Eco-Friendly, More Productive Farming Takes Root in India's Bread Basket

Across the vast fields of India's breadbasket, millions of farmers anxiously count the days between their wheat harvest and rice planting season. Too many lost days could cost them a month's salary. And farmers desperate for a fast crop turnaround often end up turning their fields into smoke stacks. Burning harvest residue is better than having to waste time plowing the land, they believe. But this isn't the right answer. “This is terrible for the environment and the land, but in their minds, it saves them money in the short term,” says Dr. Raj Gupta, India Director of the South Asia Rice-Wheat Consortium.

Now a major agricultural transformation developed with the help of USAID is sweeping across India's northern rice and wheat growing belt and helping farmers save time as well as conserve precious natural resources. This method called zero-tillage utilizes a seed drill that can cut through crop residue. The seed is then dropped directly into the soil. Farmers no longer have to engage in expensive and time-consuming plowing. Nor do they have to resort to burning off harvest waste to decrease their time to next planting. This practice saves 75% or more on tractor fuel, obtains better yields and requires up to 30-50% less water. Farmers save at least $65 per hectare in production costs, which makes a big difference to their profit margins.

Getting Farmers on Board

Traditional farming communities are often skeptical of change. “Farmers want to see their gains right away,” says Gupta. In the case of the zero-till method, farmers couldn't help but respond to the results. Arun Bhaku, a farmer in Haryana in North India, has been using the zero-tillage method for 2 years now to plant his rice and wheat. “My total yield every season has increased by at least 20%, and it saves me so much money,” he says. “All my neighboring farmers have seen this and also have begun to use it.”

Gupta says that the environmental benefit is just as high as the cost-savings. “Leaving a protective blanket of leaves, stems and stalks from the pervious crop on the surface is actually better for the long terms health of the crops and soil.” Residues provide a natural herbicide, retain nutrients in soil and moderate soil temperature. “By burning the residue, farmers were actually stripping the soil of microbes and moisture that are essential to a crop's long terms health,” he added.

Fine-tuning the methods

Last year, 1 million hectares of farmland was planted using the zero-tillage approach – which represents 10 percent of land farmed for rice and wheat and the livelihoods of 10,000 farmers living on the Indo Gangetic Plains of India. USAID provided $1,500,000 in research and development grants to engage private machine shops in adapting the seeder for several different crops. The seeder has already been modified to be used for chickpea, maize and sorghum.

“Farming is tremendously important to India's economy and culture,” said US Ambassador David Mulford during a visit to Punjab. “The country will not prosper fully without a vibrant and dynamic agriculture sector.” With two thirds of India's billion people depending on farming for employment, the benefits of the zero tillage techniques will be widespread.

Date: 2005