SRI Promotion among Small and Marginal Farmers: SDTT-PRADAN Collaboration in Chhattisgarh
Promoting SRI with about 13,500 families, covering about 340 villages in nine districts across the northern hills, the plains and the Bastar plateau region of the Chhattisgarh state seems to have paid rich dividends by way of doubling yield and food grain sufficiency.
Promoting SRI with about 13,500 families, covering about 340 villages in nine districts across the northern hills, the plains and the Bastar plateau region of the Chhattisgarh state seems to have paid rich dividends by way of doubling yield and food grain sufficiency.
Background
PRADAN, with the support of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT)—one of the oldest philanthropic organizations in India—collaborated with other NGO partners in a pilot project to introduce the System for Rice Intensification (SRI) method of paddy cultivation in some of the poor regions of Chhattisgarh. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate SRI in the area and prepare NGO actors for large-scale replication of the pilot in other areas.
In 2008–09, PRADAN, in collaboration with 11 other NGOs, carried out field trials of SRI with 800 families on 80 ha of land. PRADAN provided the technical guidance in the training-cum-demonstration programme organized by the NGOs. The intervention showed encouraging results and, in 2009–10, the programme reached out to 3,200 famers in nine districts of Chhattisgarh.
The objective of the programme is to expand SRI through a partnership approach, with a focus on enhancing food-grain security of small and marginal farmers in Chhattisgarh. The plan is that, by the end of three years, families would have at least doubled their yield and would have improved their standard of living. Also expected is that this intervention would demonstrate the efficacy of the SRI method to a large number of farmers in the project villages and around.
In hist project, about 13,500 families, covering about 340 villages in nine districts across the northern hills, the plains and the Bastar plateau region of Chhattisgarh state, use the SRI method. The project envisages enhancing paddy productivity from the current two to three tonnes per hectare by 75–100 per cent, which will ensure year-round food sufficiency for the participating families.