SRI International Network and Resources Center

COSTA RICA
[en español]

Progress and Activities

2019 Updates

• Rice Producer in Bagaces, Costa Rica, Finds Success with SRI

  [August 29, 2019] An article on the IICA website recounts the SRI success story of Israel Araya, a rice producer in Bagaces, Costa Rica, whose conventional farming practices had begun resulting in unsuccessful harvests, and, consequently, substantial losses. He could never have imagined that a virtual course would open the door to innovation. In 2018, after 34 years of farming, Israel faced one final setback in production alongside his children Steven and Marlon, whom he had convinced to venture into rice farming in order to enhance their livelihood and identify opportunities for improvement. “We harvested rice of a very poor quality, which hardly anyone wanted to buy; therefore, we experienced losses,” remarked Israel. His son Steven was the one who came across the freelu-available course entitled “System of Rice Intensification: Producing more with less,” on the e-learning platform of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). “I took the course and followed all of the lessons to the letter. I realized that, if we wanted to continue farming rice, we would need to transition toward and utilize this method, which provides a great deal of benefits,” explained Steven Araya. (See IICA video for further explanation the Arayas.)

  The IICA article further explains how Israel and his children are now reaping the benefits of SRI on their plot of land in Bagatzí de Bagaces in the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. Conventional rice farming practices are implemented on only one of their almost 13 hectares of land, in order to compare results. “With respect to seeds for planting, we went from utilizing between 100 and 120 kilograms per hectare to just 24 kilograms, and reduced water use by 30%. Our plants are stronger, cleaner and healthier, without any diseases or bacteria; their stalks are thicker, their ears are more developed, and they contain more grains,” explained the farmer. “I wasn’t expecting this, but I am very pleased with the results. This is environmentally-friendly rice. We conducted the entire phytosanitary control process using microorganisms to control pests and diseases, fungi and bacteria,” added Araya. Rice partners The National Rice Corporation (CONARROZ) and the National Institute of Agricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer (INTA) have assisted Israel Araya in updating his farming practices. “We provide him with support on a weekly basis to assist him in analyzing the agronomic variables of evaluations, as well as pests, diseases, weeds and soil preparation,” indicated technical specialist Berter Martínez of CONARROZ. Israel Araya’s innovation process caught the attention of El Pelón de la Bajura, one of the largest rice companies in Costa Rica, and that of other small-scale farmers in the area. “I came to them to buy seed with the aim of farming rice for commercial use. However, when I mentioned that my plot of land was new to this crop, they gave me registered seed to produce certified seed,” explained Araya. This seed is purchased by El Pelón de la Bajura. The goal is to expand the use of this farming methodology on more farms in the area. “We hope that our plot of land can serve as a sort of school for those who wish to do things differently by changing their farming methodology, with the aim of achieving greater yields and increasing economic benefits,” stated Araya. “SRI is a system with great potential to be developed here. It is almost impossible to survive under the conventional production system,” he concluded. [For more information, see IICA article and video. A related article in Spanish is also available from La Nación.]

2017

• The Second Regional Exchange: Advances with SRI in the Americas

  [December 15, 2017] Costa Rica participated in the Second Regional Exchange: Advances with SRI in the Americas, which took place in Ibagué, Colombia from October 10-12, 2017. During the meeting, participants from the countries of Colombia, Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panamá, Trinidad-Tobago, and Venezuela presented the results of their experiences with SRI with the objective of exchanging information, lessons learned and opportunities for adapting SRI in the Americas. This Second Regional Exchange was organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the National Federation of Rice Growers of Colombia (FEDEARROZ), within the framework of the Project "Cultivate more with less: Adaptation, validation and promotion of the intensive system of rice cultivation (SRI) in the Americas as a response to climate change." The project was financed by FONTAGRO and the GEF. Luís Carrera and Johnny Aguilar of INTA (National Institute of Innovation and Transfer of Agricultural Technology) presented on behalf of Costa Rica. [See Nicaragua poster and video presentation from the conference.]

