Imagine an agricultural innovation that has been successfully adopted in over 60 countries by tens of millions of farmers. A way of growing staple crops already feeding millions by demonstrating increased yields while drastically reducing inputs. You would think every agricultural university would be studying it. Yet, the System of Root Intensification (SRI)—a method centered around drastically reducing seed rates to give plants space—remains the great agricultural blind spot in the West. Sometimes the most profound agricultural breakthroughs are hidden behind the habits we no longer question. Defaulting to conventional, high-density systems is costing us dearly. So, what exactly can a simple wheat trial and a Dutch pioneer teach us about adapting this powerful principle to our mechanized reality?
The visual evidence: a tale of two plants
If we want to prepare our crops for extreme weather—from severe droughts to unpredictable storms—we must start looking underground. I experienced the sheer power of this shift in perspective firsthand.
The only difference in the cultivation of the two plants pictured above was plant competition. The plant on the right, given ample space, developed a massive, deep root system and incredibly sturdy stems. The plant on the left, grown under conventional density, produced a shallow, weak root base and brittle stems.
When extreme weather hits, which plant will have the root capacity to access deep water during a drought? Which stem will resist lodging during heavy rain and wind? True climate resilience starts with root architecture.
Mechanizing the principle: from tropical rice to European wheat
While SRI originally proved its profound impact in the Global South by transforming manual rice cultivation, it is often assumed these principles cannot be scaled to Western agriculture. But to understand how this translates to our temperate climate, our staple crops, and our large-scale machinery, we don’t have to look at the tropics. We just have to look at the heavy, unforgiving clay soils of Zeeland in the Netherlands.
Enter Kees Steendijk, an organic arable farmer who decided to rethink the traditional grain system. He applied the core principle of SRI—drastically reducing plant competition—to his mechanized wheat fields. Instead of sowing the conventional 200 to 230 kg of seed per hectare, Kees sows only 40 to 50 kg. And there is no yield penalty. On the contrary, he consistently achieves around 9.6 tonnes per hectare for his winter wheat. He harvests significantly more than his organic peers and performs almost on par with conventional, high-input farmers in the same region.
The results challenge our conventional boundaries:
The absurd seed waste: In Europe, we currently use 2.5% of our wheat area purely to grow excess seed. That seed largely dies in the soil due to competition stress. If we stopped over-seeding, we could feed an extra 75 to 88 million people a year with that saved grain alone.
The organic matter leap: Agronomic theory often considers raising soil organic matter on heavy clay a slow, arduous process. By focusing on root architecture, Kees went from 1.8% to 3% in 25 years. A massive leap.
The golden illusion: We are used to seeing ideal, golden-yellow, dead wheat fields at harvest. But that is actually a missed opportunity. When Kees harvests his crop, it is often still green. The longer-living plant continues to feed soil biology with liquid carbon (exudates) right up to the very last moment.
Worms over subsoilers: By rethinking spacing, roots, and fixed tramlines (4.20 meters), biology takes over the heavy lifting. Within 5 to 10 years, soil life naturally breaks up the plow pan, eliminating the need for aggressive, deep tillage.
Exploring SRI in the West together
We cannot afford to leave this potential unstudied. That is why I want to reach out to a broad and diverse group of farmers, practitioners, applied and fundamental scientists, and form a group of committed people to move this forward. I strongly believe that exploring SRI in the West must be driven by on-farm trials, continuous observation, and farmer-to-farmer learning networks. I am looking to start a conversation and connect with those who see the same potential.
Leave your contact details and indicate how you might collaborate, by:
Setting up on-farm experiments and learning networks
Conducting applied or fundamental scientific research
Funding and investment
Communication, coalition building, or innovation brokerage
Want to dive deeper into the agronomy right now? Listen to my full interview with Kees Steendijk on the podcast Pier Review – brengt de bodem tot leven (Available in Dutch).
Not a Dutch speaker or prefer to read? No problem. You can use the button “Get in touch” above to request a translated English summary of the episode or the full interview transcript.
Is this scientific?
While this movement is rooted in practical, on-farm innovation, the scientific community has been validating these principles for decades.
For the foundational science and a comprehensive overview of the global impact, the SRI International Network and Resources Center (SRI-Rice) at Cornell University serves as the central hub. Their database documents the agronomic mechanisms and profound success of the System of Rice Intensification across the globe.
Meanwhile, the science is also catching up on our Western staple crops. A recent academic review by Beaugendre, Mingeot, and Visser emphasizes the clear need for an ecological rethinking of sowing density recommendations for bread wheat. The authors point out that the System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) actively relies on drastically reduced sowing densities to substantially reduce competition between crop plants. This intentional reduction of density is precisely what promotes the establishment of robust individual wheat plants that tiller abundantly.
A note on terminology: You will see various acronyms used for this approach: SRI (System of Rice Intensification), SWI (System of Wheat Intensification), or SCI (System of Crop Intensification). While the principles originated with rice, we now know they apply far beyond that. While "SRI" is historically synonymous with rice, I prefer to use System of Root Intensification (SRI) as the overarching term. It captures the essence: shifting the focus from the canopy to the root system, where real resilience is built.
To support my work, buy me a bag of wheat. Your contribution helps me doing what I love: independent innovation brokerage in agro-ecology and regenerative agriculture. And baking a wholewheat sourdough loaf.
Vaderstad is bringing this into practice with their Proceed precision planter
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