rt vol. 5, no. 2 the direct approach

7/31/2019 RT Vol. 5, No. 2 The direct approach

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directThe

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ORYANDPHOTOSBYADAMBARCLAY

To understand the importance of rice farming

to Bangladesh, look at the numbers. Thisdensely populated countrymore crowdedthan any other on Earth bar city-statessuch as Singaporehas 146 million people.

ound 80 million of them rely on agriculture for theirelihood. Agriculture alone employs around two-irds of the labor force of almost 70 million and ricethe countrys most significant agricultural product,counting for more than three-quarters of total cropped

ea. Add to this the fact that the average Bangladeshiceives around three-quarters of his or her caloriesom rice and you begin to understand the grainsgnificance. Further, in India and Bangladesh, theorest people spend up to half their income on rice.

hile India doesnt rely on rice in the same way as itsrtheastern neighbor, rice remains Indias single most

mportant agricultural product. Given Indias sheerumbersits 1.1 billion people constitute almost one-

th of the worlds populationmerely maintainingce productivity is not enough; as the populationes, India must produce more rice on less land.

A return to the ways of their

forefathers has seen Indian and

Bangladeshi rice farmers reduce

their need for water and address the

growing problem of labor shortages

The Indo-Gangetic Plains, running east fromnorthwestern India across to the Barind area of wBangladesh, are some of the most agriculturally itracts of land on the planet. Home to Indias rice-

cropping system, the plains are the most productiarea in the country and vital to the food security India. Infrastructure, such as irrigation, is relativdeveloped and many farmers have access to mechequipment including tractors and machine seeder

Despite these advances, farmers here face problemsuch as deteriorating soil health, rising costs, anddeclining productivity and labor availability. With

workable solutions, things are likely to get worse.As you move east along the plains into easter

India and then northwestern Bangladesh and theBarind Tract, the farm sizes and level of developm

tend to diminish. In the Barind, farms average lesthan 1 hectare in size, on which farmers do their

best to simply grow enough food for themselves a

their families. Rice farming here relies more heavon manual labor and simple tillage equipment.

Despite dramatic differences between farms end of the Indo-Gangetic Plains, farmers along thlength share several problemstwo of which have

implications for rice production and, by extensionwelfare and food security of many million s of peo

First, as people who traditionally made their working on farms are uprooting and moving to t h

to find work in the developing urban and industrisectors, the availability of farm labor is decreasinparticularly during the peak periods of farm operand, consequently, becoming more and more exp

Second, and perhaps even more pressing, are

issues of water availability and cost. Farmers the over are, of course, dependent on water. In Banglaand on the least developed farms of the Indo-GanPlains, farmers rely on monsoon rains. If the rainare too late or too little, farmers may not be able t

establish the crop and, even where they do, yieldsdecimated. At the other end of the plains, many fapump groundwater when and as needed but unlessomething changes soon, this cannot continue. W

tables are falling and, as global fuel prices continsteep climb of the last few years, the cost of irrigais becoming prohibitive to the point where farmer

BABUL, a farmer from Rashantapurvillage in Rajshahi, Bangladesh,

describes his experiences with direct-seeded rice. Two girls (above right)

take a break after harvesting rice inthe Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.


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14 Rice TodayApril-June 2006

foregoing the use of their irrigationsystems and, like their Bangladeshicounterparts, waiting for the rains.

So, what are the alternatives?One approach, which has emergedas a promising part of the solutionacross the Indo-Gangetic Plains,is deceptively simple: rather thantransplanting rice seedlings intoflooded fields, sow rice seeds directlyinto an unflooded field. Such directseeding can offer relief in terms ofboth the water and labor problemsand, since 1999, has been investigatedas part of two projectsPromotionof cost-effective weed practicesfor lowland rice in BangladeshandPromotion of integrated weedmanagement for direct-seeded ricein the Gangetic Plains of Indiawithcollaboration among the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI),the U.K.-based Natural ResourcesInstitute (NRI), and the Universityof Liverpool, with additionalfunding from the Crop Protection

Programme of the U.K. Departmentfor International Development.Through IRRI, the work is linkedwith the Irrigated Rice ResearchConsortium and the Consortium forUnfavorable Rice Environments.

