Lowering risk for rice farmers to raise the water table in India

The exploitation of India's groundwater resources, so integral to the Green Revolution, has in places like Northwest India led to a fall in the water table of 3 meters a year. A CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains webinar on August 29, "Reversing groundwater depletion in Northwest India: insights from agronomic interventions and potential opportunities", presented findings from researchers at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

According to Matthew McCartney, moderator and Lead for NEXUS Gains, "Falling groundwater tables are a major challenge - a big headache for water resource managers and for farmers who are having to pump water from increasing depths. This is a nexus issue because a lot of energy is utilized in pumping that water, and greenhouse gas emissions have also increased as a consequence." The webinar considered the feasibility of different production practices for rice and diversification of crops to enhance food and water security.

Skipping puddles to save water

The first presentation, by Proloy Deb, set the scene on groundwater depletion in Northwest India. It identified the introduction of high cropping intensity for puddled transplanted rice (PTR) - wherein transplanted rice is kept flooded by means of pumped water - as the primary factor behind the lowering of the water table, particularly post-2001.

With government incentives, farmers in the state of Haryana are beginning to adopt water-saving alternatives such as direct-seeded rice (DSR), which is planted directly into the soil using seed drills where it is to grow, without the need for transplantation or flooding throughout the growing phase. Under NEXUS Gains, researchers from IRRI quantified farmers' irrigation water application and identified drivers of irrigation decision making in four districts on whether DSR has increased irrigation water productivity compared to the conventional PTR.

Findings indicated that irrigation water productivity was 18-50% higher in DSR compared to PTR, while yields were comparable. Although water application per irrigation was higher in DSR, fewer rounds of irrigation were needed. However, as Deb noted, "Field experiments look at the positive side of DSR but farmers' practices and experiences are different." Many variables shape farmers' decisions on whether to use DSR or PTR, and indeed how they go about irrigating crops. Focus group discussions explored these factors, which ranged from those intrinsic to the farm (e.g. date of sowing, sunshine hours, temperature, precipitation, soil, number of plots) to availability of electricity, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Deb also reported significant adoption of DSR in the study districts, with an increase in DSR acreage of more than 30% in Basi Akbarpur village in the Karnal district since 2022. Farmer Gurmail Singh of Talakaur village, Yamuna Nagar, attributed water savings to NEXUS Gains: "Last year when IRRI scientists approached me and discussed the benefits of DSR (particularly water saving), I thought to try it out on 2 acres (~0.809 ha) of my farm with reduced water application. Yield is comparable, and more significantly I saved five irrigations during the season."

Supporting livelihoods beyond rice

The second presentation, by Swatantra Dubey, presented IRRI findings on the drivers and barriers to crop diversification in the same four districts of Haryana. With extreme weather events threatening agricultural productivity in regions with falling water tables, crop diversification (away from water-intensive crops such as rice) is seen as essential. In such a scenario, the questions to be asked are: Are farmers aware of the possibilities for crop diversification? What challenges do they face, and what support do they need? What is the impact on productivity, given the changing climate, and how do they decide on their crop mix? These were the questions asked during focus group discussions.

Three interventions were emphasized to reduce water use in agriculture, including adopting short-duration rice varieties, dividing farms into smaller plots, and diversifying from rice to other crops. Dubey reported that although farmers were open to diversifying to crops such as sugarcane and maize, economic factors such as profit margins, the cost of inputs, and market access, alongside their limited knowledge and technical expertise in these alternative crops, were significant barriers. There were also infrastructural constraints (e.g. post-harvest storage of maize ). Government support was recommended to counter these barriers and develop resilient value chains to support vulnerable farmers.

Farmers are risk-averse, not environmental crusaders

Following the presentations, panelists Sandeep Rawal and Meenakshi Sangwan from Farm Science Center of Yamuna Nagar and Rohtak districts, respectively offered commentary on the issues involved. Rawal agreed that DSR could be a good option in conjunction with other water-saving practices such as alternate wetting and drying as well as short-duration varieties. However, Rawal observed, "There are three things for these technologies to be adopted: first, of course, is reception by the farmers. The second is policy support. And the third is technological options."

Sangwan provided an interesting counterpoint by mentioning the example of her own district, where for topographical reasons 30% of the cultivated area is experiencing a rise in the water table, leading to waterlogging and salinity. She described a potential solution to waterlogging through drainage of excess water, which can be used by farmers to irrigate land previously not under cultivation

A key point that emerged through discussions with farmers, and in the presentations made in the webinar, was that farmers are, ultimately, risk-averse rather than primarily motivated to save water or energy. Climate change is likely to increase water stress and the incentive to adopt water-saving crops. An appropriate policy and infrastructural framework, alongside technical support for farmers, will therefore be key in this regard.

Reversing groundwater depletion and saving water to enable the water table to rise is a complex challenge. It is therefore critical to understand the water budget and ultimate sink for all the groundwater that is pumped and applied to rice fields.

Didn't catch the webinar? You can watch it here.

View the presentation slides by Proloy Deb View the presentation slides by Swatantra K. Dubey

Learn more about all the webinars in the series on the NEXUS Gains Talks landing page and subscribe to the NEXUS Gains newsletter to be the first to hear about upcoming webinars.

This work was carried out under the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains, which is grateful for the support of CGIAR Trust Fund contributors: www.cgiar.org/funders

Header image: Rice irrigation in India. Photo by Hamish John Appleby/IWMI.

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