Harminder Singh Sidhu Sr. Research Engineer

H.Sidhu@cgiar.org

Technological innovations in CA Machinery : How can policymakers support engineers?

• Supporting/Enabling elements – Declining Farmers income, Labour Shortages, Degradation of Natural Resources (Soil, Water & Environment), Climate Change & Sustainability of Agriculture

• Challenges – Land Holding, Economic Condition, seasonal use , size & shape of Fields, terrain, machine v/s Labour and mind set (CA Course)

Mechanization & CA

Conservation Agriculture

Three Principles

• Minimum Disturbance

• Soil Cover with residue

• Crop Rotation

Three Benefits

✓ Enhanced Productivity

✓ Richer Resources

✓ Climate Adaptation

<<<<<<<<<< Choosing Directions >>>>>>>>>

•System Approach & Un-sustainability can not be the option

•It need to be biophysically and socio-economically sustainable.

•Sustainability also demands confronting climate change

Burning Issue of Residue Burning & SI

NGT and PIL in High Court

NASA’s satellite picture on November 03, 2016 - rice residue burning in North-West India:https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/?p=geographic&l=MODIS_Aqua_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor(hidden),MODIS_Terra_CorrectedR eflectance_TrueColor(hidden),VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor,Reference_Features(hidden),Reference_Labels,Coastlines,VIIRS_SNPP_Fires_375m_Night(hidden),VIIRS_SNPP_Fires_375m_Day&t=2016-11-02&z=3&v=35.0973907447395,-1.955896021329437,125.0973907447395,40.51285397867056&ab=off&as=2016-10-18&ae=2016-10-27&av=3&al=true

Impacts & Challenges

Super SMS

5.0

7.0

9 .0

11.0

13 .0

15.0

17.0

19 .0

7.5 15 3 0 6 0 9 0 12 0

Depth of layers (cm)

Mo

istu

re c

on

ten

t (%

)without mulchWith mulch

Weed matter after 90 days of sowing

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

Qu

an

tity

(t/

ha)

Plot A2 Plot P6 Plot P1

Plots

With mulch

Without mulch

39

6

140

11

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

qu

an

tity

kg

/ha

N P K S

Canopy temperature under various tillage option

Wheat

Varieties

Canopy Temperature ( ºC )

Turbo Happy

Seeder

Zero till Conventional Rotoseeder

DBW 17 30.1 30.6 31.8 32.8

PBW 550 29.5 30.7 31.7 33.9

HD 2894 31.5 32.5 32.9 33.2

Average 30.37 31.27 32.13 33.30No. of

observations

43 10 18 5

First Research Farm with Complete Rice Residue Management Solutions – No Burning

30-10-1601-11-16

19-01-17 21-11-16

A Technology with ‘Multiple Wins’

Germination

Installing Tensio Meter in Water Management Spring Maize trial with Surface Drip

Precision water management in Spring maize: an emerging crop in NW India

Water mgt Grain yield (kg/ha)

Irrigation water (m3/ha) IWP (kg/m3)

-R +R -R +R -R +R

FP 10570 10640 6642 5806 1.59 1.83

F-45 kpa 10380 11210 5701 5127 1.82 2.19

F-60 kpa 10700 11630 5388 4448 1.99 2.61

AF-45 kpa8770 11810 3985 3735 2.20 3.16

AF-60 kpa 8570 9950 3493 3027 2.45 3.29

D-45 kpa 9620 10520 2732 2410 3.52 4.37

D-60 kpa 9000 9290 2249 1981 4.00 4.69

CIMMYT-BISA, Ludhiana (2013)

Can We marry CA and PW&NM using SSD ?

• Minimize Surface Evaporation

• Improved WUE

• Easy Mechanical operations

• Effective fertigation – Better NUE

• reduce the volatile losses of NH3

• minimize immobilization in surface residues

• May be Less Weeds & More Drip line life

• Possibility of Automation

Newly designed tractor operated lateral laying machine

Wheat on permanent beds with Sub Surface drip in Maize-wheat System

Direct seeded Wheat after Direct seeded Rice with Sub Surface drip in Rice -wheat System

Enhancing Water and Nitrogen Use efficiency through fertigation in Maize Wheat and Rice Wheat system using Sub Surface drip (SSD) irrigation under Conservation Agriculture

• Fertigation using SSD saved 25% of fertilized N in both Maize and wheat without any yield penalty

• Irrigation water productivity increased by about 150 and 100% in maize and wheat, respectively

• Saving of 20% fertilizer N and increased irrigation water productivity by about 60-80% in rice with similar yields

• Increase in wheat grain yield and irrigation water productivity by 10 -20% and 30%, respectively.

MW system

RW system

Barriers to Wider adoption

• Mind set (undoing conventional Agriculture)

• Preachers and Practitioners

• Conflicting Messages & policies

• Short term / Long term gain v/s risk

• Ability of the farmer to take risk & no incentive

• New Set of Machines & Knowledge Intensive

• Few Custom operators

How Policy Can Support Engineers

• Avoid Policy Mismatch

• Encourage Farmer and Environment Friendly Innovations with proper knowledge dissemination and effective trainings

• Criteria of Promotion for a machine should be linked with environmental /soil health benefits

• Forceful implementation or willful adoption

• Strong policy support -Turning Agriculture Waste into Wealth – with wide publicity

• Innovative business cases for scaling and Win Win for all

• CA - Sacred service to save environment, water, soil health with more net returns

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-

nation/smog-in-delhi-arvind-kejriwals-men-bat-for-punjab-

farmers/articleshow/55300431.cms

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe-columnist/pollution-in-delhi-how-

paytm-ceo-can-fight-stubble-burning-to-clear-the-air/440656/

http://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/2016/11/08/paytm-ceo-

should-promote-no-straw-burn-wheat-cultivation

http://epaper.tribuneindia.com/1027333/Jalandhar-Edition/JLE_07_December_2016#page/4/2

Conservation Agriculture

Agriculture of the Future

Future of the Agriculture

Thanks

With Strong Policy Support