Muneswar and more than 170 farmers in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh have no regrets after shifting over from traditional agricultural methods of farming to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method. Why would they? Most of them have been overwhelmed by the kind of returns they have got compared to their investments.
"The crop yield has increased to more than two and half times, and we are getting better returns," says Kisan Naihar Sai, an SRI beneficiary.
What is System of Rice Intensification (SRI)?
SRI is one of the methods adopted by farmers for improving their agricultural production. It consists of concepts and practices that farmers can adopt based on their local conditions, and attain good results. In this cost effective method of farming, there is no fixed set of things that farmers have to do and it requires no material inputs like chemical fertilizers and genetically modified seeds.
In the film “SRI in Chhattisgarh-A New Hope For Farmers”, Jacob, an SRI expert, narrates the advantages of adopting SRI in Chhattisgarh. He tells us how subsidizing SRI in the state can be productive to farmers and the government. He also explains how existing procurement and other management problems can be solved by using this low-cost method.