A novel and promising new approach to increasing productivity in rice cultivation, the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), has demonstrated dramatic potential for increasing rice yields without requiring additional purchased inputs, such as pesticides, fertilizer, limited irrigation, etc. This technology has a high potential to be adopted in the context of agriculture-based rural Bangladesh, but the state of SRI diffusion was not noteworthy. Moreover, there was a lack of experimental knowledge regarding the social networks among farmers at the village level. This experimental study found that while delighted at the prospects of such extension services being provided in rural Bangladesh, it is not clear whether this adoption resulting from a one-time intervention would be sustained and if other farmers seeing this adoption and higher yield would successfully adopt SRI.
Researchers: Dr Chris Barrett; Dr Marcel Fafchamps; Dr Asadul Islam; Dr Mohammad Abdul Malek; Dr Debayan Pakrashi; Dr Sakiba Tasneem; Tanvir Shatil
Partners: BRAC; International Growth Centre (IGC); Monash University; UKAid
Timeline 2014 – 2016
Status: Completed
Contact: Tanvir Shatil; tanvir.shatil@bracu.ac.bd
Publication
Working paper: System of Rice Intensification in Rural Bangladesh: Adoption, Diffusion and Impact
Context
A number of studies based on non-experimental evaluation suggest significantly higher yields and increased profits associated with SRI. It is often billed as a pro-poor innovation, as neither a new seed variety nor additional external inputs are required. The use of SRI methods has been shown to be susceptible to processes of social learning, though there is very little research on the role of social networks in the SRI literature. Literature shows that SRI is a knowledge-intensive cultivation technique that requires significant local adaptation and managerial skills but requires time and aptitude. There is evidence that farmers are constrained by the information and skills necessary for local adaptation. From the perspective of literature scarcity in the context of Bangladesh where SRI can contribute a good practice among the farmers, this study was initiated with the main intention of understanding the network characteristics and incentive mechanism for the successful adoption and diffusion of SRI in rural Bangladesh.
The main objective of this study was to understand the network characteristics and incentive mechanism for the successful adoption and diffusion of SRI. We examined whether village-level social networks among farmers can be used to promote information, as well as the uptake of SRI. We also analyzed whether and how a farmer’s decision to adopt a new technology depends upon the adoption decision of other farmers in his social group. We then examined the impact of SRI on rice yield and profitability.
Methodology
This study adopted an experimental methodology. The field experiment was conducted in collaboration with BRAC in a total of 180 villages from five different locations in Bangladesh. A total of 120 villages were selected randomly for treatment groups while the remaining 60 villages were designated as control. A census was conducted on all the farmers in these villages who cultivated rice on their own/leased land and owned at least 0.5 acres but not more than 10 acres of land. There were about 30-32 farmers surveyed from each village. In the baseline, 3,672 farmers from 120 treatment villages and 1,866 farmers from 60 control villages were surveyed. All of them were followed up in post-harvest data collection. There is no attrition. In case of the absence of a farmer in post-harvest data collection, BRAC staff revisited the family several times or interviewed another member of the household. Of 3,672 farmers from treatment villages, a total of about 2,243 received training on SRI, while the rest did not.
Findings and Recommendations
In this study, we show, for the first time, the impact of SRI using a large-scale randomized control trial (RCT). We use the village-level social networks along with financial incentives for referral and adoption of SRI. Our results suggest that the adoption level is considerably high given that the project involves only a one-time training and the fact that farmers in countries like Bangladesh are traditionally risk-averse, and less inclined to adopt new technology as SRI fields look visibly different from traditional rice fields. The yield gains, though not as significant as many other observational studies, are quite high—ranging from 14 percent to 25 percent. Though the SRI technique involves some additional labor for managing practices, and hence the cost is higher, we find that profit remains significantly higher than traditional farming. Profits are as high as 33 percent. This is despite the less-than-perfect adoption of SRI. The main constraint for adoption appears to be managing irrigation which many farmers could not follow as per the SRI technique. The irrigation system, though privately managed, requires collaboration among farmers of nearby plots of land to pump water at the same time.
