- Advertisement -
India, the world's largest rice exporter, banned the exports of non-basmati white rice on Jul. 20. The government is seeking to address surging domestic food prices and ensure adequate domestic rice supply.
This ban could lead to price increases outside India. Besides Asia, many African and Middle East nations are also vulnerable to the export ban.
There are better ways to increase rice output. One method used by female farmers in Nepal, India and nearly 30 other countries raises output by 30%-50% while reducing water usage by up to 40%.
French Jesuit priest Henri de Laulanie's "System of Rice Intensification" (SRI) uses sustainable techniques that reduce both water and labor input.
One fourth of the population in Nepal lives below the poverty line and is food insecure. Irrigated rice production is the largest consumer of water in the agricultural sector, and its sustainability is threatened by increasing water shortages.
In Nepal, SRI was pioneered in the Morang district. Today SRI is practiced in dozens of districts across the country. Small hold farmers using SRI are experiencing an average yield 30% higher than farmers using standard practices. Yield increases have been as high as 62%.
In addition, rice is maturing 2-4 weeks sooner than when the same variety is grown with 'normal' methods. This saves water, reduces the risks of crop loss, and makes land available for other crop production. SRI methods can be applied to these new crops as well, resulting in significant increases in family farmer output, revenue and profit.
SRI farmers in Nepal receive technical and other support from World Neighbors, an international development organization that specializes in helping communities raise family farm agricultural returns and engage in other activities to catalyze sustainable development.
The NGO uses a methodology that relies on inexpensive and sustainable innovations and savings and credit groups to accumulate capital that increase the capacity of communities to develop themselves. All its projects are designed to enhance climate resilience.