• Present and Future of SRI in Costa Rica
  

  [December 12, 2017] Luís Carrera from INTA (National Institute of Innovation and Transfer in Agricultural Technology) of Costa Rica presented at The Second Regional Exchange: Advances with SRI in the Americas, where he explained that although in Costa Rica 60% of rice production is rainfed and only 20% is under irrigation, he believes responsible and efficient water management are important. He described that the Chorotega Region of Costa Rica has the largest amount of productive rice area under irrigation: 20,000 hectares which could do better when it comes to resource management. He believes SRI helps against the Chorotega Region’s disadvantages of high temperatures with strong winds that promote the diminution of the production potential of the crop. He also shared that the soils are mostly vertisols and some are mollisols with a relatively flat topography that facilitates the establishment of irrigation, so there is currently an opportunity gap in that area. The rainfed areas have average yields of around 3.5 ton / ha, while the areas under irrigation range from 5.5 to 6.0 ton / ha.

  As for SRI trial plots in Costa Rica, the first production cycle (plants starting to flower), is just beginning and being developed, so there are no results yet. However, the resistance of the producers selected for the project has been decreasing as the crop develops because they see the great growth between the initially established seedlings and the current ones. Currently, SRI plots show better condition when compared to conventional: They display good tillering (8 to 10 tillers in conventional and 20 to 25 tillers in SRI), improved soil microbiology, incorporation of biological and repellent phytosanitary control, adoption of mechanical weed control, and complete discontinued use of herbicides.

  SRI trial plots have been established in communities that traditionally used their methods of espeque or puyón. That being said, not planting by transplant was difficult and new for many producers. This is important because in Costa Rica, rice production has a high technological and mechanizational approach for large areas, however, most producers do not have adequate conditions for that and have limited access to it. For this reason, the future of SRI in Costa Rica is focused on validating the methodology and providing greater credibility of its benefits for the rice production system, promoting the acquisition of new technologies for the efficient development of SRI in the country and promote more research to increase the yields obtained with SRI. [For more information, Click Here.]

2013 Updates

• EARTH University Makes Progress with SRI Field Trials

  [July 4, 2013] SRI trials are underway at EARTH University's experiment station near Liberia, Guanacaste. A presentation provided by Carlos Murillo show progress on the trials as of May 2013. Three varieties were transplanted at 13 days old on 5 ha. at a spacing of 30cm x 24cm. A 10-row weeder (right) was also designed so that weeding and aeration operations could be mechanized.

• Jorge Acosta Facilitates SRI-Rice Communications in Latin America

  [April 15, 2013] Beginning in April 2013, Jorge Orlando Acosta Buitrago (right) began facilitating Spanish language outreach in Latin America for Cornell's SRI-Rice Center. He is also currently a graduate student at Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Jorge has opened a Spanish language Facebook site for SICA. Please stop by to see what's new!

2012

• EARTH University Follows Up on International SRI Conference with Numerous Projects

  Following the First International Latin American Workshop on SICA, held on the campus of EARTH University in November 2011, freshmen at EARTH began implementing the Sistema de Intensificación del Cultivo del Arroz, (SICA, or, in English -SRI) as part of their field laboratory with very good results. Importantly, the potential to promote the evaluation of SICA methods regionally through EARTH students is great since the current class (2012-2015) includes students from from 26 countries. At right, the students are shown in their SICA plots at the EARTH campus.

  Other efforts SICA efforts that EARTH University is involved in are:

  • Adaptation of SICA to organic production system: Graduation project of Francisco Leiva, a year IV EARTH University student
    
  • Inclusion of SICA in the rice germplasm evaluation by the rice breeding program at Instituto Nacional de Innovacion y Transferencia en Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA)
  • Integrating the use of machinery for planting rice with SICA methods at EARTH's center in La Flor (led by Diddier Moreira)
  • Integration of SICA methods in the study of endophytic fungi inoculation of rice seedlings at EARTH.
  • Beginning development of an IICA-EARTH research project proposal in collaboration Dr. Manuel Sanchez, IICA representative of the Dominican Republic.
    
  • Admission of Eng. Jorge Buitrago Acosta to CATIE. (Acosta attended the International SICA conference and has extensive experience in SICA.He will do his thesis on SICA in collaboration with EARTH).
    
  • Following up on offers from the private sector in Costa Rica and Nicaragua to implement SICA demonstration plots in both countries.  

