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Bishnoi, D.K.

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Bishnoi
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Bishnoi, D.K.

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AGROVOC: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ×

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    Characterizing the cereal systems and identifying the potential of conservation agriculture in South Asia
    (CIMMYT, 2012) Krishna, V.; Mehrotra, M.B.; Teufel, N.; Bishnoi, D.K.
    Conservation agriculture (CA) and related resource conserving technologies (RCTs) potentially offer a way to sustainably increase the agricultural productivity in developing countries. These practices, which involve minimal soil disturbance, residue retention and crop rotations, can potentially help farmers increase crop yields and reduce the costs of production. The present paper includes the major findings of a set of village level surveys aiming at the characterization of the cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) with a special focus on the potential entry points for CA-related technologies. The study area comprises of four regions in the IGP, namely Indian Punjab, Haryana, Central Nepal Terai and northwest (NW) Bangladesh. The village surveys were conducted in three districts from each of these regions, which were selected based on the prevailing cropping systems. From each of the selected districts, three sub-district units (blocks in India, Village Development Committees in Nepal and Union Councils in Bangladesh) were chosen randomly from a set of blocks with project intervention. Finally, one intervention village (for the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia project or CSISA) and one non-intervention (control) village were selected from each of these units. In this way, data from 72 villages were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted from April-May 2010. The tools used to gather information for the present study were FGDs and village census. The IGP has traditionally been the major grain producer of South Asia. On the one hand, the NW Plains, including Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, have a relatively favorable rice-wheat environment, dominated by wheat and irrigated rice. On the other hand, the eastern IGP regions, including the Nepal Terai and Bangladesh, have a less favorable rice-wheat environment, dominated by rainfed rice and partially irrigated wheat. Significant intra-regional differences with respect to resource endowments and incidence of poverty also exist. The NW Plains have a higher level of resource endowment and lower incidence of income poverty as compared to the eastern IGP. The cropping pattern in all the study regions consists primarily of rice and wheat. In addition, some farmers grow cotton and sugarcane in Haryana and Punjab. The cropping pattern of Central Nepal Terai is more diverse compared to the NW India, with significant share of acreage under vegetables, legumes and oilseeds. Among cereals, rice is more prominent than wheat and other cereals (e.g. finger millet and maize) are also cultivated. In NW Bangladesh, rice is cultivated in all the three cropping seasons while wheat and maize are cultivated on a limited scale. The landholding size is larger in Punjab and Haryana compared to Nepal and Bangladesh. A significantly larger proportion of landless households is engaged in non-farm activities. Land tenure systems also differ widely across the regions. In Punjab and Haryana, it is the relatively large farmers, with average landholding of 5-6 acres, who are engaged in leasing-in of land for cereal production, thereby utilizing economies of scale. On the contrary, marginal and small farmers and the landless are leasing-in land for cultivation in NW Bangladesh. In Central Nepal very few farmers were found to lease-in land for cultivation. This difference in land ownership is of critical importance as the existing land tenure system in the eastern plains could indicate greater livelihood vulnerability, making the farmers more exposed to risks and averse to the adoption of new agricultural practices including the CA-based RCTs. As part of the characterization of production systems, details of livestock production were collected in both FGDs and village census. According to the village census, nearly all the farming households in India’s NW states maintain dairy animals, while this figure is just around 50% in Central Nepal and NW Bangladesh. The considerable importance of dairy animals is also reflected in the herd sizes relative to available farm land. Fodder crops are only grown in NW India and even there the proportion is limited. Crop residues are the major source of fodder for all livestock in the investigated villages.
    Publication
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    Direct seeded rice technology in Western indo-gangetic plains of India: CSISA experiences
    (CSISA, 2012) Kamboj, B.R.; Kumar, A.; Bishnoi, D.K.; Singla, K.; Kumar, V.; Jat, M.L.; Chaudhary, N.; Jat, H.S.; Gosain, D.K.; Khippal, A.; Garg, R.; Lathwal, O.P.; Goyal, S.P.; Goyal, N.K.; Yadav, A.K.; Malik, D.S.; Mishra, A.; Bhatia, R.
