The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Global Marketing Partnership: From vision to global outreach

From only a vision and informal association of diverse partners, one of the first SEED Winners in 2005, the SRI Global Marketing Partnership has become the catalyst for an international enterprise spanning a good number of countries in Africa and Asia and focusing on the export of many tons of certified organic and fair trade rice grown by small-scale farming families. SRI is an alternative method for growing rice that enables smallholder farmers to grow more rice with less water, seed and purchased inputs.

All members in the partnership were interested in developing markets for surpluses of traditional and specialty rice grown using SRI as a way to improve the livelihood options of smallholder farmers, to conserve water and rice biodiversity, and to reduce the flow of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides into the environment. With support from SEED, the partners were able to reach out to Lotus Foods, a small company in California that specializes in importing heirloom rice.

At the end of September, Ken Lee, co-founder of Lotus Foods which is working with two of the original members of the SRI Marketing Partnership, gave a progress report at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) about Lotus Foods' CGI commitment to linking smallholder SRI farmers to markets. View their latest video here and hear more about the progress report presented by Ken Lee and introduced by President Clinton.

Actor Jim Carrey, who established the Better U Foundation, is also committed to SRI. Click here to see what he has to say.

To know more about the 2005 SEED winner SRI, view our latest annual report or visit the SEED Winners' database.