Sustainable Rice Project
Climate-smart Agriculture and Sustainable management practices
A new ‘Rice Sustainability Initiative’ by Bayer is helping to combat climate change. The adoption of new techniques like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and Alternate Wetting & Drying (AWD) is helping mitigate the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere and reduce water consumption, while giving farmers transparently-priced rewards for reduced emissions.
Agricultural land management augments global climate change mitigation efforts as greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities and land use, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) contribute about 12% to global emissions. Agricultural land also stores vast amounts of carbon in soil organic matter, which is relevant for emission reductions through additional carbon sequestration.
Being the global leader in agriculture market, Bayer tends to improve rice management activities by promoting climate-smart practices economically and environmentally benefiting the farmers, the planet, and society
Project Objective:
The main purpose of the project activity is to reduce GHG emissions through multiple agricultural practices that are as follows:
- Rice farms that change their rice cultivation practice from transplanted to direct-seeded rice (DSR)
- Alternate wetting and drying method (AWD)
- Drip irrigation
- Conservative tillage
- Laser levelling
Project components
Bayer has engaged with farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. The process is as follows:
- Identification of farmers jointly with implementation partners and individual signing of an agreement with them
- Farmers owning the land would be considered for the project
- Long term commitment with a minimum of 7 years to be a part of this project
- Farmer training to be conducted jointly with the implementation partners
- Handholding of the farmers throughout the project jointly with the implementation partners
- Promoting climate-smart practices specific to the region together with the implementation partners and
- Scientific assessment by the identified technical partners
Benefits to the farmers:
- Substantial water reduction thus reducing GHG emissions
- Improved soil health
- Advice on fertilization application thus reducing N2O
- Labor cost reduction
Project Locations:
The project is located within the host country ie. India. The table below provides the location of the project in India.
| State | District |
|---|---|
| Punjab | Ropar |
| Maharashtra | Bhor and Purandar |
| Uttar Pradesh | Aligarh, Mathura, Bulandshehar, Sidharthnagar and Gazipur |
| Haryana | Fatehabad, Ratia, Kaithal, Karnal and Kurukshetra |
| Odisha | Mayurbanj, Puri and Bhadrak |
| Bihar | Begusarai, Jamui, Muzzafarpur and Champaran |
| Telangana | Medak and Warangal |
| Andhra Pradesh | Kadapa and Guntur |
| Karnataka | Raichur |
Contribution to sustainable development:
The following are the foreseen impacts in the short and long-term:
- Social well being
Provide training to the farmers for implementation of newer technologies in the farmland thus increasing their resilience to climate related uncertainties. This directly and indirectly has a positive effect on the economy of nearby populace.
- Environmental well being
Reducing GHG emissions thus contributes to environmental well-being without causing any negative impact on the surrounding environment.
- Economic well being
Assist in increasing the income of the farmers thus this will improve their lifestyle.
- Technological well being
Promote water management and GHGs reduction technologies such as DSR with adjusted water management system, laser levelling etc. among the farmer communities.
For more information, please contact:
Bayer Bioscience Private Limited
Address: , Bayer House, Central Avenue, Hiranandani Estate, Mumbai, Thane (West)- 400607 Email: suhasr.joshi@bayer.com
Telephone: +91 22 2531 1234