Increasing farmer’s income through adoption of SRI in NADIA District

The on-farm programme on SRI was carried out in the village Mandapghat under RLI command area in Hanskhali Block of Nadia district in the year 2015 during summer season. The soil of farmland is clay and situated having latitude of 23°337648’ N and 88° 591695’ E longitude at an average elevation of 9.75 m above the mean sea level. The climate of this region is humid tropic. The summer is hot and winter is moderate. May is generally the hottest month of the year. The average temperature ranges from 39.6^O to 25.4^OC during summer and 23.7^OC to 8.5^OC during winter. Monsoon ceases during October and cool season sets in by November. The average rainfall of this region is about 1500 mm and normal monsoon breaks in the first week of June. Though water resources in this area are generally satisfactory and 90% of these resources are tapped form the ground water source through deep and shallow tube wells. However, due to faulty crop planning and lack of scientific water management approach, a significant portion of agricultural area is identified as gray zone from hydrological point of view. Even many tube wells are becoming dry due to over exploitation of valuable water from the lower depths of confined aquifers. Rice is predominant crop during kharif season becoming less profitable because of high input costs involved. Summer rice gave satisfactory yield but also profitable proposition because of more input cost and less farm gate prices. 

In this stated background as above, the traditional rice growing technology has been shifted to SRI, a proven methodology to save water in growing rice were tried as intervention and adoption for the purpose of creating more man days and more income per drop of water and increasing agricultural productivity.  Rice is pre-dominantly main crop in the area both during rainy as well as summer season. Rainy season rice with HYV gave an average yield of 2.5-3.5 tons / ha. Farmers usually grow summer rice (boroseason) to get higher yield at the higher inputs cost. The average yield of summer obtained was about 4-5 ton/ha. Presently, the cost of cultivation of rice did not match with the sale price due to exorbitant input cost hike. As such, rice growing became non-profitable.

Name of the WUA: Mandapghat IV ChitannyaSmriti

Total Beneficiaries: Male: 61, Female: 8, Total: 69,  SC/ST: 39/0   Total : 69

The area was primarily rainfed before implementation of the same and single crop of kharif rice was usually grown. The summer season, there was no possibility of growing crop due to scarcity of water. Summer season rice (Boro) was grown adopting traditional method in some pockets become non-profitable proposition. So the SRI methodology of rice cultivation during summer season was provided to the beneficiaries members of this WUA with objectives:

1.      To reduce the cost of cultivation by reducing input requirement in the method;

2.      To increase yield of crop and water efficiency.

3.      To increase total income of the farmer by the process of adoption.

ASS activities

The critical inputs were supplied in terms of seed and fertilizers along the methodology for growing rice cultivation (SRI); The Area covered with 20 ha RLI irrigation command with 9 sprouts approximately 2.2 ha coverage by each sprout. The farmers received 6 exposure visits and 10 lead farmers/farmers meeting after implementation of project. Jute is the prevalent pre-kharif crop and sesame, rice during kharif and rice, and during winter/rabi season the crops like wheat, lentil, vegetables, onion, are growing as a part of crop diversification.  15-20% increase in average yield observed replacing 100% cropping intensity to 160% cropping intensity. The market interventions of the produce were done with arrangement of buyer-sellers meet and a fixed market available with 5 km radius distant.

Technology adoption

Panicle length under SRI

The farmer contacted with WBADMI-personnel being member beneficiary of the WUA in RLI command. He was given 1 kg of hybrid rice(cvArize6444) during summer season to grow under SRI method with water as well as fertilizer saving technologies. The seed bed was prepared in December 19 and single plant transplanting was done at 13 days old seedling in puddled soils without allowing standing water. The water and fertilizer along with organic manures were applied as per recommendation less than half as compared to traditional transplanting. The control plots with traditional method was kept separately with recommended doses of fertilizer as well standing water allowed up to flowering at the depth of 5±2 cm depth. 12-13 days old single seedling was transplanted on single plant basis allowing spacing of 25 cm x 25 cm in puddled soil where no standing water allowed with recommended fertilizer doses of 60:30:30 kg N, P₂O₅ and K₂O, during final land preparation, respectively along with FYM @5 tons/ha. Because of higher spacing and single seedling, the cost of cultivation of rice including seed and fertilizer was severely cut down from the beginning.

Difference between SRI and Conventional method of
 rice cultivation

Unlike traditional rice, the crop under SRI was irrigated as and when required basis, just up to soil saturation (Field Capacity), no standing water was allowed. Thus the number of irrigation required up to 30 with total water requirement only of 60 cm wherein as compared to number of irrigation required for conventional planting up to 15 with total water requirement of 120 cm even under alternate wetting and drying basis. Thus 50% of water cost along with 50% cost of fertilizer application was saved under SRI method along cost cut in seed requirement.

The rice gave 60-75 tillers/plant having 90% of effective tillers under SRI whereas traditionally rice gave maximum of 20 numbers of tillers. The length of panicle, number of grain per panicle, straw yield and test weight were observed more under SRI method than that of conventional method. The crop harvested at 130 days maturity little earlier than traditionally grown rice. The crop yielded 9.05 tons/ha under SRI as compared to 6.03 ton/ha in traditional method, thereby 50% yield increase over conventional method. Total cost of inputs and labours required for 1 bigha of land was (7.5 bighas = 1 ha) rice cultivation was IRs.7500 in conventional as compared to IRs. 4500 under SRI wherein the total sale price of rice obtained was IRs. 14400 under SRI as compared that of IRs. 9600 produced in conventional method (considering price of rice at IRs. 12/kg). Thus obtained BCR of SRI method was 3.20 as compared 1.28 under conventional rice cultivation.