Hybrid rice was planted in an area of 1.3 m ha and additional rice production of 1.5 to 2.5 m t was added to the Indian food basket through this technology during the year 2010. More than 80 % of the total hybrid rice area is in eastern Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, with some little area in states like Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Haryana. Since hybrid rice technology is likely to play a key role in increasing the rice production in India, a  study was conducted in eastern Uttar Pradesh with the following objectives:

• To assess the impact of hybrid rice technology on productivity and income

·         To document the constraints in adoption of hybrid rice technology

In order to assess the impact of hybrid rice technology data were collected from 100 rice farmers of two districts viz., Ambedkarnagar and Bahraich districts of Uttar Pradesh. The economics of HYV and hybrid rice cultivation was assessed by using cost and returns concepts.   The income obtained from HYV and hybrid rice cultivation was compared. The relative importance of the constraints in hybrid rice cultivation as perceived by the farmers were prioritized by using Garrett’s ranking technique.

The results revealed that the yield hike due to hybrid rice cultivation was 26.43 per cent, on an average the price fetched by the hybrid rice was 11.62 per cent lesser than the HYV rice. The total returns obtained per hectare from hybrid rice cultivation were 12.66 percent higher than the HYV rice cultivation. The net benefit cost ratio was 0.83 and 0.94 for HYV and hybrid rice cultivation respectively. Higher seed cost and lower pricing ability were the major constraints in cultivation of hybrid rice as opined by the farmers in the study area.

Hybrid rice has the potential to contribute significantly to improve production and sustain food security. Hence, efforts are needed to promote large scale adoption of hybrids in India. Higher cost of seed was found to be a major deterrent for large scale adoption of hybrid rice technology and hence the cost of the hybrid seed should be reduced. This can be done by improving the hybrid seed yields.

Water is going to be most critical input in the future for agriculture in general and rice in particular. Of all the crops, rice uses more than 70 % of all irrigation water in India. Also, there is a notion that higher yields in rice come with high investments on seed, irrigation, high doses of fertilizers and more use of pesticides. This practice not only results in higher cost of cultivation but also may not give the desired results in the longer run. Contrary to this popular view, SRI method of cultivation produces higher yields with less seed and less water. SRI also emphasizes on the need to shift from chemical fertilizers to organic manures. 

            The results of a study in Katkur and Bonkallur villages of Jangaon mandal of Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh indicated that the yield advantage with SRI method was 22.8% and 22.5% respectively for Katkur and Bonkallur villages respectively. The net income obtained in Katkur was Rs.9241/acre in conventional method whereas it was Rs.21847/acre in case of SRI method. The net income obtained in Bonkallur was Rs.13393/acre in conventional method whereas it was Rs.19212/acre in case of SRI method of rice cultivation.

 From the various results stated on SRI in India, it can be concluded that SRI method of rice cultivation has yield advantage of around 25% to 55% in various states. The large scale adoption of SRI helps in enhancing production and productivity of rice in India. It also helps in releasing more income by the farmers, because of its yield advantage over the conventional method of rice cultivation.

 The SRI has proven ability to increase rice production by about 25 per cent or more depending on the extent of adherence to its basic principles. More importantly, SRI saves up to 40 per cent water due to alternate drying and wetting system, which is considered a unique advantage of SRI. The farmers are convinced of the benefits of SRI and hence its adoption is spreading on a larger scale.

The varieties resistant to the diseases in Rice are

The varieties resistant to various pests in Rice are

The varieties resistant to the diseases in Rice are

The varieties resistant to various pests in Rice are

Paddy cultivation today is not considered as a profitable venture by the farmers due to various factors such as  the scarcity of water, huge investment and lesser returns etc. SRI serves as the best answer to make paddy cultivation , a profitable one. SRI technique helps in increasing the productivity of the following

• water -- since yields can double or more with only half as much water, the productivity of water is greatly increased -- this is especially important in countries  like  India where water scarcity is an issue.
• land -- yields as indicated above can average about 8 t/ha once the methods are used correctly, and can be twice that or more when they are used with precision and skill.
• labor -- SRI does require more labor - about 26% in one Madagascar evaluation, 11% in a Sri Lankan survey - but depending on the cost of labor, the value of increased production increases the returns to labor by at least 50% and often several hundred percent. Once the methods have been mastered, the labor requirements for SRI decline. Also, implements are being developed that save labor. In Cambodia, over half the farmers using SRI now report that is is labor-saving for them.

