It sounds too good to be true.
Lalku and other farmers in western Nepal are taking part in trials of a new technique called SRI (System of Rice Intensification) which have been shown to increase rice production by more than double with fewer seeds and fertilisers, even in arid areas.
"Look, I didn't have to flood my field, and there are 100 tillers from a single seedling," says Lalku, showing us his rice patch, "earlier I used to get only 10 tillers each." SRI also produces sturdier plants with thicker tufts that can withstand floods.
Some government officials and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation are enthusiastic with the trials and say SRI could hold answer to Nepal's food insecurity. A timely monsoon and the winter rains boosted harvests, and Nepal recorded a grain surplus of 111,000 tons this year.
"If SRI is adopted in a national scale, we can double our rice production with ten per cent the seeds, half the fertilisers and very little water. What could be more perfect?" asks Rajendra Uprety, a government agriculture officer who helped introduced the technique in Nepal (see box).
Lalku is now getting his second harvest from SRI just before the monsoon floods can damage crops.
A few hours away in Ramshikarjhula, Bedanand Upadhyay doubled his rice harvest this year. Thrilled with his success, he is now planning to expand SRI to the rest of his farm.
In Dakshin Purba VDC, 24 farmers this year converted to SRI with assistance from FAO.
"Where irrigation is available, SRI can be done pre-moonson, allowing farmers to harvest at least one rice crop before the rains, increasing their food security," explains Xavier Bouan of FAO.
However, while farmers across the Tarai don't need much convincing about SRI, the government in Kathmandu is more reluctant. The National Agriculture Research Council (NARC) is still not backing SRI as government policy.
With all the advantages it offers, SRI is quite simple, and can be done on local or hybrid varieties alike.
The patch in the foreground uses the old method, and the one behind uses the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
The field is irrigated just enough, without submerging it in water and water is drained two-three times at an interval of 15 days.
Traditional paddy-growing submerges fields to control weeds and pests, and the downside of SRI is that it is more labour intensive, requiring more hands for weeding, timely drainage and careful planting.
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) was invented by French Jesuit Fr Henri de Laulanie in Madagascar in 1983 after 30 years of research. Today it is used in 30 countries including China, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia, where research has shown yield increase by 30-50 per cent using half the amount of water.
In Nepal, SRI was pioneered by Rajendra Uprety (pictured) when he was District Agriculture Extension Officer in Morang. He read about it in an agriculture journal and decided to give it a try. Today there are SRI tests and demonstrations being carried out in 35 districts across the country: 300 ha in Dang, 120 ha in Jhapa and 80 ha in Kailali. Test plots like these produce up to 12 tons per hectare, compared to 3 to 5 tons produced by the old method.
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