2011

• First International Latin America Workshop on SRI Held in Costa Rica

  The First International Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean was held at Earth University in Costa Rica on October 31 and November 1, 2011 (see Cornell Chronicle article).

  
    Photos of LAC SRI Workshop - See also album

  The objectives of the workshop were to:

  • Bring to together for the first time SRI practitioners and researchers from Latin American Countries and the Caribbean,
  • Assess the achievements and opportunities of the System of Rice Intensification in Latin America and the Caribbean;
  • Brainstorm potentials and constraints for improving rice production practices in the region; and
  • Develop a plan for the next steps in advancing SRI in Latin America.
    

  Jointly organized by SRI-Rice (Cornell University), Earth University (Costa Rica), and the Better U Foundation (Los Angeles), 27 participants from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA met to assess achievements of SRI in the region to date. (See workshop page, which contains report, presentations, news article, and program.)

2005

• Mechanized SRI Effort Successful in Northwestern Costa Rica
  [details in Spanish or English]

  The first trials with SRI (SICA in Spanish) were undertaken by Mr. Oscar Montero in northwestern Costa Rica in 2005. Due to a shortage of manpower to transplant, he began by modifying a AP100 Yanmar mechanical transplanter (which was designed to sow between 3 and 5 seedlings) to sow single seedlings at a distance of 22 x 30 cm. Seedbeds are planted with pregerminated seeds sown in planting trays with a substrate that includes a soil additive (EcoMic) and controlled-combustion (not the burnt) rice hulls obtained from the ovens used to dry rice (see details with photos). Ten day old seedling mats are removed from trays, folded and transferred to the field to be planted by the transplanter. After solving the transplanting dilemma through the transplanter modifications and planting tray system, he began to carry out the five basic recommendations for SICA. (Further information: in English or Spanish).

  With virtually no labor force and using marginal rice land with a severe red rice infestation, Montero has, with the application of SICA principles, practically doubled the average national rice yield to 8 tons/ha as of 2008.

  Oscar Montero also traveled to Guatemala to start another "SICA mechanizada" effort. He has been exchanging information with Rena Perez, who spearheads much of the SICA work in Cuba and provides information on SICA in Spanish throughout Latin America.

Reports and General Articles (Costa Rica)

• Witkowski, Kelly. 2019. System promoted by IICA improves the productivity and adaptation of rice to climate change. Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) website. [Costa Rica farmers finds success with SRI.]
• Witkowski, Kelly and Diddier Moreira. 2017. Informe segundo intercambio regional: Avances cons SRI en las Américas [Read online (slideshare.net). Also, 15MB hi-res download version; or 5MB download version without posters]. SRI-Rice website. (50p., 4MB pdf) [Spanish language document about a regional workshop related to the Proyecto Cultivar más con menos: Adaptación, validación y promoción del Sistema Intensivo del Cultivo Arrocero (SRI) en las Américas como una respuesta al cambio climático. The workshop was held October 10-12 in Ibagué, Colombia.] [See also shorter description in English.]
• 2011. First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean. System of Rice Intensification website. December. (25 p., 2.9MB pdf) [For more information, see workshop page]

Articles in Spanish (en español)

• Barquero, Marvin. 2019. Nuevo esquema de cultivo arrocero reduce en 30% uso del agua. La Nación. August 29. [Water use reduced with SRI in Costa Rica.]
• Avances cons SRI en las Américas - Costa Rica. Presentacion - Poster en El Segundo Intercambio Regional: Avances cons SRI en las Américas, bagué, Colombia, October 10-12, 2017
• Montero, Oscar. 2005. SICA en El Pedregal, Costa Rica. System of Rice Intensification website.

