Climate-Resilient Rice Establishment Practices: Findings and Lessons from Two Villages in Bihar, India

A growing population, changing climate, scarcity of resources, and the urgent need to achieve sustainable development goals makes it imperative to reimagine agriculture in a way that makes it economically profitable, climate-resilient, resource-efficient. Traditional rice production technology involving puddling and transplanting has often been criticized for its inefficient resource utilization, high cost of production, and emission of greenhouse gases such as methane. Direct-seeded rice (DSR), promoted for its climate-resilient nature, is often utilized by farmers in three different ways: broadcasting, line sowing, and zero tillage. However, these establishment methods have certain advantages and limitations, as perceived by farmers. The present study attempts to closely study the crop performance of rice under the abovementioned crop establishment methods. The study was conducted in farmers' fields in a way where both the farmers' freedom and research conditions were equally taken care of. The study aims to analyze crop performance while emphasizing farmers' field-based knowledge to ensure a lab-land-lab loop for understanding the scope of refinement in agronomic as well extension strategies. The results of this study reveal the superiority of zero tillage over broadcasting and line sowing in terms of crop performance and economic performance in the northwest alluvial plain zone of Bihar. The study has also identified the constraints associated with adoption of line sowing and zero tillage.