SRI  farming has the following benefits when compared to the conventional farming

Environmental Benefits: SRI is environmentally-friendly. Reduced demand for water frees up water for other uses; soil that is not kept saturated has greater biodiversity. Unflooded paddy fields do not produce methane, one of the major "greenhouse gases" that are contributing to global warming. There can be more nitrous oxide from unflooded paddy fields, which offsets to some extent the gains from reducing methane emissions, but when nitrogen fertilizer is not used, this effect should be small.

Accessibility to Small & Marginal Farmers: SRI also has the benefit of being particularly accessible for farmers who have small landholdings and need to get the highest yields possible from their available land. Since poorer households have relatively more labor compared to land, SRI is one of the few agricultural innovations that has a bias in favor of equity. It is true that very poor households may find it difficult to invest labor in SRI because they need to be earning daily incomes, even if their returns to labor would be higher from SRI. However, since returns to land, labor and water are all higher with SRI, any household that grows rice and is labor-constrained will do better by using SRI methods on just a part of its landholding, using its other land for production of other crops when labor is available.

Active Role for Farmers: SRI methods are most productive when used with skill and care, so there will probably continue to be long-term advantage for labor-intensive production with SRI. However, SRI should be seen as a set of principles that are applied through various techniques, rather than as a fixed technology to be adopted as a "package." There is synergy among practices that makes their use together more beneficial than just using certain of the practices; but any of the practices should give some improvement in yield. We anticipate that various kinds of mechanization will over time make SRI suitable for larger scale production.

Farmers are encouraged to experiment with the methods and to evaluate the results for themselves, not just to "adopt" SRI. The best spacing between plants, for example, needs to be determined in relation to particular soil, climatic, hydrological and other conditions. Exactly when and how to apply water depends on soil characteristics and field position. So recommendations for spacing, water management, age of seedling, etc. are not offered as universal. Instead, principles are presented -- to be understood, tested and adapted by users to suit their own conditions. It is hoped that what farmers learn from using SRI may help them to become more innovative producers in other respects.

Grain Quality: When SRi paddy is milled, the outturn if often proving to be higher, as there are fewer unfilled grains (less chaff) and fewer broken grains (because they resist shattering). In Andhra Pradesh, India, the rice millers association is promoting SRI and paying a higher rice per bushel, as outturn has gone from about 67% to about 75%. The sugar cooperative in Cuba that has pioneered the new production methods in that country reports that its outturn has gone up from 60% before to 68-71% now with SRI. This adds about 15% more productivity on top of the higher yields of paddy.

Faster Maturity: Farmers are finding that SRI methods often, though not always, reduce the time required for grain maturation. In Cambodia, on average, SRI crops are ripening about 7 days sooner than regular crops of the same variety. In Andhra Pradesh, India, ripening is 7-10 days sooner. (It has been alleged that SRI crops take longer to mature, but this is not the experience in the field.) In Nepal during monsoon season 2004, farmers got more than a doubling of yield (3.37 to 7.85 t/ha) with a 15-day reduction in time to maturity. Being able to harvest sooner reduces farmers' risks of damage from pests or from typhoons, cyclones or other extreme weather than can come the end of the season.

Health Benefits: By reducing the application of agrochemicals in rice production, the resulting grain has little or no chemical residues. No systematic nutritional analyses have been done yet on SRI grains, but the larger root systems could enhance their micronutrient content, suggested by the higher grain weight and greater resistance to shattering. Many things are still not known about SRI in technical terms. This page will be updated as more information becomes available.