Reducing water for improving the livelihoods & ecosystems: Experiences from Mid-Godavari basin [annotated presentation, focusing on SRI] International Workshop on Rice and Water: Exploring Options for Food Security and Sustainable Environments 6-8 March 2006, IRRI, Las Banos, Philippines Dr. Biksham Gujja Policy Advisor, Global Freshwater Programme, WWF-International [email protected][email protected]
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0603 Reducing Water for Improving the Livelihoods & Ecosystems: Experiences from Mid-Godavari Basin
Audience: International Workshop on Rice and Water: Exploring Options for Food Security and Sustainable Environments IRRI, Las Banos
Subject Country: India
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Reducing water for improving the livelihoods & ecosystems:
Experiences from Mid-Godavari basin
[annotated presentation, focusing on SRI]
International Workshop on Rice and Water: Exploring Options for Food Security and Sustainable Environments
WWF's MISSION IS TO STOP THE DEGRADATION OF THE PLANET'S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND TO BUILD A FUTURE IN WHICH HUMANS LIVE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE, BY:
• Conserving the world's biological diversity
• Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
• Promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption
Water is Becoming a Global Issue
‘Too much, too little or too dirty’
• 1.3 billion without safe water supply• 2 billion without sanitation• 800 million malnourished• Thousands killed by floods
DIALOGUE ON WATER, FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/dialogue/godavari/
Why this Dialogue?
• To provide elements of answers to the question: How can the poor get enough food without further damaging the environment?
• To bridge the gap between the agricultural and the environmental communities to make common cause for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and for natural ecosystems.
Food security and Water crisis: Options
There are better, cheaper and faster way to help farmers to grow more rice while
reducing the water use.
The System of Rice intensification (SRI) is proving itself to be one of the ways to achieve this.
Exploring options
• Restoring traditional water systems
• Reducing water demand of thirsty crops: sugarcane, cotton and rice
• Reducing conflicts by establishing dialogues
• To avoid major water infrastructure investments
SRI: An option to reduce water demand!
• Rice consumes more than 85% of the water allocated for irrigation in Asia.
• How can we reduce this?? It could have a large impact on environmental conservation.
The WWF-ANGRAU Collaboration – Focus Districts for Evaluation of SRI
Farmers’ Evaluation – Some Details
• Evaluation done in farmers’ fields• 11 districts across agroecosystem types• 212 farmers participating• > 0.4 hectares plots for comparison
• Methods set for comparison trials:• Conventional and SRI• Same variety (farmers’ choice)• Same nutrient inputs (farmers’ choice)
1. Less water requirement – about 25% less
2. Less seed – 80-90% less
3. Lesser chemical inputs
4. Soil health improvement through biological activity
5. Reduced duration (by 10 days)
6. Higher yields – of both grain and straw
7. Less chaffy grain %
7. Higher head rice recovery
8. Withstand cyclonic gales
9. Cold tolerance
10. Drought tolerance
Claims of benefits from SRI: Claims of benefits from SRI: Experience from WWF’s evaluationExperience from WWF’s evaluation
Of the 26 soil variables or determinants (13 parameters x 2 observations), the data value for fifteen were higher for SRI than non-SRI plots (and significantly higher for 8 parameters by 7 to 25%). For the other 11 variables, data were similar for both treatments. All 18 fields, except one, for which data were available, had higher yield in the SRI plots (by 12 to 55%), but the differences were not significant statistically given sample size.
Caution for interpreting results• Inputs (particularly compost and fertilizers) varied across treatments in a field and across fields (or farmers), this would have affected the data.
• Increase in OC% in SRI plots was unexpected and may be due to substantially more roots with SRI; some may have got into the analysis and thus be a methodology artifact.
Constraints
• Psychology and attitude of farmers and professionals• Social acceptance not yet widespread • Lack of support systems • Water management can be difficult:
- Maintenance of thin film of water only
- Accuracy in land leveling not high yet
- Uncertainty of power supply
- Canal irrigation in some cases makes individual
water regimes difficult
Constraints (cont’d.)
• Weed management
- Laborious
- Mechanical seeders difficult to operate
(need better design)
- Supplementary manual weeding is required• Compost (organic manure)
- Often ready sources are not available.
- Modern methods like inorganic fertilizers have changed the scenario
• Transplanting
- Large area more difficult
- Regular training for women labourers needed
Project outputs of WWF-ANGRAU collaboration
• Scientific reports – district-wise and consolidated report
• Compendium of SRI farmers – able to serve as resource persons for other farmers
• Training manual• Film
Publications
Media Events
Lessons
• SRI type of methods have great potential to reduce water demand and increase yields
• If appropriate support systems are created, farmers can adopt it well
• Further research is required to standardise methods and fill the gaps
• High expectations created with SRI are one of the reasons some farmers are not continuing with it
• Quantification of water reduction has to be done much more systematic and in large fields
Conclusions..
• SRI type of farm-based methods have great potential, but there are constraints and certain obstacles.
• Farmers and politicians are ready for this change• Scientific community has still to conduct systematic
research• International communities committed to MDGs need
to invest a lot in these methods• Farmers need training, assistance, and designing or
redesigning of the tools and fields for best result• This opens great opportunities to work together
Three challenges..
• Establish a global target of reducing water demand for rice cultivation by 20%, while increasing the production for farmers and consumers.
• Develop a combination of agronomic, infrastructural, economic and institutional measures to ensure the large-scale adoption of these methods.
• Initiate an international process that integrates different institutional agendas to the common goal of growing more rice with less water.