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Agroecological Approaches to Climate- Proofing’our Agriculture while also Raising Productivity

Explore the concept of post-modern agriculture and the use of agroecological approaches to climate-proofing our agriculture while simultaneously increasing productivity. Learn about the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and its powerful impact on small farmers in Madagascar.

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Agroecological Approaches to Climate- Proofing’our Agriculture while also Raising Productivity

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  1. Agroecological Approaches toClimate-Proofing’our Agriculture while also Raising Productivity International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Context of Climate Change Asian Institute of Technology September 24, 2009 Norman Uphoff, Cornell University

  2. Climate Change includes both:* Global warming, and* Increase in ‘extreme events’ * Drought (water stress) * Storms (rain, wind, flooding) * Extreme temperaturesFor agriculture,extreme events are most serious kind of climate change* Climate change (abiotic stress) usually means greater incidence of pests and diseases (biotic stress)

  3. 21st Century presents different conditions from the 20th century:* Less land per capita changes the economics of large-scale, extensive cultivation → raise land productivity* Less availability and reliability of water→ need for water productivity* Higher energy costs make large-scale, mechanized production and long-distance trade in agricultural commodities less profitable → new patterns of trade

  4. Other differences compared to 20th Century:* Greater and growing public concern for environmental conservation/quality - agro-chemicals becoming less acceptable* Accessibility of technology to the poor is a greater concern because hunger and povertyare still major problemsThese and other considerations suggest a need for evolving what can be called ‘post-modern agriculture’

  5. ‘Ascending Migration of Endophytic Rhizobia, from Roots and Leaves, inside Rice Plants and Assessment of Benefits to Rice Growth Physiology’ Feng Chi et al.,Applied and Envir. Microbiology 71 (2005), 7271-7278

  6. *Agroecology is based upon the life in the soil (systems) -- recognizing the precedence of soil biology > soil chemistry* By improving plants’ growing environment (E), we can induce more productive phenotypes from any genotype (G)

  7. CUBA:two plants of same variety (VN 2084) and same age (52 DAP)

  8. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) developed in Madagascar in 1980s has made these ideas and principles very concrete --and very powerful, especially with regard to Climate Change

  9. SRI Experience in Madagascar Small farmers (ave. <1 ha) -- on some of ‘poorest’ soils that had previously yielded 2 tons/ha -- were able to average 8 tons/ha without new seeds or fertilizer Same results from a larger French-funded project for irrigation improvement on the High Plateau; also seen in a 1996 study sponsored by French aid (N=108)

  10. SRI Not a Technology = 6 Core Ideas • Use young seedlingsto preserve growth potential (although direct seeding is becoming an option) • Avoid trauma to the roots--transplant quickly, carefully, shallow; no inversion of root tips upward • Give plants wider spacing– one plant per hill and in square pattern to achieve edge effect • Keep paddy soil moist but unflooded – mostly aerobic, not continuously saturated (hypoxic) • Actively aerate the soil-- as much as possible • Enhance soil organic matteras much as possible Practices 1-3 support more plant growth; practices 4-6 enhance the growth and health of roots and soil biota

  11. These Changes in Practices Lead to: • Increased grain yieldby 50-100% or more if farmers’ yields are presently low • Reduced irrigation water requirements by 25-50%; SRI adapted to rainfed cropping • Lower costs of production by 10-20%, so net income increases by more than yield • Higher milling outturn by ca.15%; less chaff and fewer broken grains → more food • Less need for agrochemical use because of natural resistance to pests and diseases • Resistance to abiotic stressesdue to bigger, stronger root systems and soil biotic activity

  12. APPLICATIONS TO OTHER CROPS Wheat Sugar cane Finger millet Teff Kidney beans Cotton Vegetables?

  13. Finger Millet Intensification (left); regular management of improved variety (center) and of traditional variety (right), India

  14. Research on Applying/Adapting SRI Methods to Other Crops – People’s Science Institute, Dehradun Rajma (kidney bean) Manduwa (finger millet) From powerpoint report to 3rd National SRI Symposium, TNAU, Coimbatore, Dec. 1-3, 2008

  15. ICRISAT-WWF Sugarcane Initiative: at least 20% more cane yield, with: • 30% reduction in water, and • 25% reduction in chemical inputs • ‘The inspiration for putting • this package together is • from the successful • approach of SRI – System • of Rice Intensification.’

  16. Requirements/Constraints • Water controlto apply small amounts of water reliably; may need drainage facilities • Supply of biomassfor making compost – can use fertilizer as alternative • Crop protectionmay be necessary, although usually more resistance to pests & diseases • Mechanical weederis desirable as this can aerate the soil as well as control weeds • Skill & motivation of farmersmost important; need to learn new practices; SRI can become labor-saving once techniques are mastered • Support of experts? have faced opposition

  17. Status of SRI:As of 1999 Known and practiced only in Madagascar

  18. MADAGASCAR: Rice field grown with SRI methods

  19. 2009: SRI benefits have been validated in 36 countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America SRI benefits have been demonstrated in 34 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America Before 1999: Madagascar 1999-2000: China, Indonesia 2000-01: Bangladesh, Cuba Cambodia, Gambia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand 2002-03: Benin, Guinea, Mozambique, Peru 2004-05: Senegal, Mali, Pakistan, Vietnam 2006: Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, Zambia 2007: Afghanistan, Brazil 2008: Egypt, Rwanda, Congo, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Ghana > 1 million ha and farmers

