A new ‘Rice Sustainability Initiative’ by Bayer is helping to combat climate change. The adoption of new techniques like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and Alternate Wetting & Drying (AWD) is helping mitigate the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere and reduce water consumption, while giving farmers transparently-priced rewards for reduced emissions.
India grows rice on around 44 million hectares with transplanting being the predominant cultivation practice. Methane emissions from rice, where the land remains in foot-high standing water throughout the season are the highest from cropland and the second highest source in agriculture, surpassed only by emissions from enteric fermentation in livestock. The amount of methane emitted from the rice is strongly linked to the practices (flooding and fertilising) applied by the rice farmers.
This needs to be addressed quickly to safeguard smallholder farmers’ livelihood by keeping it economically viable & environmentally acceptable with a sustainable crop system. Directly Seeded Rice (DSR) has been an alternative viable option for the last many years predominantly in upland areas in rainfed conditions. Farmer’s endeavours with DSR in irrigated Puddled Transplanted Rice (PTR)-dominated areas remained limited over the years due to available germplasm fitment issues, yield penalties, weed menace, nutrient deficiencies coupled with poor know-how.
The transition
The Covid-19 outbreak triggered labour shortage and forced farmers to opt for DSR in the Northern part of India, which has been significantly supported by agronomic solutions from State agriculture universities, mechanisation (availability and affordability) from state governments and incentives to change the cultivation practice. The transition is not easy and needs cross-industry support to make farmers successful without compromising on ROI.
Bayer piloted the DirectAcres project on 250 acres in Punjab & Haryana last year and scaled it up to 3,000 acres in 2022. The key objective of DirectAcres is to make DSR smallholder farmers successful in the first attempt through a seamless agronomic advisory linked with a defined component of inputs (High yielding seeds + Weed management program) as part of the package. Bayer is working hand-in-hand with farmers to ensure uniform, weed-free crop stand in the first 45 days and beyond to ensure PTR equivalent returns on investment. Bayer is also collaborating with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center’s (CIMMYT) Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) to scale up DSR in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. All farmers participating in Bayer’s DirectAcres program have an option to participate in the Bayer Carbon Project and earn additional revenues from the program by trading carbon credits.
