Dear All,

Greetings from WWF-ICRISAT project!!

WWF-ICRISAT Project, together with a number of other agencies, had organized three national level symposia on SRI - Hyderabad 2006, Agartala 2007 and Coimbatore 2008. These symposiums achieved their main objective of involving many players in evaluating and promoting SRI to increase production and food security with positive consequences on the environment. Many major organizations such as SDTT, NABARD and NFSM in addition to agricultural universities, state governments and civil society organizations are engaged in spreading the benefits of SRI innovation.

SRI has become a national phenomenon. Thanks to the contributions from many quarters. Unlike in many previous technological changes, farmers have been key players, significantly contributing to the adoption of SRI and by making critical modifications thereby to suit their specific field conditions.

Many of us have been actively involved in creating a National SRI. It is gratifying that the initiatives for establishing AP SRI Consortium are promising.

All these developments happened in the span of a decade after SRI has been introduced in India!

With the conclusion of this year, SRI is a decade-old agricultural intervention, which is still developing. It is still a work in progress and many are adding to refine it. But SRI methodology is still working. Close to a million farmers are reported to have tested it in more than 350 rice-growing districts. Looking back, since its introduction in 2000 to till now, one can see the great journey SRI has made with so many success stories despite hurdles and set backs. Individual farmers have benefited from adopting and adapting

SRI methods and there is rich experience for further refining it in order to realize its full potential. That many Government agencies have become involved and are investing in a big way makes the future of SRI very promising. But there is long way to go, and many of you who played a major role can reflect and provide the guidance for future direction.

There are also still many questions, which need to be answered. On the other hand there are many who question this method and its validity. This is part of advancing the debate and also refining SRI to be even more relevant. There is lot of scope for research and refinement. I am sure some of you who have made excellent contribution in research will also be able to provide guidance for national level co-ordinated research on SRI.

In this context, we feel that at this juncture there is a need to review the experiences, identify some lessons, and develop a vision to provide a road map for the next decade or so. In response to this, we are organizing a national workshop on 21st-22nd December 2010 at ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, primarily focusing on looking back and brainstorming on the efforts being made by all stakeholders so far to promote SRI.

The workshop is expected to discuss the following:

• Identify the Lessons from SRI experience
• Ideas for future direction
• Co-ordinated extension efforts
• Identify the research areas which needs attention

The draft programme is evolving and your ideas in shaping the programme are most welcome. The format of the workshop will be more interactive. Please feel free to suggest the content and format of the workshop in order to use the time more effectively.

We are pleased to extend our invitation to you to participate in this important event, as your contributions will be of immense value in achieving the goals of the workshop. We will be able to share the draft programme in next couple of days for your comments and suggestions.

We look forward to seeing you at ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh in National SRI 2010.

With best regards,

Dr. Biksham Gujja
Policy Adviser
WWF-International (WWF)
Gland, Switzerland
&
Special Project Scientist
WWF-ICRISAT Project
ICRISAT, Patancheru - 502 324
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA Tel: +91 40 3071 3764
Fax: +91 40 3071 3074/3075
Email: info@sri-india.net