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Odisha, India farmers benefit from flood-tolerant rice variety Swarna-Sub1 and improved farm practices - Over 500 farmers in Odisha attend field day on flood-tolerant Swarna-Sub1


The Philippines
November 26, 2015

Swarna-Sub1, a flood-tolerant rice variety, and conservation agriculture-based technologies, such as mechanical rice transplanters,  are helping farmers in Odisha solve problems caused by flooding and labor shortage. This is the gist of the feedback from farmers as they shared their experiences in adopting these improved technologies during the visit of IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler, scientists from the IRRI-India Office, and senior officials from Nepal to Puri District in Odisha, India on 20 November.

According to the farmers, Swarna-Sub1 allowed them to harvest more than 5 tons per hectare even under the adverse weather conditions of the current cropping season. They also emphasized the critical role of service providers of mechanical rice transplanters. These machines help farmers plant rice on time and reduce the cost of rice cultivation.
 

Many farmers using Swarna-Sub1 are keen on continuing the use of this variety. In fact, the demand for seeds of Swarna-Sub1 is high while the supply is limited. The farmers were so happy with the performance of the crop and the results of improved rice production technologies that they requested IRRI to expand its intervention to other districts in India.

These technologies reached the farmers in Odisha through the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project and the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project.

The projects made strategic efforts to demonstrate stress-tolerant rice varieties and associated technology options in Puri District so the farmers could observe the results themselves.


Over 500 farmers in Odisha attend field day on flood-tolerant Swarna-Sub1

Around 500 farmers, mostly women, attended the Field day on flood-tolerant Swarna-Sub1, seed production, mechanical transplanting, and direct-seeded rice in Resinga Village, Puri District in Odisha on 20 November.

During the field day, IRRI scientists from the Cereal System Initiatives for South Asia (CSISA) project and the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project, experts from India’s Department of Agriculture, and the Association of Seed Certification Office in the country shared various technologies and knowledge with the farmers.

The field day also featured a question and answer (Q and A) session between IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler and the farmers. The topics discussed during the Q and A included adoption of flood-tolerant Swarna-Sub1, improved farm practices, climate change, grain quality, and facilities for farmers to get the minimum support price. Some solutions to problems such as crop insurance, credit facilities, laser land levelling, use of hybrid rice, use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, most preferable crop after rice were also examined.

Zeigler cited the important role of farmers in Odisha in attaining global food security. “Once eastern India becomes food secure, it is possible to achieve food security worldwide,” he said. “Odisha farmers will be known internationally for being one of the first farmers who beat the odds of growing rice in harsh environments—areas that are prone to flood, drought, and even salinity.”

In the near future, IRRI would come up with a rice variety that can tolerate both flood and drought to solve problems brought by unpredictability of weather patterns because of climate change, Zeigler added. The Institute will also be part of “bringing the Green Revolution in eastern India,” which is both a goal and a policy in the country, in the same way IRRI contributed to the Green Revolution in India.

The field day was organized by CSISA team of the IRRI hub Odisha in collaboration with India’s Department of Agriculture.


The mechanical rice transplanter is one of the conservation agriculture-based technologies under CSISA. Other technologies include direct-seeded rice (DSR) and laser land leveling. On the other hand, STRASA also develops and distributes drought- and salinity-tolerant rice varieties in addition to flood-tolerant rice.

During the visit, Zeigler and the farmers discussed labor displacement because of mechanization as well as alternative arrangements. Crop sharing, weed management, nutrient management, irrigation facilities, subsidies, business modules, and marketing of quality produce were among other topics raised by the farmers.



More news from: IRRI - International Rice Research Institute


Website: http://www.irri.org

Published: November 26, 2015

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