2022 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 95-104
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is expected to improve rice yield with minimal impact on harming environment. While many studies have confirmed that the yield increases with adopting SRI by field surveys, the impact of SRI on household income is still debatable because SRI is a labor demanding method and may cause labor redistribution within a household. This study assesses the impact of SRI on the yield, household income, expenditure and caloric consumption in Madagascar, taking into account the endogeneity between farmer's capacity and adapting technologies. The authors collect the data for small-scale rice producing households in Alaotra-Mangoro region on Madagascar central highland in 2014 and 2017 by a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The authors find that the adoption of at least one component of SRI has no significant impact on the rice yield, income, expenditure and caloric consumption of households on average compared with them that adopt none of the SRI components, taking account of the endogeneity of technology adoption. This study applies Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to take account of the endogeneity. Then, comparing mean variables with using fertilizer by using PSM, the authors confirm the positive impact on yield by plot level. However, because households can't adopt both SRI and the use of fertilizers for all plots, no significant difference is observed in household income and expenditure. The findings suggest that a combination of SRI with fertilizer inputs may increase yield significantly, if more farmers in the area start using fertilizers in the future. Provision of technical SRI training alongside sales of fertilizers is crucial. However, it is needed to conduct further research in our study site to explore the impact on the household adopted all four of the SRI components which is more effective, and long-term effects of SRI.
