SRI International Network and Resources Center

CHILE
[Spanish version under construction]

Overview

Chile's rice-growing area is primarily located in the southern part of the Maule Region and the new Ñuble Region. There are approximately 27,000 hectares of rice grown there, which produces around 130,000-170,000 tons of paddy rice per year. In Chile, the per capita consumption of this cereal per year is around 10 kilos per person. Chilean production supplies approximately 45% of national consumption, so the rest of the demand must be covered with imports, which come mainly from Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay. Eighty percent of the rice grown in Chile is established with pre-germinated under flooded conditions-- with huge volumes of water reaching 22,000 cubic meters/hectare. Most experts there believe this is the only way that the crop can successfully overcome the low temperatures that, at certain times of the year, affect the regions of Maule and Ñuble, where most of Chile's is produced. However, the need to develop a more environmentally sound production strategy that can cope with climate change has led the national rice industry to look for alternatives that allow a more efficient use of the water resource. In a changing agricultural scenario, characterized by greater environmental protection, climate change and scarcity of irrigation water, the Agricultural Research Institute's (INIA) Rice Breeding Program aims to establish new and increasingly sustainable crop production methods. The merger of new water-use efficient varieties and new agronomic management without herbicides together with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology (still in the experimental phase), is part of this reorientation towards sustainable production.

With initial support and encouragement from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in 2017, INIA began testing SRI methods, which are known for more efficiently using water and other resources. The first four seasons of SRI trials are reported in Karla Cordero's poster presented in 2018 in the 3rd ISRSGH held in Japan. The experimental results from these trials indicated that the best yield (8 t/ha) was obtained with conventional flooded conditions, which was thought to be primarily due to weed control and the thermic water buffer effect. While the SRI and modified SRI plots yielded somewhat less, the SRI plants averaged over thirty productive tillers per plant while the conventionally grown rice had only seven. Cordero concluded that, even though SRI methods did not achieve maximum yield levels, the results are promising considering that 6.5 t/ha were produced using only a third of water used with conventional production methods. This shows that, at a time where water is increasingly scarce, it is possible to produce rice in Chile without using the thermic protection of water. However, if SRI is to be scaled up with transplanting or modified direct dry-seeding, mechanized equipment will need to be made available.

A 2020 regional project, funded by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC for its Spanish acronym) of the Regional Government of Maule, is promoting research, innovation and competitiveness in the rice sector. The project seeks to benefit close to 1,100 rice farmers, as well as the chain associated with this sector, which includes technical advisors to farmers; companies; and also Chilean public entities, such as ODEPA and INDAP. During 2022, a participatory research group (PRG) was formed, in which innovative rice farmers focus on SRI, varietal development and more sustainable processes in a project funded by the Regional Government of Ñuble called “Climate-Smart Rice.”

Progress and Activities

2022 Updates

• Participatory Research with SRI Leads to More Sustainable Rice Production in Chile

  [March 2, 2022] In the region of Ñuble, just over 400 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, Santiago, researchers, extensionists and producers are looking for sustainable solutions to adapt to climate change and meet market demands. According to an article in SKN vibes, one of the key aspects for this has been participatory research groups working. Over a decade ago, Nelso Badilla started to produce rice with traditional methods, puddling and pre-germinated crops; after a drought he switched to the minimum tillage system and dry sowing, although he now faces labor shortages and increased input prices. Nelso is part of the participatory research group (PRG) in which innovative rice farmers focus on more sustainable processes in a project funded by the Regional Government of Ñuble called “Climate-Smart Rice.” Of the 57 hectares that he has sown with rice, he has allocated 2,500 square meters to establish a practice plot where he can try new varieties and a practice that saves up to 50% water, called SRI (System of Rice Intensification), an intensive crop system that being adapted for intensive dry sowing.

  On his land, with some twenty rice farmers, he regularly participates in training in genetics, mechanization and monitoring of plant development. The methodology is coordinated by the Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) of Chile and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) as part of a project of the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIA). Farmers hope to achieve in the future rice that matures in 120 days instead of 150 days, which would help reduce water use and tackle climate change. Karla Cordero, a researcher for Chile's NARI at the Rice Genetic Improvement Program, said that they can observe together differences between the common sapphire variety and an has extension experience to make this process not only one of research and innovation, but also one in which farmers participate permanently and actively. Fernando Barrera, specialist in Rural Extension at IICA, said that “on this occasion the assessment of the plant health was a pleasant surprise, particularly the development of the export grains, which have performed well under the SRI methodology.” [See full SKN Vibes article for details.]

2021

• SRI Helps Chile to Adapt to Climate Change

  [April 27, 2021] Southern Chile, one of the world's southernmost rice industries, is adapting to climate change using System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methods to move towards sustainable and climate smart rice production. According to an article on the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture's (IICA) website, SRI use in Chile will facilitate an 80% reduction in the use of seeds, eliminate the need for herbicides, and reduce water use by 50%.

