In a village in India’s poorest state, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide.
The innovation in rural Darveshpura has divided scientists but excited governments and development experts.
Tests on the soil show it is particularly rich in silicon but the reason for the “super yields” is entirely down to a method of growing crops called System of Root Intensification (SRI).
The method has dramatically increased yields with wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, yams, tomatoes, garlic and many other crops and is being hailed as one of the most significant developments of the past 50 years for the world’s 500 million small-scale farmers and the two billion people who depend on them.
(READ the full story from the Guardian)