    This bulletin summarizes the experiences of direct seeded rice (DSR) during CSISA, phase-I (2009-2011) as well as outcomes of a multi stakeholder travelling seminar on dry direct seeded rice (DSR) organized by Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) Haryana Hub on 20th September 2011. About 70 stakeholders of CSISA Haryana hub including scientists from Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVKs), officers from State Department of Agriculture, agriculture extension officers from private sector, members of Technical Working Group (TWG) of Haryana hub, local machine manufacturers, and participating farmers gathered together to share their experiences on DSR. The underlying objectives were to (i) visit on-farm and on-station trials on DSR in Karnal district of Haryana for participatory assessment and learning of performance and potentially of DSR, (ii) create awareness about DSR technology, (iii) facilitate interaction among different stakeholders who are engaged in developing, refining and out-scaling of DSR technology and share experiences, (iv) summarize and update technological package of DSR for Haryana, (v) identify constraints associated with DSR, and (vi) identify the future research needs. The travelling seminar was strategically structured into two parts; (i) visit farmer participatory DSR fields as well as on-station strategic research trials on DSR and (ii) a round table discussion by all stakeholders. During field visit, a total of three sites were covered, including one on-station site (CSISA Research Platform at CSSRI, Karnal) and two farmer’s participatory conservation agriculture (CA) modules established with innovative farmer cooperatives at village clusters of Taraori and Modipur of Karnal district. At CSISA Research Platform, performance of zero-till (ZT) DSR under double ZT systems was elucidated to the participants. In addition, trials on weed management and varietal screening for DSR conditions were briefed. At farmer participatory CA modules at Modipur & Taraori, participants were exposed to large scale demonstrations on DSR and adaptive research trials on different component technologies of DSR (varietal evaluation, weed management, water management and nutrient management) conducted through farmer cooperatives in collaboration with CSISA hub and partners. Based on large number of demonstrations on DSR using superfine varieties and hybrids of rice conducted in 8 hub districts across 3 years (2009-2011), it was verified that grain yield of DSR in comparison to puddled transplanted rice was either similar or higher with US$ 128-137/ha higher net profitability. Demonstration on DSR under double ZT system at village Taraori was also highly appreciated as the population of earthworms and vermicast was visible on the plot. All the participants were impressed with the performance of DSR and potential benefits it can endow on farmers like savings in labour, water (20-25%), and cost of cultivation. During round table discussion on DSR at CSSRI Karnal, Dr. D. K. Sharma (Director, CSSRI & TWG Chair, CSISA Haryana) highlighted the importance of DSR while elaborating the issues of declining water table due to over exploitation of groundwater, labour scarcity, escalating cost of cultivation and deteriorating soil health under current management practices of rice-wheat cropping system. CSISA Hub coordinator, Haryana) while sharing the joint experience of CSISA and partners on DSR in Haryana, presented the summary of the technological package of DSR for Northwestern IGP including Haryana for discussion and finalization of the recommendations of DSR package for large scale delivery. This was based on the outcomes of farmers’ participatory adaptation and demonstrations of DSR and its component technologies in Haryana in CSISA phase-I during past 3 years (2009-2011). Approaching the consensus, everyone confirmed that precise land levelling with laser land leveller, effective weed management, precise sowing depth and time of sowing are critical for the success of DSR. The DSR technology may also play vital role in recharge of groundwater and reduction in water runoff during heavy rainfall. Partners from public (KVK’s, ICAR, CCSHAU) and private sector (DevGen seeds, Bayer, HKB) shared their experiences on DSR and advocated its large scale promotion. Participating farmers also shared their experiences and found weed control being the most challenging task in DSR and thus achieving optimal weed control a route to its success. They experienced that pre and post-emergence herbicide application is important to manage weeds effectively in DSR. The issue of poor crop establishment due to sudden rainfall soon after sowing was also put up by some of the farmers. All participants very much convinced about DSR, pledged to make it a revolution in Haryana, and hence emphasized the access to literature on technology package for DSR. Finally, the participants suggested that to attain potential benefits of the DSR technology, further refinements of some of the component technologies for example varietal development for DSR, water management, nutrient management etc needs immediate efforts of the researchers.
    Publication