations with appropriate captions. The partners who provided the short
pictorial presentations were BoJBP Nayagarh, KSS Saharsa, PNVS Rudraprayag,
WORD Kendujhargarh, RDA West Midnapore, NIRMAN Nayagarh, TRCSC
Jamshedpur, CARR Cuttack and PRAVAT Purulia.
Discussion on coping strategies and risk mitigation in rainfed areas and dis-
adoption in SRI and stratefgies for overcoming it
A
Status of MIS submitted by Partners

8. Award for Best Display in teaching and learning materials
Three awards for the best display in teaching and learning materials on SRI that took
place in the premises of the meeting hall were given away in the final session of the day.
Dr Sanjiv Phansalkar, Ms Dolon Ganguly and Mr Rajesh Singh were the three judges
who decided on the best three display items in the hall. The awards went to:
1) First Prize – Lok Prerna Deoghar
2) Second Prize – PRAGATI Koraput
3) Third Prize – PSI Dehradun
Valedictory Address
Mr Anibrata Biswas, SRI Secretariat at the end thanked all the NGO partners and their
representatives for their active and participatory discussions over the course of the two
days, officials from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Allied Trusts-Mumbai, representatives
from the Uttarakhand Government, NABARD and from the media for participating in the
two day event and to PSI in supporting SRI Secretariat, Bhubaneswar in successfully
organizing the event at Dehradun.
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