Extent of Knowledge and Adoption of System of Rice Intencification (SRI) Cultivation Practices among Rice Growers in Kohima District of Nagaland, India

Rice is life for millions of people in the world, particularly in developing countries. Unfortunately in India, the productivity of rice is already very low and the area for growing rice cannot be increased further. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI), developed by Fr. Henri de Laulanie during eighties in Madagascar, offers opportunities for improving rice production in a variety of situations around the world. SRI was promoted under the “Integrated Cereal Development Programme-Rice”. Rice is also the main staple food of people in the North Eastern Region of India. The demand for rice is growing with ever-increasing population. It is the most water intensive crops and requires about 3000-5000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of rice. Nagaland is also one of the states where SRI is cultivated by the rice farmers. It is one of the most important crops of the North Eastern states and SRI has been highly cultivated by farmers in Kohima district of Nagaland. It has the highest production and area.

The present study is an effort to study the profile of farmers’ already practicing SRI method of rice cultivation which would certainly help to develop suitable extension strategies to reach the slow adopters thus reducing the time gap and increasing the adoption rate. While worldwide SRI started three decades ago, its knowledge is still evolving and several issues with regard to various components that are involved in its implementation still need some investigation. The finding of the study can help to analyze the factors influencing it and the constraints faced by the farmers thus enlisting strategies to the rice farmers to overcome it.

The study was conducted in Jakhama, Kohima village and Kezocha block of Kohima district of Nagaland. A total number of 120 respondents from 4 villages were selected through random sampling based on maximum area under system of rice intensification production. Data was collected with the help of pre-structured interview schedule. The descriptive research design was used for the present research study. The socio-economic variables selected for the study were age, education, family size, family type, land holding, annual income, farm experience, extension contact, social participation, mass media exposure and sources of information utilization resources

The study revealed that majority of the system of rice intensification cultivators belonged to middle aged group, had medium level of annual income with medium size of land holding. Majority of them had medium year of farming experience, use of sources of information and medium level of extension contact. It was observed that the majority of the respondents had medium level of knowledge and adoption of recommended system of rice intensification practices among rice growers.