Compared to a decade ago, many more persons – at least 10 million people, most of them farmers -- can now answer the question "What is SRI?" at least in general terms. However, most would probably not give very detailed answers, and many would like to know more about this strategy for raising the crop yield of rice, and now also other grains, legumes and vegetables, just by changing the way that these crops are managed, with minimal reliance on purchased inputs.

Also by now, many more persons will at least have heard something about SRI and about its benefits for producers, for consumers, and for the environment. They may well be interested in a systematic introduction to this phenomenon which has demonstrated positive results in more than 50 countries around the world.

So this book is written for both groups of potential readers, bringing together in one place much of the accumulated field experience and scientific research that makes the System of Rice Intensification and its derivations grouped under the broad heading of the System of Crop Intensification an unprecedented opportunity for enabling people to improve their lives in this 21st century.