! Bravo Bazira !

SRI (The system of rice intensification),first developed by a French Jesuit priest,Henri de Laulanie,in Madagascar in 1983 has brought real change for some 35 farmers in Bazira,a village in the Mandakini valley.

Adopted to wheat,this method has tripled output despite using just one-third of the seeds needed in the conventional broadcast method where seeds are thrown at random over the field.

Promoted by PSI (the People's Science Institute),a Dehradun based non-profit research & development organisation this method has increased the wheat output from 4 to 12 kgs per 200 sq. metres of land.

Under this method,first the field is made ready using traditional manure.Seeds are treated with cow urine,then,compost or organic manure is added & the field is alternatively kept moist & dry.The saplings are sprayed with cow urine fermented with neem leaves & the crop is left to grow & ripen.SRI has proved beneficial in 28 countries & is also used to cultivate other crops like sugarcane & finger millet.

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A heart warming story.The quality of soil in the mountains of Uttarakhand is poor & AFAIK most people do not have access to toilets.I believe providing toilets to all & using dried,treated human waste in addition to cattle dung would increase yields further.Though people would certainly welcome toilets;persuading them to use their own waste to produce more food for themselves would take some doing.

Original Story by Anurag Prasad,Outlook Business Oct 18,2008

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