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"WASSAN's Role in the Spread of
SRI in National and International Arenas - A Report 
Introduction:
WASSAN has been playing a key role in the
SRI (System of Rice Intensification) movement that is gaining in strength year
after year. SRI, as a package of agronomical practices, is found to be
sustainable, economical and conserving precious natural resources such as soil,
water and paddy eco system as a whole. WASSAN, in close collaboration with WWF,
has been in the forefront in advocating, propagating of SRI and has been
conducting training programmes for trainers and farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and in other countries as well. A brief report is
presented detailing the activities of WASSAN during the last year (2006-07).
As part of the SRI propagation activity, WASSAN, in collaboration with PSI
(People's Science Institute, a Dehradun based NGO) conducted a comprehensive
training programme in the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The
training pragramme went on very well with the farmers of both the states,
particularly women farmers, enthusiastically participating and taking up SRI in
their plots in a big way. SRI plots were raised in Ghansali Division of
Uttarakhand, Dharmashala Division of Himachal
Pradesh and in PSI plot in
Dehradun city as well. In order to review the performance of SRI in those areas,
a workshop was organized by PSI at Dehradun on 31-10-07 in collaboration with
WASSAN. In
the workshop, Mr. Kishan
 Rao represented WASSAN as resource person and the PSI
plots, both SRI and conventional paddy plots, were test cut and the yield
statistics were recorded in the presence of agriculture department officials,
agricultural scientists of research farms, representatives of local NGOs and
local farmers. The results, then, were tabulated and compared between SRI and non-SRI plots. The participants agreed with the positive outcome of the SRI trials
and recommended SRI for adoption in the Himalayan region. PSI, upon confirmation
of the viability of SRI, decided to upscale SRI cultivation and raise 1000 SRI
plots in 2007 kharif season. WWF has been helping the organizations like WASSAN
in its efforts for large scale adoption of SRI practices among the farmers of
various states. It has also initiated a dialogue among the key players such as
governments, world bodies, research institutions, universities, civil society
and farmers to evolve consensus and an appropriate action plan to achieve the
twin objectives of higher rice productivity and lesser water usage. As part of
that dialogue process,
WWF organized an 'International dialogue on Rice and Water' at IRRI, Manila on
March 6-8, 2006. WASSAN was represented by Mr. Kishan Rao at the Manila
conference and at the end of the discussions a consensus emerged on the
modalities to be adopted to take the dialogue forward. In continuation of this
process, another discussion took place in Bangkok, on 2nd July, 2006, under the
auspices of FAO, in which WASSAN was represented by Mr. Kishan Rao. The
conference constituted a committee to initiate measures for the formation of an
institutional mechanism to execute and oversee the mandate of the conference."
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