Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 1/08
The practice and effects of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Sri Lanka
Regassa Namara
International Water Management Institute, Accra, Ghana
Deborah Bossio, Parakrama Weligamage
International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Indika Herath
University of Peradenya, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Abstract
In Sri Lanka rice is grown under conditions of sub-optimal water and
land availability. Thus, innovations such as the System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) that can increase productivity and save resources
are needed. The objective of this study was to understand how SRI was
implemented on farms in Sri Lanka, and the consequences of changes in
practices on: 1) input utilisation, 2) agronomic traits of rice, and 3)
soil chemical properties. It was found that SRI farmers had made
significant changes in their production systems: irrigations, seeding
rates and herbicide usage were reduced by 24%, 85% and 95%,
respectively, and plant spacing was increased by 60%. Total inputs of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were similar across SRI and
conventional plots, but the source of nutrients was different. Yields
were variable, but significantly higher on SRI farms, soil available
potassium and phosphorus were increased, and SRI plants exhibited
tolerance to low moisture stress.
Keywords: agronomic analyses, soil analyses, water management, rice
JEL: Q 190
Vol. 47 (2008), No. 1: 5-23