Scaling SRI: Systemic Shift
Scaling SRI is about more than reaching individual farmers — it’s about embedding climate-smart practices into the systems that shape rice cultivation
What scaling SRI means
Reaching 50 million hectares means more than scaling numbers. It’s about transforming rice systems so that climate-smart, farmer-led practices become the norm, not the exception.
This systemic shift embeds SRI principles into national policies, research agendas, extension services, and markets. It requires collaboration across governments, science, civil society, and business — but at its core are farmers. Their innovation, expertise, and leadership turn strategy into lasting change.
Around the world, countries are already showing what this transformation looks like in practice.
National Scaling in Practice: Vietnam and Mali
SRI is already being scaled nationally — with countries like Vietnam and Mali showing what’s possible when governments, partners, and farmers align.
Vietnam was among the first countries to embed SRI nationally. Recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2012, adoption scaled rapidly through public extension systems, reaching 1.3 million farmers that year. In 2023, Vietnam launched the 1-Million Hectare High-Quality, Low-Emission Rice Program with IRRI. By 2025, pilot sites in the Mekong Delta were reporting strong gains in yield, income, and emissions reduction — cementing SRI’s role in Vietnam’s climate-smart rice strategy.
Mali introduced SRI in the late 2000s and steadily expanded it through donor-supported training and farmer networks. Building on this foundation, Mali is now emerging as a national-scale leader. In 2025, the government launched its first national strategy — the PN‑SRI — targeting 245,000 farmers across one million hectares. Backed by US$24.4 million (60% government-funded), the programme places SRI at the heart of Mali’s food security and resilience agenda.
Our Vision: 50 Million Hectares by 2030
SRI‑2030 is working to scale agroecological rice farming to 50 million hectares globally by 2030 — up from around 6.7 million today. With a strong focus on Africa, this ambition is driven by strategic policy engagement and partnerships.
Shaped through consultation with global experts, the target reflects both the vast scale of global rice cultivation (over 160 million hectares) and the proven potential for widespread SRI adoption.
SRI‑2030 is already advancing this shift, particularly in Africa, where strong political will, rising food demand, and climate pressures create fertile ground for change.
🔍 See where SRI is being adopted — from early trials to national programmes → SRI Global & Project Maps
Why scaling SRI matters
Rice is a staple crop for much of Africa and Asia and central to global food security — feeding over half the world’s population. Yet climate change, resource pressures, and surging demand are straining production — threatening food systems and livelihoods.
In Africa, rice consumption is rising rapidly, but many countries rely heavily on imports — leaving them vulnerable to price volatility and supply disruptions. Meanwhile, conventional rice farming accounts for 8–12% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely from methane released by flooded fields.
SRI offers a proven alternative: a nature-based approach that enables farmers to grow more with less — cutting water use, reducing reliance on chemical inputs, and building resilience to extreme weather.
Scaling SRI delivers transformative impact:
- Cuts methane emissions by up to 200 million tonnes CO₂e annually
- Strengthens food security and sovereignty in rice-importing countries
- Improves productivity and income for millions of smallholders
- Advances progress on over half of the SDGs — from zero hunger to climate action and gender equality
How scaling SRI works
Led by governments. Enabled by partnerships. Grounded in practice.
Since 2021, SRI‑2030 has been laying the foundations for large-scale impact — developing a global strategy, forging partnerships, and supporting early implementation, with a strong emphasis on Africa.
The focus now is on measurable results. This means strengthening communication, aligning policies, supporting national delivery systems, and mobilising resources — all tailored to country priorities and institutional capacity.
Scaling SRI is a collective effort:
- Governments lead — because lasting change depends on strong national systems and public investment.
- Farmers drive progress — testing, adapting, and spreading practices through local knowledge networks.
- Researchers, NGOs, and the private sector partners support scale-up with training, tools, funding, and evidence.
SRI‑2030 acts as a connector — bringing together ministries, institutions, and grassroots actors to embed SRI principles across entire systems. By fostering strong partnerships, countries can tailor SRI to their context and act with speed and coherence.
Scaling SRI in Africa: A Practical Path to Food Sovereignty
Africa stands at a pivotal moment. Rapid population growth, rising rice consumption, and mounting climate pressures are straining food systems and national budgets. Heavy reliance on imports — at least 30% of rice consumed — puts additional pressure on economies. Yet local production remains held back by low yields, input shortages, and degraded land.
With focused support, African nations can strengthen domestic rice production and steadily reduce dependency on imports. SRI offers a field-tested pathway: lifting yields, cutting input costs, and building resilience over time.
