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Improving crop production for food security and improved livelihoods on the East India Plateau II. Crop options, alternative cropping systems and capacity building

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  • Cornish, Peter S.
  • Choudhury, Avijit
  • Kumar, Ashok
  • Das, Sudipta
  • Kumbakhar, Kuntalika
  • Norrish, Shane
  • Kumar, Shivendra

Abstract

Rainfed transplanted rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple crop of the East India Plateau, with >80% grown in a rice-fallow on terraced and bunded hill-slopes (‘medium-upland’) where it is low yielding and drought-prone despite high rainfall (>1200 mm). Paper I attributed this to inadequate ponding for transplanted rice whilst identifying the potential for risk-free alternative kharif (monsoon period) crops, including direct-seeded rice grown without ponding (‘aerobic’ rice), and for second-cropping with little or no irrigation. Paper II reports research with Tribal smallholders in Purulia District, West Bengal that aimed to evaluate these cropping options using a participatory process that further aimed to ‘improve the situation’ of participating families. The feasibility of short-duration aerobic rice was confirmed experimentally in 2007 and 2008 and in wider adoption by farmers in 2010 when conventional rice could not be transplanted. Best yields in each year were >4 t ha−1. Mustard (Brassica juncea) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) planted after medium-duration rice yielded up to 0.95 t ha−1 and 2.6 t ha−1 with one irrigation of 40–50 mm for establishment; but modelling suggests there is enough residual soil water after short-duration (early-maturing) rice to exceed these yields in most years, even without irrigation. Significant P-fertiliser was required with these crops to correct acute deficiency. Rainfed vegetables were grown in the kharif and then adapted by farmers to pre-kharif cropping, and to the rabi (winter) if they had some access to irrigation. Monitoring land-use revealed rapid, sustained adoption of more diverse and intensive cropping, with significant social and economic benefits. We attributed adoption to the participatory process used, that strengthened farmer's capacity to innovate. The systems implemented by farmers needed no expenditure on new water resources, suggesting that comprehensive watershed development (WSD) is not a prerequisite to replacing the rigid rice-fallow with safer climate-responsive systems, although investment in small water harvesting structures may be needed for rabi vegetable crops. The technology evaluated, plus the process of intervention that built capacity, together provide a foundation for wider adoption of less risky cropping systems with greater water productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Cornish, Peter S. & Choudhury, Avijit & Kumar, Ashok & Das, Sudipta & Kumbakhar, Kuntalika & Norrish, Shane & Kumar, Shivendra, 2015. "Improving crop production for food security and improved livelihoods on the East India Plateau II. Crop options, alternative cropping systems and capacity building," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 180-190.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:137:y:2015:i:c:p:180-190
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.02.011
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    1. Aggarwal, P. K. & Hebbar, K. B. & Venugopalan, M. V. & Rani, S. & Bala, A. & Biswal, A. & Wani, S. P., 2008. "Quantification of yield gaps in rain-fed rice, wheat, cotton and mustard in India," IWMI Research Reports H041564, International Water Management Institute.
    2. Bouman, B. A. M. & Tuong, T. P., 2001. "Field water management to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated lowland rice," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 11-30, July.
    3. Pretty, Jules N., 1995. "Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 1247-1263, August.
    4. Cornish, Peter S. & Karmakar, Dinabandhu & Kumar, Ashok & Das, Sudipta & Croke, Barry, 2015. "Improving crop production for food security and improved livelihoods on the East India Plateau. I. Rainfall-related risks with rice and opportunities for improved cropping systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 166-179.
    5. Pandey, S. & Gauchan, D. & Malabayuabas, Maria Luz & Bool-Emerick, M. & Hardy, B. (ed.), 2012. "Patterns of Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties and Farm-Level Impacts in Stress-Prone Rainfed Areas in South Asia," IRRI Books, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), number 164467.
    6. Singh, P. K. & Mishra, A. K. & Imtiyaz, Mohd., 1991. "Moisture stress and the water use efficiency of mustard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 245-253, December.
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    1. Tingting Li, 2022. "Planting Structure Adjustment and Layout Optimization of Feed Grain and Food Grain in China Based on Productive Potentials," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Cornish, Peter S. & Birchall, Craig & Herridge, David F. & Denton, Matthew D. & Guppy, Chris, 2018. "Rainfall-related opportunities, risks and constraints to rainfed cropping in the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar as defined by soil water balance modelling," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 47-57.
    3. Sushanta Kumar Naik & Santosh Sambhaji Mali & Bal Krishna Jha & Rakesh Kumar & Surajit Mondal & Janki Sharan Mishra & Arun Kumar Singh & Ashis Kumar Biswas & Arbind Kumar Choudhary & Jaipal Singh Chou, 2023. "Intensification of Rice-Fallow Agroecosystem of South Asia with Oilseeds and Pulses: Impacts on System Productivity, Soil Carbon Dynamics and Energetics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-27, January.
    4. Cornish, Peter S. & Karmakar, Dinabandhu & Kumar, Ashok & Das, Sudipta & Croke, Barry, 2015. "Improving crop production for food security and improved livelihoods on the East India Plateau. I. Rainfall-related risks with rice and opportunities for improved cropping systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 166-179.
    5. Kraaijvanger, Richard & Veldkamp, Tom & Almekinders, Conny, 2016. "Considering change: Evaluating four years of participatory experimentation with farmers in Tigray (Ethiopia) highlighting both functional and human–social aspects," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 38-50.

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