With their in-countrycollaboratorsthe BangladeshRice Research Institute (BRRI)and, in India, G.B. Pant Universityof Agriculture and Technologyin Pantnagar, Narendra DevaUniversity of Agriculture andTechnology in Faizabad, C.S. AzadAgriculture University in Kanpur, andRajendra Agriculture University inPatnathe projects have examinedthe advantages, challenges,

opportunities, and constraints ofdirect seeding across the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Barind.

Although the idea of a rice farmoften evokes images of floodedpaddies and bunded terraces, directseeding is not a new approach.Until the early 1960s, most Indianand Bangladeshi farmers direct-seeded their crops. At that time, theintroduction of a more productivemodel of rice production, whichexploited high-yielding varieties andincreased fertilizer use, triggered amove to transplanting. In an ever-changing production environment,and despite its advantages, thereis growing recognition that thetransplanting model isnt ideal forevery location and circumstance.

There are a number of optionsfor direct seeding, though theprinciples remain the same. Ricecan be sown with either dry or wet(pregerminated) seed, which iseither placed in rows or broadcast.

LEADING the direct seeding charge (four photos fromleft to right): Dr. M.A. Mazid observes direct-seededrice fields in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, with field techni-cian Md. Nazmul Hossain; Pantnagar farmer M.S. Gre-wal (at left), who describes direct seeding as verybeneficial, and G.B. Pant University agronomist Dr.V.P. Singh discuss Mr. Grewals experiences; G.B. Pantagronomist Dr. K.S. Shekhar describes how research-

ers are getting information to farmers; and Dr. Y.Singh, also from G.B. Pant, has played a key role indeveloping direct-seeding in northern India.

DIRECT-SEEDED rice (right)

matures 34 weeks earlierthan transplanted rice(left), and so is morelikely to avoid damagingearly-season drought andincrease farmers chancesof successfully growing asubsequent nonrice crop.

EXPERIMENTAL plots at G.B. Pant Uni-versity show the devastating effect ofno weeding (foreground) versus goodweed management (background).


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remains in the field followingthe rice harvest. Currently, in anaverage year, about 80% of theland remains fallow in the secondseason. The earlier harvest of direct-seeded rice increases the chancesof there being sufficient residualsoil moisture for a second crop.

Chickpea is a high-value crop,says Dr. Mazid, adding that thereis an excellent market for it inBangladesh, where it fetches aroundtwo and a half times the price ofrice per unit volume. Generally,we import chickpea from Australia,India, or even Canada; there isntsufficient production here.

The results of the 2005 harvestwere encouraging. Yields were goodand the early harvest and increasedresidual soil moisture allowed the

direct-seeding farmers to establishchickpea crops, which also producedgood yields. Direct seeding helpedensure that farmers and their familieshad enough food duringMonga, thelean period in October and Novemberbefore transplanted rice is harvested.

Back west in Indias rice-wheatbelt, some farmers, like their

Bangladeshi counterparts, do nothave access to irrigation. Manywho do, however, are becomingincreasingly reliant on rain due tothe high costs of pumping whileothers face increased competitionfrom the industrial and urban sectorsthat are making water a scarceresource. If rains arrive too late,

the rice crop is compromised andthe equally important wheat cropis jeopardized. Wheat needs to bewell established before the weatherbecomes cold. For every week beyond1 November that wheat plantingis delayed, the crop suffers a yieldloss of 10%, or around 400 kg, per

hectare in the most productive areas.Project team member Y. Singh,

from G.B. Pant University, points outthat the ideal time to transplant is inJune but lack of rain can see farmerstransplanting as late as September.

