Higher Yields with Fewer External Inputs? The System of Rice Intensification and Potential Contributions to Agricultural Sustainability

TLDR

Sustainable agriculture benefits from low‑input systems that meet production needs, and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Madagascar can double irrigated rice yields while reducing external inputs and providing environmental and equity advantages. The study aims to demonstrate that SRI can make irrigated rice production more sustainable and profitable, and to identify additional opportunities for long‑term agricultural productivity. SRI achieves higher yields by altering plant, soil, water, and nutrient management instead of new varieties or agrochemicals, demanding greater farmer knowledge and initially higher labour per hectare. SRI cuts irrigation water use by roughly 50 % and lowers capital and seed needs, while the higher labour intensity is offset by increased labour returns, potentially making the system labour‑saving.

Abstract

Although sustainable agriculture is not limited to production systems that use few or no purchased inputs, systems that are less dependent on external inputs have better prospects for sustainability—as long as they can meet the needs of producers and consumers as well as do conventional systems depending heavily on fossil fuel and other capital-intensive inputs. The system of rice intensification (SRI) developed in Madagascar can raise irrigated rice yields to about double the present world average without relying on external inputs, also offering environmental and equity benefits. SRI methods change they way plants, soil, water and nutrients are managed—rather than utilising new-variety seeds, inorganic fertilisers or other agrochemicals. SRI also reduces the need for irrigation water by about half and diminishes the requirements for capital and seed. SRI requires more knowledge and skill on the part of farmers and initially more labour per hectare. But greater labour intensity is compensated by farmers achieving higher returns for labour, and SRI can become labour-saving. SRI should make irrigated rice production more sustainable, as well as profitable. SRI experience may reveal other opportunities that can make agricultural systems more productive and beneficial for the long term.