102 The Global Food System
First, it is clearly stated that application of compost in SRI practice is optional
(http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/proc1/sri_03.pdf ), even though some proponents of
organic production present SRI otherwise (Schiller, 2004). This flexibility indi-
cates that the observed positive SRI responses are not entirely based on organic
fertilizer as it is assumed by some SRI critics (Sinclair and Cassman, 2004). How-
ever, in the past, agricultural utilization of organic materials was the common
traditional practice in Asia when rice was produced and consumed locally. But,
more recently, widespread introduction of chemical fertilizers together with the
high costs of labour and transport of organic manure, plus diminished availability
of biomass in some or many places, has led to a decline in the use of organic mate-
rials in cropping systems. At the same time, intensification of crop production and
urban concentration have led to a large increase in the production of agricultural
waste in many regions of the world. As with other grain crops, rice production is
now more akin to an open-cycle extractive industry, driven by externally supplied
synthetic inputs with nutrients being transported to urban concentrations, ulti-
mately ending up as displaced pollutants. And in the absence of effective recycling
procedures, the remaining crop residues are often mismanaged, leading to further
nutrient loss.
The promotion of compost application in SRI serves two purposes: for farm-
ers, it draws attention to the vital importance of soil structure and biology in grow-
ing a healthy crop sustainably; and for governments, it highlights the need to
address the bigger question of returning nutrients to the rice paddy from the urban
concentrations once the grain has been consumed and discarded as human waste.
SRI advocates argue that the more extensive root systems of SRI plants and the
improved soil structure and biology, induced by compost applications, provide
access to a much larger pool of nutrients (Uphoff, 2003). To the extent that these
claims are valid, they only provide a breathing space until agricultural production
systems return to the closed cycle practised with traditional rice production.
Moving Ahead from HYT to SRI
It has been revealed that SRI management practices for rice production in Asia
have strong linkages with the previous cultural practices such as HYT. Of course,
SRI-inspired farmers appreciate the considerable savings in labour and seed costs,
if they can reduce seedling density without compromising on yield. But why is SRI
proving more successful in spreading than HYT, whose success was limited to a
few farms where farmers could access large amounts of compost?
Matsushima (1973) suggested that in adopting HYT for high yield, the first
step is to prepare a large ‘container’ and second is to fill this container with rice. By
‘container’ he means the number of spikelets per square metre, and the content of
the container is the percentage of ripened grains. For the first step he suggested
that there should be dense planting to secure the maximum number of tillers per