Social-environmental trade-offs for Systems of Rice Intensification in S. India

Agricultural systems will only be sustainable if social and economic considerations are included in their design. Systems of Rice Intensification (SRI) has been proposed as more sustainable form of rice production due to reported higher yields and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However there is a research gap concerning the wider social and economic implications of SRI.

We developed a model to simultaneously analyse social, economic and environmental sustainability indicators (GHG emissions, ground water use, fossil/ non-fossil energy use, costs, profits, gender, employment quality and employment quantity) to compare SRI to conventional flooded rice production systems. Data was based on farmer-recall questionnaires in Andhra Pradesh, India. Data was collected per hectare and per kg of paddy.

SRI substantially increased yields (157% of control), reduced ground-water requirements (64% ha^-1, 42% kg^-1, of control) and reduced GHG emissions (72% ha^-1, 42% kg^-1, of control). Costs were substantially lower for SRI systems, on both a hectare and a per kg basis. The high yields and lower costs resulted in a doubling of profits per hectare.

However, these benefits are accrued to the farmer potentially at the expense of landless labourers. The role of agricultural employment in developing countries is a controversial issue, but in India, whose substantial economic growth has been largely jobless, agriculture retains a key role in reducing under- and un- employment.

SRI labour demand was lower (70% of control ha^-1). Simultaneously the ratio of male to female employment increased, from 67% female labour in control to 50% SRI.

Thus trade-offs may exist between environmental, economic and social aspects of SRI. Understanding sustainability from a broad perspective facilitates better policy creation.