  For many years, farmers in the Maule region, have been producing rice under flooded conditions, which is the traditional method associated with rice cultivation. This type of cultivation has the highest water footprint in the world, as approximately 1,700 liters of water are needed to produce half a kilogram of rice – an unsustainable requirement in the context of water shortages and climate change. The Maule region is located on the fringe of an area hit by a mega drought that has been advancing for the last 12 years and which has become a critical issue for many producers.

  Karla Cordero, researcher in charge of the Genetic Rice Improvement Program of Chile’s Agricultural Research Institute (INIA), is known as the "Queen of Rice." For the past four years, Cordero has spearheaded the country’s adaptation and adoption of SRI, which has been proposed as a concrete solution for producers in the zone, as it allows them to employ intensive and direct dry-seeding practices. The challenge was to adapt SRI to a temperate climate, focusing on four basic principles: early cultivation (flexibility in the date of planting); reduced competition among plants, through reduced density and mechanical control of weeds; the maintaining of healthy soils (aeration and oxygenation of roots); and alternating between dry and wet soils. These principles, in addition to the use of high-yield better quality seeds, short duration cultivars and adaptation to the new restricted water conditions, have enabled the creation of a climate-smart rice cultivar which, after two years of testing and experimental studies, is available for use on a mass scale by producers.

  Fernando Barrera, Rural Extension Specialist at IICA, said that the challenge in this phase of the process is to continue the participatory research process with the farmers, extension officers, researchers and development agents. In addition to the environmentally relevant agronomic changes, he notes that "the aim is to devise marketing strategies that highlight the value of a more sustainable production system and that represent the best of our rural world.”

  A regional project, funded by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC for its Spanish acronym) of the Regional Government of Maule, is promoting research, innovation and competitiveness in the sector. The project seeks to benefit close to 1,100 rice farmers, as well as the chain associated with this sector, which includes technical advisors to farmers; companies; and also Chilean public entities, such as ODEPA and INDAP. It will also create indirect benefits for all national rice consumers. [See full IICA article for details.]

2020

• Authorities Visit INIA's SRI Rice Trials in Parral

  [January 14, 2020]. Guided by the head of the Agricultural Research Institute's (INIA) Rice Breeding Program, Karla Cordero (at right in photo), the Maule agriculture authorities, together with the provincial governor of Linares, visited the demonstration plots maintained by INIA in Parral. Carolina Torres, along with the regional director of INIA Raihuén, Rodrigo Avilés, and the regional director of the Agricultural Development Institute (INDAP), Óscar Muñoz, learned about the advances with the System of Rice Intensification. SRI is part of a reorientation towards sustainable production, since it will allow advances in the reduction of chemical products used in the crop, eliminating the use of herbicides, and, at the same time, saving a significant amount of water currently used for rice. (SRI uses only one third of the water used conventionally in Chile). Chile's rice production is concentrated in the South Maule area and that much of it is in the hands of small and medium farmers, which is why INIA technical support and INDAP accompaniment is very important for the continuity of the crop. "We are reviewing with the governor and regional directors the interesting results of this sustainable rice cultivation trial. We think that results are very hopeful, and can be a replicable alternative for many of our producers." 2020 is expected to be a difficult one for farmers and we need plans for the drought that include short-, medium- and long-term measures. Carolina Torres said they will strengthen the dissemination of this new system among small farmers through coordination with INDAP and the respective technical advisors of each group.

  SRI is a methodology that is part of the international challenge of producing more rice with fewer inputs. Cordero explained that this method has been tested in recent years in Chile with the commercial varieties available (which have been bred for conventional flooding conditions). “Among the advantages that the SRI presents for our country, the mechanized weed control stands out, which favors oxygenation of the soils. In addition, it allows a better development of the roots of the rice plants and a more efficient absorption of nutrients, activating the beneficial microorganisms of the soil,” she said, adding that this methodology also allows eliminating herbicides. Rice could then become a crop free of fungicides, pesticides and herbicides, since, being possibly the southernmost rice in the world, Chilean rice has no serious pests or diseases. Finally, Cordero highlighted the water reduction advantage, perhaps the most important aspect of SRI, given the drought scenario that Chile is going through. "One of our objectives for now is to identify the varieties that achieve better yields with this system and that use water more efficiently," she concluded. [See full Spanish language article for more details.]

2019

• Radio Show Brings to Light Trials on Adapting SRI for Chilean Conditions

  [May 29, 2019]. A radio broadcast put on by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) highlighted the results of trails that began in 2017 to see how SRI methods could be adapted for Chilean conditions, which include low temperatures and increasing water scarcity. The 15 minutes presentation included Susana Fevrier, Luis Diego Solórzano, Luis Diego, Jaime Humberto Flores Ponce, and Karla Cordero Lara from the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) in Chile.

