Taiwan adopts Madagascar’s farming wisdom

Rice has long been a staple of Taiwan’s traditional diet, with lo bah png (rice with minced pork) standing out as a signature dish. Although the self-governed island in East Asia has transformed from an agricultural economy into an industrialised society, one-fifth of its farmlands remain dedicated to rice cultivation.

Amid Taiwan’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, some farmers have adopted a new method from Madagascar to reduce water usage and lower greenhouse gas emissions in their fields.

Agriculture accounts for as much as 70 per cent of Taiwan's total water demand, with the majority used for rice paddies, despite rice occupying only about 20 per cent of the island's agricultural land. Water scarcity has become a growing concern, especially after Taiwan experienced its worst drought in a century last year. As the island produces only one-third of the food it consumes and crop prices rise due to the war in Ukraine, Taiwan faces an increasing threat of food insecurity.

Additionally, Taiwan exports rice to countries like China and Japan, making its rice cultivation significant to the food security of other nations as well. In response, farmers and scholars have started exploring ways to reduce water usage, with one such method being the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).

What is SRI?

The SRI, developed in Madagascar in the 1980s, is a methodology aimed at increasing rice yields by optimising plant spacing, soil, water and nutrient management. This method reportedly reduces water use in rice paddies by half, which are the largest human source of methane emissions globally.

Its four key principles include reducing plant density from four per hill to one, implementing controlled or intermittent irrigation and replacing chemical fertilisers with organic matter to enhance soil quality.

These methods initially shocked the French priest in Madagascar who was trying to help farmers grow more rice at the time. To him, using a single seedling per hill appeared "miserable," said Dr Norman Uphoff, a professor of SRI at Cornell University.

However, the priest soon discovered that, despite the lack of resources and drought conditions, this method produced surprisingly high yields.

"One plant could do better than five or six plants because they together will inhibit each other’s growth," Uphoff told FairPlanet. "Farmers [in Madagascar] have a lot of indigenous knowledge that we can learn from." 

The professor headed to Madagascar in 1993 to study the method, and he said he was surprised to discover that rice farmers were able to produce four times more yields with the same seeds on the same soil simply by using compost and less water.  

This method is viewed as a nature-based, climate-resilient solution that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, conserves water, improves soil quality and addresses food insecurity, especially in the face of increasingly severe weather events driven by human-caused climate change.

SRI has been included in the green commitment documents, or nationally determined contributions, of several countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Burkina Faso and Togo. Vietnam’s government, for instance, has recognised SRI principles and adopted similar methodologies to enhance its rice production.

While the method hasn’t entered the legally binding Climate Change Response Act in Taiwan, reduction of greenhouse gas emission by agriculture is part of the island’s green goal.

Currently, rice farmers are able to obtain subsidies from the government for adopting organic and eco-friendly farming techniques as part of a bigger scheme to conserve water and slash CO2 emissions. 

Taiwan’s version

While this method has produced promising results in many countries, particularly developing nations with limited resources, adjustments must be made for it to suit Taiwan’s local conditions, according to Dr. Yu-Chuan Chang, an SRI expert and professor at Hsing Wu University.

"The original method is more suitable for Southeast Asia or Africa, but for Japan and Taiwan, we have to modify it because our agriculture relies largely on machinery and sees a lack of human resources," Chang told FairPlanet. 

These adjustments include planting two to three seeds together instead of just one, which is still an improvement over the common farming practice in Taiwan of planting over 10 seeds together. But while this gives the field a fuller appearance, it often damages the soil and results in rice crops absorbing insufficient nutrients.

In terms of water conservation, Taiwan's aging population has created a demand for more automated systems to reduce labour in the fields. A smart field irrigation system developed in Taiwan, which can accurately measure and control the amount of water needed for crops, has been shown to reduce farmers' water consumption by up to 80 per cent, according to a 2023 study.

"The benefits of this system can be increased by combining it with currently popular irrigation methods, including SRI," the study reads. 

Other high-tech methods include the System of Probiotics Rice Intensification, introduced in 2021. This technique integrates a mobile application, solar-powered supply system and sensors to inform farmers of the optimal days to reduce irrigation water use.

Hurdles in a developed economy

Chang has been advocating for local farmers to adopt SRI principles, and between 2015 and 2018, the transition was smooth, with 10 acres of farmland making the switch. However, Chang admitted that it was a rather challenging process.

One challenge is that irrigation water for rice farmers is free, and adopting the SRI principle of alternate wetting and drying requires extra time and labour for water management. Additionally, the boost in productivity has its limits: Chang noted that farmers don’t always attribute higher yields to SRI principles, sometimes crediting climate changes instead.

Back in 2010, the Taiwanese government funded SRI trials that focus on boosting productivity. The results showed that some seasons were more promising than others in terms of productivity due to temperature changes, pests and floods. 

"The principle that appears the most effective to [Taiwanese] farmers is the use of less chemical fertilisers. But farmers here are well-off, so fertilisers don’t cost much to them. In order to ensure the safety of the yields, they’d rather use chemical fertilisers than replacing them and risking any diseases," Chang added. 

Boosting rice safety and quality then became the major selling point for SRI in Taiwan, Chang said. "Instead, it has become a branding technique as rice grown from such principles uses less fertilisers and tastes better."

This also means that rice produced using these methods, once verified, can command a higher price in the market.

Recent severe droughts and typhoons have renewed farmers' interest in SRI principles, according to the expert. Rice crops grown using SRI methodology tend to be more resistant to typhoons, as their stronger roots have fewer seedlings to compete with for nutrients.

Taiwan's conditions limit the full adoption of the original SRI principles, but Chang noted that the elements farmers have been able to implement have proven beneficial.

For now, older-generation farmers are more likely to embrace these principles, but their younger counterparts may still lack the knowledge and experience to fully adopt and adapt SRI, Chang added.

"If we can educate the young farmers who are the future, this method can be more widely used," the SRI expert said.

As Taiwan's consumption of other staples like wheat continues to rise, the SRI concept can also be adapted for the production of other crops.

This article is part of FairPlanet's Future of Food series, curated by our Asia Desk Editor, Chermaine Lee, with the backing of the Solution Journalism Network's LEDE fellowship.

Image by Martin Bendico.