Reducing the Vulnerability of Rural Households through Agroecological Practice : Considering the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

The System of Rice Intensification is a cropping system based on agroecological principles that mobilizes existing biological potentials in crops and soil systems. SRI has shown in more than two dozen countries that yields can be raised substantially by managing plants, soil, water and nutrients differently, with less reliance on fertilizer and agrochemicals, lowering costs of production, and even reducing labor. This article considers how the vulnerability particularly of resource-limited households can be reduced by reorienting current agricultural practices.