People’s Science InstituteDehradun, India

How Smallholder Farmers in Uttarakhand How Smallholder Farmers in Uttarakhand Reworked the System of Rice Intensification (SRI):Reworked the System of Rice Intensification (SRI):

Innovations from Sociotechnical Interactions in Innovations from Sociotechnical Interactions in Fields and VillagesFields and Villages

Debashish SenDebashish Sen

Research Objective & Research QuestionsResearch Objective & Research Questions

To understand how SRI, conceived as a set of practices introduced from outside the communities, was incorporated into the local rice farming system

1) How were SRI practices interpreted and adjusted to fit with the local social and agro-ecological arrangements?

2) How did the new method influence existing rice farming practices in the locality?

3) How were existing farmers’ work groups adjusted to accommodate the new method?

Transplanting of young seedlings

Transplanting at wider spacing

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD)

Enhancing soil organic matter

Inter-cultivation with weeder

SRI SRI PracticesPractices

Single seedling per hill

Methodology: Conceptual Framework, Location and Tools Methodology: Conceptual Framework, Location and Tools

Analytical Framework• Socio-technical System • Agriculture as Performance • Task Group Culture

Ethnographic Approach3 Villages in Tehri Garhwal

district of Uttarakhand, IndiaRice Seasons : 2011 to 2013

• Rapid Rural Appraisal Exercises• Participant Observations• Field Measurements• Focus Group Discussions• Semi-Structured Interviews

India

Uttarakhand

Tehri Garhwal

Bhilangana Sub-basin, Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Rice Farming in Western Himalayas : Main FeaturesRice Farming in Western Himalayas : Main Features• Predominant kharif irrigated

and un-irrigated crop • Grown simultaneously with

mixed crops in unirrigated fields• Diverse methods (Sathi,

Bijwad and Saindha) utilizing hand tools• Multiple long duration (120-

165 days) varieties, mostly local • Limited availability of draft

power forces hiring/sharing of bullocks• Rituals associated with

transplanting and harvesting of rice (Din Bar)• Women’s collectives

(Padiyals) undertaking transplanting

SRI Demands New Performative SkillsSRI Demands New Performative Skills

Raised Bed Nurseries (RBNs)

Properly Marked Fields

Precise Transplanting of Seedlings

Water : Not Too Much nor Too Little

New Norms for Water ManagementNew Norms for Water Management

Source: Mean Daily Water Depth of 20 plots each under different rice cultivation methods, Village Phalenda, 2013

SRI plots•Shallow flooding preferred over recommended AWD, especially in early crop stage•Liberal irrigation regime controlled weed growth & water beetles•Facilitated distribution of labour between rice and rainfed crops

Irrigation Water Depths under Different Rice Cultivation Methods

Days after Transplanting

Bina

Saindha

SRI

Drying and Marking as Additional TasksDrying and Marking as Additional Tasks Introduces time gap between Land Preparation and

Transplanting Village Level Resource Persons (VLRPs) emerge as Key

Specialists for Marking Readjustments in Marking: Line and eye estimation

adapted over seasons and across plots collectively

Marking Patterns of SRI plots of 30 randomly selected farmers (10 from each study village)

Reconfiguring Nursery Tasks & GroupsReconfiguring Nursery Tasks & Groups Rescheduling Dates: Early seeding required for timely ripening Relocating Sites: Most RBNs located nearer to plot owner’s house Reforming Groups: Emergence of different nursery forms Readjusting Tasks: Seed treatment optional, More densely seeded RBNs and Flatbed Nurseries complement each other

NurseryType

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct2w

3w

4w

1w

2w

3w

4w

1-4 w

1-4w

1w

2w

3w

4w

1w

2w

Saindha/Bina

N T H

Synchronized Transplanting

RBN N T H

Synchronized Harvesting

RBN N T H

W: Week, N: Nursery, T: Transplanting, H: Harvesting

Synchronized Transplanting vs Synchronized Harvesting

Reorganizing Transplanting Tasks & GroupsReorganizing Transplanting Tasks & Groups Rescheduling Dates: Early establishment for timely ripening Relocating Plots: Most SRI plots located in middle reach of canal Reforming Groups: Emergence of larger and young aged groups Readjusting Tasks: Mingling of existing and new practices Redistributing Tasks: Elderly uproot while young transplant

System of Rice Intensification: Transplanting Patterns (2011)

Phalenda Dakhwangaon

Predominant Forms of Transplanting under SRI influencePredominant Forms of Transplanting under SRI influence

SRI opens up various options - Farm households make choices as per their bio-physical and socio-economic circumstances

Rice Plots Under Different Methods

Conclusions and ImplicationsConclusions and Implications• Entry of SRI necessitates rearrangements of

a complex but very balanced rice farming system

• Technical and social adaptations happen in situ, but also contingent on agro-ecological factors

• Farmers try to seek complementarity and synergy between various rice farming methods

• Fluidity among work groups leads to extension and diversification of the repertoire of methods

• Task groups as potential units for agricultural research and extension

Need to build upon farmers’ adaptive capacities to maximize exploitation of agro-ecological niches, minimize uncertainty in farm production and rationalize employment of available work force

THANK THANK YOUYOU ! !

Steps in SRI – Pictorial RepresentationSteps in SRI – Pictorial Representation

Field Marking

Seed Selection and Treatment Raised Bed Nursery Preparation

Removal of Young Seedling

Regular Weeding

Water Management SRI Field Harvesting

Transplanting at Wide Spacing