Even if one good rain comes,says Dr. Singh, a farmer doesnthave time to transplant his wholeareahell need more good rain.With direct seeding, we can makesure that the entire rice areais sown and sown on time.

Timely harvests are not the onlybenefit, with direct-seeded cropsneeding less water overall. Dr. Singhexplains that one of the reasonsfor this is the way that soil behavesunder different planting systems.

During a period of drought,he says, when we dont get rainsfor many days, the soil in the

A LOCAL MAN cycles past rice fieldsnear Pantnagar, India, where farmers

are informed about weed manage-ment strategies through posters

(above), leaflets, demonstrations,and meetings.


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17Rice TodayApril-June 2006

Alya, dressed in bright orange and purple, cuts a distinctivefigure against the bright green backdrop of the rice field. Afarmer from Serapera village, in Bangladeshs Rajshahi District,

she is not your typical Bangladeshi rice farmer. Although women

play a significant role in Bangladeshi rice production, the head

farmers are usually men. Following the death of her husband,

though, Alya (pictured right) was left with no choice but to take

over the farm and single-handedly support her four daughtersand two sons.

In the 2005 wet season, Alya used a drum seeder to direct-

seed 1 bigha of land (just less than a seventh of a hectare).

Through reduced water and labor requirements, she immediately

saved around Tk500 (US$7.40) on the direct-seeded plot but,

early on, it didnt look good.

But now the direct-seeded crop looks better than the

traditional crop, she says. When other people first saw my

field, they said, youll lose everything! Now, they say, your plot

looks very good, one of the best in the area. My neighbors are very happy about this.

Alyas 2005 direct-seeded rice, which was 3 weeks ahead her transplanted crop, achieved an

impressive yield and she was subsequently able to grow successful wheat, sesame, and chickpea crops.

In the previous season, when she only transplanted rice, Alya grew chickpea and linseed after rice,

but the chickpea fared poorly because it was planted too late. Her sons, who help on the farm, are

impressed.One of my sons is saying, Mum, well direct-seed, Alya explains. We wont transplant any

more.

THEWIDOWFARMEROF SERAPERAtransplanted crops field developsmany cracks. Then, to irrigateit and take care of those cracksrequires a lot of water. This doesnthappen for direct-seeded crops.When we work it out, the totalquantity of water used for a direct-seeded crop is much less than that

used for a transplanted crop.The other major advantage of

direct seeding over transplantingis that it requires less labor ata time when overall farm laboravailability is dropping due to betteropportunities outside agriculturein urban areas. Dr. Singh pointsout that as scarcity has increased,so have wages. I would sayagriculture is a last priority, hesays. Its low-paid, seasonal, andhas a high degree of drudgery.

K.S. Shekhar, associatedirector of extension (agronomy)at G.B. Pant University, says thataround his state of Uttaranchal,increased opportunities innonagricultural sectors have causedlabor wage rates to skyrocket.

This area is in Indias steelbelt, says Dr. Shekhar. Thereused to be a lot of labor, but nowthere are so many other industriesestablished, so farmers wanttechnologies that require less labor.

Even the farmers themselvesunderstand why laborers are drawnoff the land. Dr. Shekhar cites anational survey that showed mostfarmers would leave farming for areasonable job in another industry.Farmers have a common lament,he says, that goes: When I do ajob, I have an 8-hour headache.Farming is a 24-hour headache.

There are other cost savings, too.Direct seeding is generally cheaper

than transplanting, which incurs theexpenses of nursery establishmentand care, and the labor that goesalong with that. And, on larger farms,running tractors and machine seedersis less expensive on a dry, unpuddledfield than on a flooded one.

Dr. Mazid says that, in theBarind, average crop establishmentcosts per hectare are around US$120for transplanted rice and $90 fordirect-seeded ricea reduction of

25%. And the results to date showno yield disadvantage. On thecontrary, Dr. Mazid reports thatin a 2004 study of seven on-farmsites planted to the popular varietySwarna, yields in transplanted plotswere 4.7 tons per hectare whileyields in plots that had been direct-

seeded with a drum seeder wereabout one ton per hectare more.