Workshops/Events

• Producir más con menos mediante el Sistema Intensivo del Cultivo de Arroz (SRI) [LATIN AMERICA / COSTA RICA]

  This is an online course in Spanish on how to use SRI methods. It has six modules and can be accessed anytime in October and November, 2019. The modules cover the following material: Módulo 1. Fundamentos y principios de la metodología del SRI. Módulo 2. Establecimiento del cultivo bajo la metodología del SRI. Módulo 3. Riego del cultivo bajo la metodología del SRI. Módulo 4. Manejo de malezas bajo la metodología del SRI. Módulo 5. Control de plagas y enfermedades bajo la metodología del SRI. Módulo 6. Nutrición del cultivo bajo la metodología del SRI.
  Date: Course is available October 1 - November 30, 2019
  Venue: Online (via IICA)
  Organizer: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
  More information: See the website, or contact IICA
  

• First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean

  Twenty-seven participants from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA met to assess achievements of SRI in the region to date.(see workshop page, report, presentations and agenda)

  Organized by: SRI-Rice (Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development) and EARTH University with funding from Jim Carrey's Better U Foundation
  Date: October 30 - November 1, 2011
  Venue: EARTH University campus, Costa Rica

Presentations (primarily PowerPoint)

• 2013. Proyecto de Arroz SR - Universidad EARTH. Presentation provided by Carlos G. Murillo. May, EARTH University, Guanacaste, Liberia, Costa Rica. [Progress of EARTH's SRI trials in Liberia as of May 2013]
• 2011. 1) Arroz competitivo:A través del Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo Arrocero (SICA) (SRI) and 2) Sabemos que el SICA funciona. Two PowerPoints by Oscar Montero, Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.
  Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.
• 2011. Estado Actual de la Producción de Arroz en LAC (The State of Rice Production in Latin America and the Caribbean). PowerPoint by
  Luis Pocasangre, Professor of Tropical Crops, EARTH Univeristy – Plant Protection Department (PPD), Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.
• 2011. Arroz en Costa Rica: Investigación y Producción (Rice in Costa Rica: Research and Production), PowerPoint presentation by Roberto Tinoco and Roberto Camacho, Instituto Nacional de Innovacion y Transferencia en Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Costa Rica, presented at the First Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America held October 30 - November 1, 2011, at the EARTH University campus in Costa Rica.

Video / Audio

• Audio: 2019 (August 29). Nuevo esquema de cultivo arrocero reduce en 30% uso del agua. 4:11 min. La Nación. [Water use reduced with SRI in Costa Rica.]
• Video: 2019 (August 26). Caso de éxito de SRI en Costa Rica. 4:16 min. IICA channel, Vimeo. [Experience of a Costa Rican farmer who took the IICA online course on SRI and tried out the methods.]
• Video: 2019 (July 29). Opiniónes de productores sobre SRI. 2:05 min. IICAnoticias channel, YouTube. [Farmer experiences with IICA-sponsored SRI efforts in Panana, Costa Rica and elsewhere in Latin America.]
• Video: 2019 (July 29). 1) ¿Qué es SRI?. 2:00 min. SRI 2do Segmento. 6:10 min. SRI 3er Segmento 5:46 min. IICAnoticias channel, YouTube. [Agroconecxion TV show (in three parts) on IICA's SRI program.]
• 2018 (January 18). Producción de Semmilleros en Bandejas para Transplante en el Cultivo del Arroz. 1:38 min. Oscar Montero channel, Youtube. [Spanish language video about Oscar Montero's SRI production in Costa Rica.] [accessed April 15, 2018]
• 2018 (Enero 18). 03 SRI - Costa Rica. 3:32 min. IICA channel, Vimeo. [Video sobre pruebas SRI en Costa Rica]
• 2013 (May 22). Iniciativa del SICA en Costa Rica. 16 min. Produced by Jorge Acosta. SICA América Latina Facebook page. [Un miniclip en la regíon indígena Bribri en Talamanca Costa Rica.]
• Audio: 2012 (June 20). SICA, una propuesta de agricultura responsable. 15 min. Produced by the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IICA). Agroenlace, IICA website. [Produced at IICA in Costa Rica.]
  [Hoy conversamos sobre el SRI/SICA, un conjunto de prácticas alternativas que rompe las reglas convencionales de manejo del arroz y logra duplicar la productividad reduciendo drásticamente los costos. Para hablar del tema nos acompañan Manuel Sánchez, Representante del IICA en República Dominicana, Luis Pacasangre Enamorado, profesor e investigador de la Universidad EARTH, y Oscar Montero, consultor independiente con experiencia en la producción de arroz con tecnología SICA.]

Photo Archive

• The Costa Rica Photo Collection contains pictures obtained about SRI in Costa Rica.