  20. CAMBODIA: Farmer in Takeo Province: yield of 6.72 tons/ha > 2-3 t/ha

  21. AFGHANISTAN: SRI field in Baghlan Province, supported by Aga Khan Foundation Natural Resource Management program

  22. Afghanistan: SRI field at 30 days

  23. Yield calculated at 11.56 tons/ha SRI plant 72 days after transplanting – 133 tillers

  24. Indonesia: Rice plants same variety and same age in Lombok Province

  25. Indonesia: Results of 9 seasons of on-farm comparative evaluations of SRI by Nippon Koei, 2002-06 No. of trials: 12,133 Total area covered: 9,429.1hectares Ave. increase in yield: 3.3 t/ha (78%) Reduction in water requirements: 40% Reduction in fertilizer use: 50% Reduction in costs of production: 20%

  26. MALI: Farmer in the Timbuku region shows difference between regular rice and SRI rice plants, 2007 First year trials: SRI yield 8.98 t/ha Control yield 6.7 t/ha Expanded trials in 2008 with support of Better U Foundation

  27. MALI: Rice grain yield for SRI plots, control plots and farmer-practice plots, Goundam circle, Timbuktu region, 2008 • * adjusted to 14% grain moisture content

  28. IRAQ: Comparison trials at Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station, Najaf

  29. IRAN: SRI roots and normal (flooded) roots: note difference in color as well as size

  30. What relevance of SRI to CLIMATE CHANGE?1. RESISTANCE TO DROUGHT

  31. Journal of Sichuan Agricultural Science and Technology • (2009), Vol. 2, No. 23 • “Introduction of Land-Cover Integrated Technologies with Water Saving and High Yield” -- LvShihua et al. • Yield in normal year is 150-200 kg/mu (2.25-3.0 t/ha); yield in drought year is 200 kg/mu (3.0 t/ha) or even more • Net income in normal year is increased by new methods from profit of 100 ¥/mu to 600-800 ¥/mu (i.e., from profit of $220/ha to >$1,500/ha) • Net income in drought year with new methods goes from loss of 200-300 ¥/mu to 300-500 ¥/mu profit (from a loss of $550/ha to a profit of $880/ha)

  32. SRI LANKA: Rice paddies,with same soil, same variety, same irrigation system and same drought, three weeks after water was stopped: conventional (left), SRI (right)

  33. 2. RESISTANCE TO STORM DAMAGE (LODGING)

  34. VIETNAM: Farmer in Dông Trù village – after typhoon

  35. China: Bu Tou village, Zhejiang 2004: Nie Fu-qiu had best yield in province: 12 t/ha 2005: Even though his SRI rice fields were hit by 3 typhoons – he was able to harvest 11.15 tons/ha - while other farmers’ fields were badly affected by the storm damage 2008: Nie used chemical fertilizer, and crop lodged

  36. 3. TOLERANCE OF EXTREME TEMPERATURES

  37. Meteorological and yield data from ANGRAU IPM evaluation, Andhra Pradesh, India, 2006 +Sudden drop in min. temp. between 16–21 Dec. (9.2-9.80 C for 5 days) * Low yield due to cold injury (see above)

  38. 4. PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE(Biotic stresses)

  39. Reduction in Diseases and PestsVietnam National IPM Program evaluation based on data from 8 provinces, 2005-06 * Insects/m2

  40. India: Pest incidence in main field (TNAU) Figures in parentheses are transformed values ** significant difference (P<0.001)

  41. 5. OFTEN SHORTER CROP CYCLE (by 1-3 weeks)1. Reduces water requirements2. Reduces crops’ exposure to adverse climate risks and to pests and diseases3. Increases opportunities for growing other crops

  42. Reduced Time to Maturitywhen Using Younger Seedlings 51 Nepali SRI farmers planted the same 145-day variety (Bansdhan) in monsoon season, 2005 Age of N of Days to Reduction seedlingfarmersharvest(in days) >14 d 9 138.56.5 10-14 d 37 130.614.4 8-9 d 5 123.621.4 SRI doubled average yield: 3.1 → 6.3 t/ha

  43. Crop duration from seed to seed for different rice varieties using SRI vs. conventional methods, Morang district, Nepal, 2008 season Data from Morang district, Nepal, 2008 main season

  44. 6. GREATER PLANTWATER-USE EFFICIENCY

  45. AN ASSESSMENT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) COMPARED WITH RECOMMENDED RICE CULTIVATION PRACTICES IN INDIAA.K. THAKUR, N. UPHOFF, E. ANTONYWater Technology Centre for Eastern Region, Bhubaneswar-751023, Orissa, India, Ratio of photosynthesis to transpiration reflects water-use efficiency Loss of 1 millimol of water (transpiration) SRI: 3.6 millimols of CO2 fixed RMP: 1.6 millimols of CO2 fixed

  46. Comparison of chlorophyll content, transpiration rate, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and internal CO2 concentration in SRI and RMP Standard deviations are given in parentheses (n = 15).

  47. 7. POSSIBLE REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GASES

  48. Comparison of SRI and surrounding conventional fields - Dr. KIMURA Sonoko Dorothea Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Paddy Rice Fields in Indonesia Langunga Jampue Tabo-Tabo Sungsang Penarungan SRIExperiment Plots + Farmers Fields

  49. Methods • Closed-chamber method Features: 30cm×30cm×60cm dimensions, equipped with thermometer, pressure bag, and gas sampling tube (foldable) • Measurements taken at 0, 10- and 20-minute intervals → 10ml vacuum vial Each field: 2-3 replications • N2O＆CH4 → measured by GC-ECD ＆ GC-FID Parameters: soil temperature, stem number, days after planting, plant height, variety etc. Dates:2008 / 3 / 20-23

  50. Methane Flux CH4 Flux(mg C m-2 h-1) Error bar stands for standard deviation

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