A Foreseeable and Desirable Future for the System of Rice Intensification

After some 40 years since when Fr. Henri de Laulanié synthesized the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology, and after more than two decades of experts and practitioners working intensively to disseminate SRI around the world, the time is ripe for a general reflection on what has been done, and especially on how to move forward with the upscaling of SRI methods. This short paper builds on the work carried out by SRI-2030 which, despite being a very young initiative, thanks to the support of the experienced SRI-Rice group from Cornell University, has connected with SRI experts from multiple countries and with various stakeholders of the rice sector. As the international community recognizes the importance of more sustainable and eco-friendly rice production in terms of food security, less water consumption, and adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, concerted actions should be taken to boost the uptake of SRI, an agroecological practice that tackles all these issues and also improves farmers’ livelihoods. However, the diversity within the rice sector and the various context-related barriers to its optimization require diversified strategies. The challenges facing us are global, and a coordinated, collaborative approach is needed. SRI-2030 was established to be a facilitator for the support of synergies among stakeholders in the rice sector with the aim of boosting the upscaling of SRI methods up to 50 million hectares by 2030, to slow the pace of global warming and improve people’s well-being.