The system of crop intensification: reports from the field on improving agricultural production, food security, and resilience to climate change for multiple crops

TLDR

In recent years, the system of crop intensification (SCI), adapted from rice intensification, has been applied to crops such as millet, wheat, sugarcane, tef, oilseeds, legumes, and vegetables across Asia and Africa, using early plant establishment, reduced competition, increased soil organic matter, active aeration, and careful water management to boost productivity and profitability. This review reports on productivity and impacts observed for many crops in six countries, aiming to increase yields with lower cost and input, and enhance resilience to climate change. It examines the implementation of SCI, including mechanization innovations that reduce labor requirements for these methods. Recent World Bank and Agricultural Transformation Agency reports show that these management changes improve food security and are being scaled up to hundreds of thousands of farmers.

Abstract

In the past half dozen years, farmers and professionals working with them in several Asian and African countries have begun adapting and extrapolating what they have learned from and about the system of rice intensification (SRI) to a range of other crops - finger millet, wheat, sugarcane, tef, oilseeds such as mustard, legumes such as soya and kidney beans, and various vegetables - in what is being called the system of crop intensification (SCI). As with rice, the principles of early and healthy plant establishment, reducing competition between plants, increased soil organic matter, active soil aeration, and the careful application of water are proving able to raise the productivity and profitability of differently-managed crops. Recent reports from the World Bank in India and the Agricultural Transformation Agency in Ethiopia show such changes in crop management improving food security and being scaled up with hundreds of thousands of farmers. This review article reports on the productivity and other impacts being observed for many different crops in half a dozen countries for increasing food crop yields with lower cost and input requirements as well as more resilience to adverse effects of climate change. It also reports on mechanization innovations that reduce labor requirements for these methods.