1. SRI Experience 2013-14
Seven Sisters Development
Assistance (SeSTA)

2. Introduction
• SeSTA is presently engaged in Assam & aims at
working in poverty pockets of entire North East
• We are directly working in 3 Districts of
Assam- Chirang , Bongaigaon & Rural Kamrup.
• The key focus area of SeSTA:
Organize women of poor areas into Self help
groups
Promotion of livelihoods
Youth development

3. Context of Agriculture
• Rain-fed condition, mono cropped, yield low
1.9 Ton/Ha
• Small & marginal farmers
• Food security is less than 8 months in major
portion of farmers
• Huge rainfall, less water harvesting structures
creates flood in peak season then drought
during flowering stage of paddy.
• Irrigation infrastructure is less
• Bodo rice is practiced in most of the flood
prone areas

5. SRI work plan 2013-14
• Promotion of SRI & SCI with 5000 families with
- Paddy in Kharif & Rabi season
- Maize in Rabi Season
- Vegetables in Early Rabi
• Build a pool of local resource person for extension
• Promotion of soil health improvement practices
including vermi-composting and other composting
techniques
• Promoting adoption of small mechanization for
weeding , spraying.

6. SRI reach-out :2013-14
District No. of
village
s
Kharif
Paddy
Area SRI-
Maize
Area veget
able
Area Total
Farme
r
Total
Area
Bongaigaon 20 638 758 310 155 38 19 808 932
Chirang 85 942 1536 285 325 348 248 1240 2109
Total 105 1580 2294 595 480 386 267 2048 3041

7. SRI paddy principles
• Proper nursery bed preparation with seed
treatment
• Early transplantation of the seedling at the
age of 8 to 12 days
• Transplantation with wider and equal spacing
• Application of organic fertilizer ( application of
balance fertilizer dose where organic fertilizer
is not available)
• Timely intercultural operation

8. Process of SRI expansion
1. Village level motivational & planning meeting
2. Exposure of farmers to existing SRI areas
3. Indent preparation
4. Capacity building training for the community resource
persons
5. Input arrangement by farmers with support of community
resource person
6. Field level technical training to farmers
7. On field support by community resource persons & SeSTA
professional
8. Yield data collection
9. Review meeting with Self help groups, farmer groups &
discuss on success & failures
10. Organizing district level & state level workshops to share
learning, processes.

9. Analysis of production data(200 farmer)
Paddy SRI Traditional
Avg. plant height 132 cm 86 cm
Avg. no of tillers 26 14
Avg. length of
panicle
23 cm 16cm
Grain/Panicle 258 175
Yield(Kharif) 5.9 MT 2.8 MT

10. Vermicompost production & marketing
• 548 farmers from Bongaigaon & Chirang is doing the vermi-
compost production
• In 1 cycle farmers are able to harvest 150-200 Kg of compost
• Farmer mostly using the compost in vegetables
• Availability of cow-dung & waste material is critical for its
production.
• In a year farmers have experienced producing 500 Kg of
compost with this method.
• One farmer club has started selling vermi-compost in 1 kg
packing, now they are earning RS 3000-4000/farmer. Already
sold 2MT of compost in Bongaigaon market

11. SCI: Maize
The major principles adopted are :
i. Used improved variety & seed treatment
ii. Single seed sowing with equal distance (i.e. plant to
plant distance is 12 inch & row to row distance is
24 inch)
iii. Mechanical weeding by using dry-land weeder in
15 days interval
iv. Proper water management
• This year 550 farmers are growing maize ,last year it
was only 200 in Chirang & Bongaigaon

12. SCI: Maize results
Seeds: Dekalb, 900 M gold SCI Traditional
Seed requirement 2 Kg/Bigha 4 Kg/Bigha
Spacing 12*24 Inch, line sowing Broadcast
Weeding 25-30 DAS -
Yield 800-1000 Kg 500-600 Ks
Income Rs 8000- 10,000/- Rs 4000- 5000/-

13. Net-House for quality seedling production
• 12 net houses are constructed, each has a size of 50ft*20ft
• It provides control over pest & diseases as well as grazing
problem
• Protects the plants from heavy rain
• Germination occurs faster than the open nursery
• Acts as a cohesive force amongst farmers, mutual support in
the activity
• Planning, timely transplanting & quality control can be easily
done
• Farmer could able to produce on an avg. 20,000 to 25,000
healthy seedlings in 45 days
• Later the net houses are used to grow off-season leafy
vegetables(Coriander, palak)
• From one net house 30-40 farmers have taken seedlings &
some of the farmers have sold seedling in local markets

14. SCI vegetable output
• 386 farmers have grown tomato, chilly, brinjal &
knolkhol in the early rabi season
• Germination was around 85-90%, 2200 healthy
plants from 5gms of tomato, 1200 brinjal seedlings
from 10 gm of seeds
• Uniform growth of seedlings
• 2 panchayats in Chirang emerging as good vegetable
production cluster
• Due to heavy rains cabbage & brinjal affected
• Farmer started earning from chilly & tomato
• Production is still going on, farmers have able to earn
Rs,5000 on an average.

15. Dissemination of SRI learning
• Organized one state level SRI workshop & 2
district level workshop at Chirang &
Bongaigaon
• Organized farmer exposures from new areas
to existing areas
• Farmer groups organized “ NaKhowa” festival
to share
• Publication in local newspaper

16. Convergence
• SRI demonstration carried out with 70 farmers
in Chirang with DAO.
• ASRLM funding to Self help group is providing
opportunity to invest in resources.
• MKSP with support of NRLM

17. Issues & Concern
• Flood & later in flowering stage drought
results in poor growth
• Ensuring all the principles of SRI
• Small farmers having resource constraints
• Migration of farmer with late arrival of
monsoon
• Quality seed availability

18. Way ahead
A. Intensifying Production
• Staggered nursery in Kharif for paddy
• Diversify the crop basket based on area
• Scope for beetle vine, black pepper, flower nursery
• Promote mechanization
• Vegetable cultivation in areas with flood in Kharif is an option
• Seed production & local seed preservation
• Improving irrigation status
B. Expansion
• Scaling up in Chirang & Bongaigaon to reach 10000 families by 2016
• Build a SRI group with like minded organizations to act as a
pressure group in the state.
• This has started with Centre for Micro-finance & Livelihood taking
the lead
• Working in Meghalaya, Tripura & Mizoram with partner
organizations & SRLM

19. SRI: Planning meeting

20. Motivational training

26. Cucumber seedling production

28. Net House for quality seedling

29. Vegetable nursery preparation

32. Crops in Main-field

36. Chilly sowing uniform growth

38. Thanks for attention