Opportunities in Rice Based System

Opportunities in Rice Based System

Dr. Chinmoy Kumar Sarma

Rice cultivation is intimately associated with the life of the farming community.Household food and nutritional security as well as entire livelihood of farmers in Assam is mainly dependent on rice based farming systems.  Developing profitable rice systems in Assam helps eliminate poverty, local unemployment, and forced labor migration by raising rural incomes. Instead of traditional single-crop farming, the region relies on varied rotations like rice-rice, rice-pulses, rice-oilseeds, and rice-vegetable systems.

There are many challenges in rice based cropping system.  Most of the farmers are resource poor farmers (more than 85 % are small and marginal) and lacks commercial approaches.Mono-cropping of rice is the major system with low yield of paddy of 2.2 tonnes per hectare against national average of 2.9 tonnes per hectare attributing to low agricultural profitability in the region. Majority of the rice based systems are practiced under rainfed condition with poor management practices and farmers often face marketing problem due to low volume of produce.

            The shift in consumer preferences away from staple rice toward a more varied diet of fruits, vegetables, and alternative grains is causing a decline in per capita rice consumption. If this pattern persists, prioritizing diversified and intensified cropping models becomes essential. However, simply reducing rice acreage or production is unsustainable and unpopular with farmers.

Therefore, the most viable path forward is the ecological intensification and diversification of existing rice-based networks.Key strategies include expanding cultivation into underutilized rice-fallow lands and flood-prone areas, as well as replacing low-yield crops with high-value alternatives to boost farm income. Crucially, selecting the right crops requires careful planning to optimize resources. Any new rice-based cropping system must align with local soil quality, climate patterns, land topography, available technology, farm resources, and market demand.

            The suitability of oilseeds and pulses for rice fallow systems is driven by their low input demands, robust establishment in standing rice, and the availability of short-duration cultivars. This integration is further facilitated by short- and medium-duration rice varieties. Crucially, the nitrogen-fixing and soil-building properties of pulses offer a viable pathway to transition intensive cereal systems into sustainable agricultural models.

Shortfall in pulse production (produces 40 % of total requirement) brings an opportunity for pulse production in rice fallow areas. Suitable pulse crops after kharif rice are lentil, lathyrus, field pea and rajmah.  Cropping sequence like rice – lentil gives system net return of Rs. 35,000 to Rs. Rs. 40,000 per hectare and it can go up, if properly managed. Oilseed production can be another area which will create more employment in the entire chain from production to processing, branding and marketing.

Under suitable land situation, rapeseed, niger and linseed are important rabi oilseed crops after harvesting of kharif rice even under rainfed situation. By utilizing the rice fallow with rapeseed, one can earn Rs.18, 000 to Rs. 22,000 per hectareas additional income with a system income of Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 35,000 per hectare, if crops are managed properly.

            In areas with reliable irrigation, a consecutive rice-rice cropping sequence is highly viable under appropriate land conditions. Furthermore, early ahu rice can be introduced as a third annual crop following rabi cultivation, provided the rabi harvest concludes by January or February. Conversely, in flood-prone regions, kharif crop selection is governed by the duration of field submergence and the specific timing of floodwater recession.

Assam Agricultural University has developed several situation specific varieties of rice. If situation permits, rice can be grown as kharif crop with submergence tolerant varieties or staggered planting varieties or with medium or short duration varieties followed by rabi and summer crops. Where kharif rice cultivation is not possible due to flood, rabi oilseed/ pulse/vegetable crops can be grown early in the season followed by early ahu rice under assured irrigation facilities.

            There is huge scope of promoting maize based industries in Assam which will create employment opportunities. So, maize is another important crop (more than 40,000 ha area in Assam and the area is increasing) in rice based cropping system.In rice-rice double cropped areas, replacing dry season rice crop with maize recorded higher system productivity along with economic efficiency.

Maize crop can be accommodated in the existing rice based system depending on the time of harvesting of kharif rice either during rabi season or as summer crop (February sowing) which can fetch Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 65,000 per hectare (Hybrid) with a system income of Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 80,000 which is much higher than rice – oilseed and rice – pulse cropping sequences.India enjoys a key advantage of playing in global export and supply in millets.

The state has favourable soil and climate for millet production. Finger milletcan be cultivated as kharif crop in the system preceding early ahu ricein suitable land from August/September. Similarly, foxtail millet can be accommodated in the system after harvesting of kharif rice from January / February. Foxtail millet and finger millet give additional incomeapproximately in the range of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 per hectare and Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 17,000per hectare, respectively.

            Per capita intake of cereals in India fell by 16 per cent between 1993-94 and 2011-12. Over the same period, per capita consumption rose by 21 per cent in case of fruits and 14 per cent in the case of vegetables (Source: NITI Policy Paper No. 1/2017). A shift from low- to high value crops offers an important avenue to enhancing productivity and income. With irrigation facilities, rabi vegetables like potato, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, brinjal, garden pea etc. are some potential rabi crops after kharif rice depending on the soil condition and the rice based cropping systems with vegetables fetch much higher income than rice – oilseed and rice – pulse systems.

                There is a need to create awareness among the farming community for efficient utilization land, labour, water and energy resources through adoption of intensified cropping system for achieving livelihood security. In the above discussion, net returns as mentioned are subject to vary depending upon the price of the inputs and produces.

Dr. Chinmoy Kumar Sarma, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, Mobile: 9957130225

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