Rice wheat cropping systems in Faizabad District of Uttar Pradesh, India: exploratory surveys of farmers' practices and problems, and needs for further research

Abstract

The rice-wheat (R-W) cropping pattern is very important in eastern Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), India (Figure 1). Of the 18 Districts (three divisions) in this part of the State under the responsibility of the Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology (NDUAT), there are 2.944 million (m) hectares of rice and 1.983 m hectares of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown. About 90% of the wheat is planted after rice (Oryza sativa L.) so, although statistics are not collected by cropping pattern, it would appear that there are approximately 1.80 m hectares of the R-W cropping pattern in this area. This region under the jurisdiction of NDUAT was selected to be one of three sites in India as part of a collaborative South Asian regional endeavor of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARSs), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the International Rice Research Institute CIRRI). This effort will evaluate the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of the R-W system in a particular area and identify possible solutions (practices or techniques) for near-term productivity issues and longer-term sustainability problems. The other two Indian sites are at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (Pantnagar) in Western Uttar Pradesh (see Hobbs et al. 1991) and at Karnal in Haryana State. The Faizabad site was selected to represent the lower productivity, traditional R-W systems of the Eastern Plain Zone of India where farm size is small and rice is often grown as a rainfed crop. Mechanization is less developed than at the other two sites and many farmers depend on bullock power for land preparation. This report presents the results of two exploratory surveys conducted 2-9 April 1991 during the end of the wheat season and 21-27 September during the middle of the rice season. The western half of Faizabad District waS chosen for these surveys because of its representativeness and convenience to the University campus and Masodha Research Farm. Appendix I lists the participants in these surveys.