Recognising this potential, SRI‑2030 is working with African governments and institutions to support a continent-wide shift. The goal is not to replace national systems, but to reinforce them — building on existing strengths, aligning with national priorities, and empowering local actors.
Africa is already emerging as a frontier for SRI scale-up — and a proving ground for what’s possible. Early success in Nigeria shows what this can look like: a 2023 pilot doubled yields, reduced emissions, and raised incomes, demonstrating how SRI can scale rapidly and meaningfully when systems align.
The Breakthrough Strategy: Scaling SRI Through Existing Systems
To bridge the gap between proven practice and national uptake, SRI‑2030 launched its Breakthrough Strategy in 2024 — a practical, systems-based model designed for the African context.
The strategy offers an innovative yet grounded approach to scaling — working through national systems rather than around them. It focuses on better using existing institutional capacity to support steady progress.
At its core is an agile delivery model based on short, 90‑day cycles, linking long-term planning with near-term action. This enables countries to adapt quickly, test what works, and build momentum without waiting for ideal conditions.
This approach is backed by high-impact partnerships, catalytic early funding, and targeted technical support to strengthen delivery systems and embed learning.
At a Glance – The Breakthrough Strategy
Scaling SRI at Speed and Scale in Africa
What it is:
A practical, adaptive approach that supports governments to scale SRI through their own institutions — focusing on delivery, alignment, and continuity.
How it works:
• 90-day cycles to test, refine, and build on what works
- Collaboration grounded in national leadership and local participation
- Early funding to jumpstart implementation and signal commitment
- Technical support to strengthen delivery systems and policy integration
Why it matters:
✓ Encourages iterative progress and learning
✓ Aligns with country priorities and structures
✓ Helps generate visible outcomes while supporting longer-term goals
Potential impact:
If adopted at scale, the strategy could contribute significantly to the 2030 target of 50 million hectares under SRI and related practices — with benefits for food security, farmer incomes, and climate resilience.
📄 Read the full Africa SRI Strategy Paper →
Scaling Activities in Africa
Across Africa, SRI adoption ranges from early trials to established national programmes → SRI Global Map. Some countries are embedding SRI into policy and delivery systems, while others are exploring its potential through pilots and emerging partnerships.
Regional networks and organisations also play a critical role. SRI‑2030 coordinates with with RICOWAS (Regional Coordination of Rice Systems for West Africa) to support local rollout, farmer training, and integration of SRI into national and regional rice strategies across West Africa. This collaboration helps strengthen extension systems and aligns SRI adoption with broader food security and climate resilience goals.
Below, we highlight how SRI‑2030 is supporting implementation at different stages — from national programmes to local initiatives.
Nigeria: Gaining Traction at Scale
Nigeria spends up to US$2 billion annually on rice imports, draining foreign reserves and undermining food sovereignty. Replacing just half with domestic SRI production could save around US$1 billion each year. UK-funded LINKS trials (2022–2023) in northern Nigeria showed strong results: yields doubled, production costs fell by 23%, and emissions dropped by 40%. Over 66,000 farmers trained, 31,000 hectares cultivated, and nearly 23,000 farmers doubled their income. SRI‑2030 supported training, capacity-building, and impact tracking — laying the groundwork for national scale-up.
Senegal: Building Systems for Sustained Delivery
Senegal’s NDC commits to scaling SRI to 28,500 ha by 2030, reinforced by its National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS). SRI‑2030 is working with the National Program for Rice Self‑Sufficiency (PNAR) and the Ministry of Environment to strengthen coordination and co-design a national framework for delivery and impact tracking — helping align resources for effective implementation.
Cameroon: Piloting SRI Through Agroecology
Since October 2024, SRI‑2030’s Breakthrough Strategy has been supporting pilots in Cameroon’s Western Region with local NGO CIPCRE. A regional agroecologist is leading training for extension workers and farmers, blending SRI with local agroecological practices across four zones, spanning both traditional and emerging rice areas. With strong farmer interest, a rollout plan is now set for wider scale-up.
Madagascar: Embedding SRI in National Policy
As the origin of SRI, Madagascar remains a continental leader, with over 50,000 smallholders using the method. In 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock began formally integrating SRI into national policy, supported by SRI‑2030 and partners. A national dialogue brought together government, research, and civil society to chart a shared vision for scaling SRI to strengthen food security, rural development, and climate resilience.
