Soil Biological Contributions to the System of Rice Intensification

Randriamiharisoa, Robert P.; Barison, Joeli; Uphoff, Norman

doi:10.1201/9781420017113.ch28

Cited by 38 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…However, research and knowledge are accumulating that confirm the earlier hypothesis that the productivity advantages of SRI practices derive from changes in soil biology associated with changes in the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients (Randriamiharisoa et al 2006). The larger root systems and changes in soil biota are having demonstrable and positive impacts on crop performance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

Bird use of Rice Fields in the Indian Subcontinent

Sundar

Subramanya

2010

Waterbirds

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mentioning

confidence: 78%

Bird use of Rice Fields in the Indian Subcontinent

Sundar

Subramanya

2010

Waterbirds

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“…PSI has worked with other non-governmental organizations, termed Partner Organizations, POs. According to PSI, up to 2010 about 15,000 farmers of the Western Himalayan Region have tried out SRI (PSI, 2010). The interactions of the mountain fields and farmers with SRI have so far not caught much attention of either social or natural science researchers.…”

Section: Tehrigarhwalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One set of studies focussed on exploring the claimed synergies between the recommended practices of SRI, trying to understand the new set of G (Genotype) × E (Environment) interactions related to crop physiology, root morphology and soil ecology under the system (Randriamiharisoa et al, 2006;Latif et al, 2009;Mishra and Salokhe, 2010;and Thakur et al, 2010). Others tried out different combinations of the new cropmanagement principles in order to analyze crop physiology, root morphology and yield characteristics, using diverse varieties, through on-farm trials as well as onstation experiments (Makarim et al, 2002;Zheng et al, 2004;Karki, 2009;Thakur et al 2009;Veeramani, 2010;and Dhananchezhiyan et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Problem: Unravelling Risks and Opportunities In Sri Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Smallholder Farmers in Uttarakhand Reworked the System of Rice Intensification: Innovations from Sociotechnical Interactions in Fields and Villages

Şen

2015

SSRN Journal

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How Smallholder Farmers in Uttarakhand Reworked the System of Rice Intensification: Innovations from Sociotechnical Interactions in Fields and VillagesThe System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is presented in Asia and other parts of the world as an alternative 'agro-ecological' and 'farm-based' innovation in rice production. SRI calls for modifications in crop-management practices without relying on external inputs, which makes it different from innovations based on new rice varieties, which became dominant since the Green Revolution. SRI practices are therefore said to be appropriate for resource-poor smallholder farmers.Previous studies on SRI have focused mainly on the yield effects in comparison with other crop management practices, overall costs and benefits of SRI or deviations from recommended practices. These studies have largely neglected farmers' underlying strategies. This thesis provides an understanding of whether and how SRI can be called a 'farm-based' innovation. Rather than returning to earlier debates about SRI's adoption and disadoption, the study looks as how farm households and communities in Western Himalayan region of India responded to the introduction of SRI.The main objective of this research was to understand how farmers respond to an intervention like SRI and what this tells us about SRI as a socio-technical system. The main research question addressed by this thesis is how SRI, conceived as a set of practices introduced from outside the communities, was incorporated into the local rice farming system. Specifically, the thesis examines how existing work groups were adjusted to accommodate the new method, how the SRI practices were interpreted and adjusted to fit with the local social and agro-ecological arrangements, and how the new method influenced existing rice farming practices in the locality.The research was carried out in three contrasting villages of Uttarakhand, located in the Bhilangana sub-basin of the Western Himalayan region of India. SRI was introduced in this area in 2008. Fieldwork in the three villages was conducted throughout two rice seasons.The theoretical resources drawn upon for this research include the concept of "sociotechnical system", "agriculture as performance", and the culture of "task groups". Together these concepts help to understand rice farming as a collective and mutually shaping social and technical performance rather than the activity of an individual farmer. The thesis shows how existing and new rice farming practices and task groups are reconfigured through socio-technical innovations within a given agroecological setting. SRI acted as a catalyst, initiating a process of readjustments in the socio-technical configurations of rice farming, varying according to the local context. Farm households, while incorporating SRI into the existing farming system, try to ii seek complementarity and synergy between various rice farming methods. This allows fluidity among task groups and leads to the extension and diversification of the repertoire of m...

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“…These practices improve the growth and functioning of rice plants and enhance the numbers and diversity of the soil biota that contribute to plant health and productivity (Stoop et al, 2002;Uphoff, 2003;Randriamiharisoa et al, 2006;Mishra et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%