If direct seeding offers theseadvantages, why transplant at all?The main answer is simple: weeds.First, the transplanted rice seedlings,grown in a nursery before beingmoved to the field, have a head

THRESHING rice inUttar Pradesh, India.


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start over any competing weeds.Second, the water in a floodedfield effectively acts as a herbicide,suppressing weed growth. Theflipside, of course, is that weeds arethe major problem facing farmers

who direct-seed, and who can losemost of their yield if they dont adoptadequate weed-control measures.

Its likely that farmers whodirect-seed will be more reliant onherbicides, says Dr. Johnson, simplybecause they cant rely on floodingto suppress weeds during the crucialinitial period of crop establishment.

Most Indian farmers already useherbicides. In Bangladesh, farmersare less familiar with herbicides butrecent years have seen increased

use. In thepast, wherefarmers havechanged fromtransplanting todirect seeding, alack of good weedmanagement has

constrained thedevelopment ofsuccessful direct-seeding systems.Effective weedmanagementis more than

just spraying a field with herbicide.After 5 years of on-farm trials, theresearchers are confident that directseeding is a sustainable practice.

However, says Dr. Johnson,it is a knowledge-intensive system

and well need to ensure that thefarmers have the knowledge andinformation they need to make theright decisions at the right time.

The key to successfuldirect seeding on a large scaletherefore lies in the way thatfarmers manage their crops.

We have to change the farmersmindset, says Dr. Singh. If he wantsto do better, he has to be a bettermanager. Only then will it be possibleto benefit from new technologies.

Productivitylevels, by andlarge, couldbe improvedand the gap ispartly due tomanagement. If afarmer improvesmanagementand input levels,certainly hisproductivity

will go up.Sure enough,

when weedsare managedappropriately,direct seedingis showingpromisingresults. Liketheir Bangladeshicounterparts,the Indian

farmers who direct-seeded in 2005had yields as good as or betterthan for their transplanted fields.

Direct seeding wont eliminatelabor issues. As more farmers adoptthe technique, there is likely tobe an increased demand for handlabor for supplementary weeding.

Even when herbicide is used, cropsgenerally need at least one follow-up hand weeding. But this shiftin labor use will be spread overa longer period than the laborbottleneck for transplanting.

The challenge, then, is greaterthan training farmers to choose themost appropriate herbicides and usethem safely and effectively at thecorrect time. Every field has its ownweed issues, which reflect past cropmanagement systems. If a farmer

moves to a new system, differentweeds will emerge as problems.Farmers therefore need decision-making tools that allow them toanticipate changes and adopt themost effective strategy for combatingweeds (see Work needed to weedout farmers problems on page 38).

Ultimately, says Dr. Johnson,we want a series of simple rulesin question-and-answer form. Forexample, What direct seedingmethod should I use? or If speciesA develops as a serious weed inthe field, what should I do?. Thisis the next stepto bring togetherthe research results and develop aformat that allows farmers to accessthe information. (See figure at left)

The real success of these projectswill be seen when farmers over a widearea feel confident enough to adoptdirect seeding. The research projectsin Bangladesh and India have shownthat successful weed management

strategies that enable direct seedingcan be put in place in both rainfedand irrigated rice-cropping systems.

It might not be something thathappens on a wide scale until thecircumstances to encourage such achange are in place, says Dr. Johnson.But with declining availability ofirrigation water and of labor at peakperiods, its likely that, over the longterm, well see a continued shift to-wards direct seeding in South Asia.

JOSERAYMONDPANALIGAN

IRRI WEED scientistDavid Johnson examines

a weed with field tech-nician Emil Barcial.

A DECISION TREE, designed to helpfarmers make simple, step-by-stepdecisions on how to best managetheir direct-seeded crops.

rt vol. 5, no. 2 the direct approach

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