Zambia: Local Champion Leading Change
In Zambia, SRI’s foundations were laid by local champion Henry Ngimbu, whose training and advocacy since the mid-2000s have brought SRI to an estimated 40,000 farmers. With nearly 50% of rice still imported, boosting domestic production is a national priority. SRI‑2030 is now working with partners to expand training, improve market access for Loanja Rice and other SRI varieties, and position SRI as a pillar of Zambia’s climate and food security strategy.
Sustainable Rice NDC Alliance: Embedding SRI in National Climate Policy
Launched in 2023 with SRI‑2030 as secretariat, the Sustainable Rice NDC Alliance brings together governments, researchers, NGOs, private sector actors, and donors to help countries integrate sustainable rice practices — such as SRI and Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) — into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). As a collaborative platform, it facilitates knowledge exchange, policy guidance, and technical support to advance climate and food security goals. Unlike a funding or research body, the Alliance acts as a catalyst for action, charging no membership fees but encouraging active participation to achieve shared outcomes.
Since its launch, the Alliance has helped accelerate the inclusion of sustainable rice in national climate policies. More countries now recognise rice’s role in climate adaptation and mitigation, with several explicitly referencing SRI in their updated NDCs. This progress supports climate-smart agriculture by aligning rice production with national climate targets, quantifying emissions reductions and resilience gains, and improving access to implementation finance.
Recent activities highlight the Alliance’s growing influence. In 2024, it co-hosted a webinar with the Islamic Development Bank on high-yield, climate-smart rice production and its relevance for development planning. It also led sessions at the African Climate Action Partnership’s workshop in Nairobi, where countries explored practical strategies to strengthen and deliver on their climate commitments. Ongoing support in countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, Liberia, and Tanzania is aligning national rice strategies with climate priorities, while partnerships with organisations like the Sustainable Rice Platform are raising global sustainability standards.
Looking ahead, the Alliance remains focused on turning NDC ambitions into action — emphasising implementation, monitoring, and peer learning.
Measuring Our Impact
Understanding what works — and why — is vital for scaling SRI effectively. Rigorous measurement builds accountability, supports adaptive learning, and informs smarter decisions.
SRI‑2030’s impact measurement focuses on three core goals: cutting agricultural emissions, improving food security, and strengthening rural livelihoods.
We assess progress at both farm and system levels, drawing on data such as yield gains, water savings, methane reductions, input efficiency, income growth, and soil health. Social indicators — including labour demands and women’s participation — are also tracked.
To ensure credibility, we collaborate with leading research institutions, universities, NGOs, and extension systems. Data sources include field trials, surveys, national statistics, and geospatial tools — offering insights from individual farms to entire landscapes.
This shared evidence base underpins policy, guides scaling decisions, and fosters cross-country learning as more governments integrate SRI into their systems.
Scaling SRI together
Scaling SRI is a collective effort. Today, a growing network in over 60 countries — spanning governments, researchers, NGOs, farmers, and businesses — is building more sustainable, inclusive, and climate-smart rice systems.
At the heart of this movement is collaboration. SRI‑2030 partners with ministries, multilateral agencies, grassroots organisations, and others to support adoption in diverse contexts. Key collaborators include AfricaRice, IRRI, FAO, IFAD, Oxfam, the World Bank, GIZ, and regional research institutions.
About SRI-2030
Everyone has a role to play:
- Governments — Partner with us for technical support, policy integration, and climate-smart implementation.
- NGOs — Share experience or explore opportunities to collaborate.
- Private Sector — Engage across the value chain through innovation and investment.
- Donors — Support national programmes, farmer training, and impact monitoring.
FAQs: SCALING SRI
Embedding SRI principles into national policies, research, extension systems, and markets — so sustainable rice growing becomes standard practice.
Rice demand is surging. Conventional methods deplete resources and increase emissions. Scaling SRI offers a way to grow more with less — boosting yields, resilience, and ecosystem health.
A country-led model for rapid SRI scaling, using 90‑day action cycles, real-time learning, and strategic partnerships.
SRI is principle-based and flexible, allowing farmers and institutions to tailor practices to local soils, water, climate, and capacity.
Governments lead, but momentum comes from collaboration across farmers, researchers, extension agents, NGOs, funders, and the private sector.
Africa is a priority due to food system pressures and strong political will. We also support initiatives in Asia, Latin America, and beyond.
Limited extension capacity, institutional inertia, and uneven access to tools and training. SRI involves behaviour change — which takes time, trust, and investment.
We track adoption (hectares, farmers trained), outcomes (yield gains, water savings), and systems change (policy integration, funding mobilised) — using field data, national reports, and independent research.
If you're a policymaker, researcher, NGO, donor, or business — there’s a role for you. → Contact us