Eco-regional-based Rice Farming for Enhancing Productivity, Profitability and Sustainability

Abstract

Sustainable rice production is the key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly for country like India. Growing rice in non-conventional and unsuitable ecoregions, however, has generated several environmental problems such as depletion of ground water, pollution of air, degradation of soil and aggravation of climate change. All these degenerative factors are taking toll on the productivity, profitability and sustainability of rice farming. To achieve sustainable and environment-friendly rice farming, the crop should be cultivated in the region where its environmental footprint is the minimum. This can be accomplished with ecoregional approach of rice farming. Ecoregions are geographical regions with similar ecological, soil and climatic conditions. Rainfall, temperature and soil are the three most important biophysical factors determining ecoregions for growing rice. Rice is a water-loving crop. Therefore, its cultivation should be done in the areas where average annual rainfall is more than 1000 mm. Temperature is another key factor influencing growth, development and yield of rice. Rice being a tropical and sub-tropical plant, requires a fairly high temperature, ranging from 20° to 30°C. Clayey loam soil (27- 40% clay content) in monsoon land is considered to be the best for rice cultivation as water retention capacity of this soil is high. The paper presents an analysis of delineating suitable ecoregions for rice in India considering rainfall, temperature and soil texture as the major contributing factors. The suitable ecoregions of rice farming have been delineated and site-specific improved technologies have been identified for enhancing productivity, profitability, climate resilience and sustainability of rice farming in the country.