Oxfam America: Learning from the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in northern Vietnam

Castillo, Gina E.; Le, Nguyet Minh; Pfeifer, Kimberly

Oxfam America: Learning from the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in northern Vietnam

Autores

Castillo, Gina E.

Le, Nguyet Minh

Pfeifer, Kimberly

Editor

International Food Policy Research Institute

Descripción

Oxfam America has worked with civil society partners and the government of Vietnam to make the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) available to smallholder rice producers across Northern Vietnam at a scale hitherto unreached. SRI encourages farmers to optimize the performance of the individual rice plant rather than maximize inputs and relies on a menu of husbandry practices that can be adopted at any scale and in any combination. From the outset, the program aspired to move beyond local implementation and reach national scale while strengthening the capacity of farming communities and extension services. The program design involved three interlinked phases: local testing and confirmation of the potential of SRI, expansion to build a critical mass of experienced practitioners through farmer field schools and farmer-to-farmer extension approaches, and alignment with government policies to mobilize resources and support. Starting from 3,450 farmers applying SRI on 70 hectares of paddy land, the program expanded to 1,070,384 farmers using SRI principles on 185,065 hectares across 22 provinces by 2011. Farmers adopting SRI increased yields while reducing seed, fertilizer, and water use, resulting in additional income and reported environmental and health benefits. Farmer participation in program design and delivery fostered buy-in, supported horizontal scaling, and strengthened extension services through more participatory and evidence-based approaches. The program also prioritized women farmers, who played a significant role in training others and promoting adoption. Government recognition of SRI and the allocation of resources for its expansion were important factors in scaling up. The experience highlights the importance of long-term investment in partnership, farmer experimentation, capacity building, policy engagement, and strengthening the voice of farmers in achieving large-scale agricultural impact.