2018

• SRI Experience with Chilean Temperate Japonica Rice Presented at Rice Conference in Japan

  [December 15, 2018] Karla Cordero made a poster presentation on her work with SRI methods in Chile at the Third International Symposium on Rice Science in Global Health, held November 29-20, 2018, in Kyoto Japan. Her poster The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Experience in Chilean Temperate Japonica Rice outlines her attempts to introduce, adapt, and validate base SRI principles to Chilean rice conditions with the goal of increasing the sustainability of agronomic practices currently used in Chile. Cordero's experimental results after two cropping seasons showed that the best yield (8 t/ha) was with conventional flooded conditions, mainly due to the weed control and the thermic water buffer effect. While the SRI and modified SRI plots yielded somewhat less, the SRI plants showed an average of over 30 productive tellers per plan while the conventional methods showed only seven. She concluded that, even though SRI methods didn't get maximum productive levels, the results are promising considering that 6.5 t/ha was produced using only a third of water used conventionally used. This shows that it is possible to produce rice in Chile without using the thermic protection of water, which was not initially believed to be possible.

• SRI Methods Highlighted at Field Day in Parral

  [March 27, 2018] Karla Cordero, researcher in charge of the INIA Rice Breeding Program, and Didier Moreira, Costa Rican specialist and consultant to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), presented the four SRI principles at a field day in Parral. Cordero explained that the first principle, which is to encourage the early establishment of the crop, could allow an earlier flowering, in December or January (currently late January February) to take advantage of the higher temperatures, which helps the development of the crop. One of the main challenges of adopting this system is the change in planting method, since, unlike the usual practice of sowing under flood with pre-germinated seeds, SRI requires planting of seeds with wider spacing and drier conditions. Cordero said that although the original system recommends the establishment of the rice plants in a square pattern at 30 x 30 cm, she decided to modify the structure in local trials, using 2 to 3 seedlings, arranged at 10 cm in the row, keeping 30 cm between the rows. She relayed that "This allows to us to reduce the plant density common in the traditional system, which reduces the amount of seed required, thereby also relieving the stress on the producer's pocketbook." They will have more concrete results on the effectiveness of SRI under Chilean conditions in April. The agronomist indicated that the studies will be extended for two seasons, at which time the tests will be scaled up in producer fields in the regions of the Maule and northern part of Ñuble. [Read more on in the article on the Angelino website.]

2017

• INIA and IICA Embark on Joint SRI Trials in Chile

  [December 18, 2017] Trials with a new rice production methodology, the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), are being jointly carried out by INIA and IICA, within the framework of an international cooperation agreement. SRI methods are being tested in the experimental rice field of INIA Quilamapu in San Carlos, within the framework of a cooperation agreement between the Chile's Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which is based in Costa Rica. As indicated by the head of the INIA Rice Breeding Program Manager, Karla Cordero, SRI allows the plants to express their full genetic potential, generating strong and developed roots that better resist drought, water-logging and wind situations, among others. She believes that rice producers can reduce climate vulnerability and strengthen their food security with SRI. If the SRI system is favorable at the end of the season, both institutions will generate a joint project with the purpose of establishing the methodology in the national rice sector, which means that within three years it would be transferred to producers.

  As part of the SRI initiative, the members of the INIA Rice Genetic Improvement Program, Karla Cordero and Fernando Saavedra, met with IICA researchers to initiate joint activities. Various activities included the visit to the El Almendro farm in Parral, where the team composed of Paula Ponzano (IICA Chile), Didier Moreira (IICA Costa Rica), Karla Cordero ( INIA Chile) and Fernando Saavedra (INIA Chile) met with the rice consultant Carlos Cisterna. Cisterna acknowledged that the use of transplanting, which could be an alternative for planting rice in Chile, was not common in Chile due to high labor requirements. However, with the scaling up of the system and the possibility of acquiring equipment at a lower cost from Asian markets, it may be more practical. Subsequently, the INIA-IICA team visited a group of producers in San Carlos headed by Nelso Badillo, who had already participated in a rice transplanting initiative in the 2010/2011 season.

