1. Group I: Field Trip Report 2 nd National SRI Symposium, Agartala, October 4, 2007

2. Local Information Villages visited: South Bagma, Bagabasa, Barabhiya Bazar Para Math, and South Mirza in Matabari, Udaipur, South Tripura district

3. Farming communities Mostly Bengali population 746 households out of a total of 2,339 are practicing SRI About 50% of the households are either sharecroppers (baargadar) or marginal farmers

4. Adoption of SRI principles Principles of early transplantation, wider spacing (except for an innovative method in South Mirza), fertilizer use, etc. are by and large adhered to

5. Support systems: Institutions, actors and linkages Panchayati Raj institutions (PRI) take the lead in SRI promotion along with the Agriculture Department Subsidy of Rs. 900 is provided for 1.25 kaani area (1 kani= 0.16 ha); plus 7 kg urea, 2 kg MoP, 11 kg phosphate and 4 kg bio-fertilizer are provided to farmers The Department provides buy-back support for paddy seeds

6. Sustainability SRI is spreading now even without extension support. All the farmers interacted reported that they would continue practicing SRI even if the subsidy is withdrawn.

7. Salient features Very active participation of Panchayati Raj institutions Agriculture Department planning and close collaboration with PRIs evident Planning and accountability mechanisms operate at village level More working days are created because of SRI, particularly for wage labourers at village level Sharecroppers taking the most care of their SRI fields Incremental yield in all the four villages as described by the Pradhans (local government chairman) indicates increase of 2.5 to 3 times

8. Salient features Spread is seen across caste and political affiliations At least in one case there was an interesting innovation experimented with The best SRI practice, among the four villages visited, was observed at the village that had 95% scheduled caste (SC) population The local establishment has taken some risks to promote SRI SRI is also practiced in tilla (upland) areas A real bottom-up approach was evident throughout the area

9. Scope for improvement Drainage systems still need to be improved Pest control mechanisms can be improved