Sustainable Rice Production

Abstract

Rice is an important staple food for more than half of the world'spopulation and its demand is expected to increase with increasingpopulation, more so in developing countries mainly Asia. Greenrevolution technologies transformed agricultural practices resultinginto a considerable increase in the productivity of rice in the laterpart of twentieth century. However, rice agriculture is currently facedwith multiple challenges such as declining or stagnant yields, lack ofwater availability, contamination of natural resources due to excessiveuse of agrochemicals, biodiversity losses, greenhouse gas emissions andlosses due to extreme climatic events. There is a strong need to adaptagricultural practices in order to increase the production of rice in amanner that is economically viable and environmentally sustainable.Here I review the technologies that are already available and couldcontribute significantly towards achievement of this objective. Usingmodern high throughput technologies, breeders are developing ricevarieties, which possess traits for climate resilience along with higheryields. Effective management of limited water resources is of high valuee.g. rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and timing of paddytransplantation with the onset of rain can greatly contribute towardssustainability of rice production and a well maintained canal systemcould reduce seepage losses by 30-40 %. Agronomic practices like laserlevelling of fields, dry seeding and alternate wetting drying are knownto considerably reduce irrigation water requirement. System of riceintensification is advocated to increase rice yields by 50 % whilehalving the water requirement and input costs, particularly inresource-poor conditions.Integrated nutrient management, adjustment of fertilizer dosage,placement and application timings increases nutrient use efficiencywhile minimising degradation of natural resources through runoff andleaching. Integrated pest management and observation of threshold valuescould reduce environmental and health costs such as undesired effects onnon-target organisms, development of pesticide resistance and residuesin the food products along with minimising the input costs. To obtainfullbenefit from the available technologies, a strong commitment fromextension and policy institutions is highly important. Use of moderninformation technologies for timely communication of information such asweather forecast could assist farmers in decision making for variousfarming activities.