System Productivity Innovative Rice Training (SPIRiT) project aims to improve agricultural productivity, efficiency and livelihoods for 10,000 farmers and 1,200 agri-farm support persons by training them in the areas of resource conservation, water saving, plant population management, improved harvesting and best crop management practices in the rice and wheat cropping system over a period of 15-month from December 2013 to February 2015.
The project is supported by the Technical, Vocational and Education Training (TVET) Reform Support Programme, co-funded by European Union (EU), Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Royal Norwegian Embassy and Federal Republic of Germany and being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan said SPIRiT Project Initiative jointly taken by GIZ, Engro Foundation and Engro Eximp for improving farming practices through a package of trainings and demonstrations would definitely improve knowledge, skill set and expertise of the small farmers and landless farm support workers.
The project aims to train farmers in newer and innovative methods/techniques of rice farming that include Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR), Optimum Plant Population Management (OPPM) and Harvesting related Best Crop Management Practices (BCMP) in the rice and wheat cropping system