  In the DIGUA experimental field, located at km 20 of the Parral - Cauquenes road, a field day was conducted for members of the technical assistance services (SAT) that serve rice farmers. Attendees were able to witness the first experiments with SRI methodology on Chilean soils, which consisted of four methodologies for establishing rice cultivation: direct dry sowing, pre-germinated rice sowing under flooded conditions, the SRI-IICA methodology used in other countries, and finally, an adaptation of the SRI-IICA methodology for temperate Chilean climate conditions. Didier Moreira, a specialist in SRI at IICA, explained the different attributes of the system, and received feedback from attendees regarding how the system should work in Chile. The activity was attended by members of SAT offices in Linares, Parral and San Carlos. Another activity was a seminar in the town of Parral where the new SRI methodology was presented in detail. Presentations were made by ODEPA, INIA and IICA on the potential of adapting this methodology to Chilean conditions. The modifications that this methodology should have in Chile for its viability were also discussed. The activities of the INIA-IICA agreement ended with a meeting at the INIA offices in Chillán, in which the technical team participated, in addition to the INIA Regional Director Quilamapu, Rodrigo Avilés, and the IICA representative in Chile, Jaime Flores. In the meeting the future lines of cooperation and joint work that are of interest to both institutions were discussed. [See article in ElAgro Agricultura for more information]

Reports and Articles

• Witkowski, Kelly. 2023. Co-Innovating for more sustainable, climate responsive rice production in Chile. IICA blog. May 9.
• IICA. 2022. Participatory research, the basis for a more sustainable rice in Chile. SKN Vibes website. March 2. [Participatory research group (PRG) project uses SRI in project funded by the Regional Government of Ñuble.]
• 2020. Universidad de Cornell, EE.UU. reconoció metodología INIA en producción de arroz en Chile. INIA Chile blog. August 17. [Spanish language blog post about INIA's SRI collaboration in Chile with Cornell and IICA.]
• 2020. Trabajos de INIA sobre arroz en Chile son destacados por Universidad estadounidense. San Carlos Online,August 15. [A review from Chile that notes the SRI-Rice Chile page!]
• Carbonell, Fernando. 2020. Autoridades visitaron ensayos de arroz de INIA que genera ahorro de agua. El Centro, January 15. [Guided by the head of the INIA Rice Genetic Improvement Program, Karla Cordero, the Maule agriculture authorities, together with the provincial governor of Linares, visited the demonstration plot maintained by the Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) in the commune of Parral]
  
• 2018. SRI, el sistema que permite producir arroz de forma más sustentable. El Mercurio, October 5.
• 2018. INIA reorienta el cultivo de arroz en Chile hacia la sustentabilidad. El Heraldo, September 20. [Article about Chilean Govt. program INIA's trials with SRI to address water use, climate change and environmental protection] [Also available on INIA's website]
• 2018. INIA Chile redirects rice cultivation in Chile towards sustainability. Infoagro website, September 14.
• IICA. 2018. IICA e INIA presentan nuevo sistema de produccion ded arroz para enfrentar el cambio climatico. IICA website.
• 2018. Iniciativa busca el cultivo de arroz “sustentable”. El Centro website. September 17. [INIA's Karla Cordero talk about trials with SRI to reduce chemicals and water use in Chile.]
• 2018. INIA presentó en Parral nuevo sistema de producción de arroz para enfrentar el cambio climático. Mundo Agropecuario, March 28. Chile: INIA has trials on adapted SRI in Maule regions and northern part of Ñuble, and SRI field day with 130 farmers near Parral.] [Story also covered in El Heraldo]
• 2018. En Día de Campo, INIA presentó en Parral nuevo sistema de arroz para enfrentar el cambio climático. Angelino, March 28.
• 2017. INIA e IICA Evalúan introducir nuevo sistema de manejo en arroz para entrentar cambio climático. El Agro Agricultura. December 18.

Presentations

• Cordero Lara, Karla. 2018. Towards a More Sustainable Rice Crop: The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Experience in Chilean Temperate Japonica Rice. Poster presentation at the Third International Symposium on Rice Science in Global Health, held November 29-30, 2018, in Kyoto, Japan
• Cordero Lara, Karla. 2018. Nuevas alternativas productivas para el sector arrocero nacional con miras a la sustentabilidad. 40 slides. Presentation at INIA on December 6, 2018
• 2018. Seminario Web “Avances con el Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo de Arroz (SRI) en las Américas: Pruebas en Chile”. SICA facebook. June 8. [Invitation to a webinar on SRI progress in Chile]
• Cordero, Karla L. 2018 (June 13). Avances con el Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo de Arroz (SRI) en las Américas: Pruebas en Chile. 50 slides. Infoagro.net website. [PowerPoint of a Spanish language IICA-sponsored June 13 webinar about SRI in Chile.]

Videos/Audio

• Radio show: 2019 (May 29). Cuando el SRI se juntó con el arroz más austral del mundo. 15 min. AgroEnlace - Transmisión en vivo. IICA website. [Spanish language radio show about SRI in Chile.]
• Video: 2018 (June 13). Avances con el Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo de Arroz (SRI) en las Américas: Pruebas en Chile. IICA channel, Vimeo. [Video of a Spanish language webinar by Karla Cordero L. about SRI in Chile.]