Towards more sustainable management in rice cultivation

Code:

ATN/RF-16681-RG

Initiative:

Call for Proposals

FONTAGRO Amount:

USD 300.000

Counterpart Amount:

USD 527.736

Execution time

36 Months

Total Amount:

USD 827.736

Participating countries:

Colombia

Chile

Peru

Uruguay

Funding source:

FONTAGRO Amount 36% Other agencies 0% Counterpart Amount 64%

Executive Summary

Family growers (less than 10 hectares) in Colombia, Chile and Peru, whose livelihoods are based on rice production currently face a variety of challenges, one of the most pressing is the increase in climate variability and the consequent decrease in water availability during certain stages of the crop. On the other hand, the conventional practice of continuous flooding during cultivation results in rice systems that have a negative environmental consequences, not only because of the excessive use of water in the field, but also by the increased emissions of gases such as methane (CH4), which are related to the greenhouse effect.

Through the project more rice with less emissions, the development of a technological innovation is proposed through small farmers will be able to maintain and even increase their yield, taking into account climate change mitigation, natural resource management and sustainability in the rice cultivation. Under these premises, the study is looking for locally validation to the implementation of Alternate Irrigation Technology - AWD, at two moderate and intensive levels generating benefits like a efficient and competitive production with a lower environmental impact under the, in rice crops on smallholder farms. from Colombia, Peru and Chile. This work is financed with resources provided by FONTAGRO platform and with recourse in Colombia of the National Federation of Rice FEDEARROZ, in Peru of the Universidad Agraria la Molina and in Chile by the Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA ). Under the regional cooperation initiative, it is proposed to transfer the practices and technologies that are generated as a result of the project

The technological solution

Rice as a basic crop has become more important in recent years in Latin America and the Caribbean, reflected in the increase in per capita consumption. Family farmers (under 10 Ha) in Colombia Chile and Peru whose livelihoods are based on rice production, face a variety of challenges, one of the most pressing is the increase in climate variability and the consequent decrease in water availability during certain stages of rice cultivation. According to Gonzalez et al (2010) for Colombia it is estimated that 16,000 m3/hectare per crop are used for the maintenance of rice cultivation in its different stages. In Chile and Peru there is no precise estimate of water use, but it is indicated that the crop uses a range of 14,000 to 18,000 and 12,000 to 17,500 m3, respectively. On the other hand, the conventional practice of continuous flooding during cultivation results in rice systems that have significant negative environmental consequences, related to increased methane emissions. Consequently, the global warming potential (GWP) associated with flooded rice production systems is greater than other cereal crops. Specifically, rice cultivation is responsible for 2. 027, 18.880 and 104 Gg CO2eq in Colombia, Peru and Chile, respectively. (FAOSTAT, 2016).

Future production requirements to meet the demand of the next generations implies incorporating new areas, improving productivity and reducing water consumption. Producing more rice with the same water or less water would be the future goals. These changes in water management technology would have a direct impact on greenhouse gas emissions, so gas has been captured in the different treatments to quantify the emissions of these gases and identify whether these treatments would have a positive effect.

Irrigation management practice that includes alternate periods of flooding and dry land during the non-critical growth stages of rice (internationally known as AWD for its acronym in English ("Alternate Wetting and Drying"), can increase the efficiency in the use of water and at the same time reduce methane emissions without affecting performance. This practice of intelligent irrigation of alternating wet and dry soil allows greater resilience of producers to climatic variations .In the framework of this project it was proposed to conduct a study in three different locations, Saldaña in Colombia, Ferreñafe in Peru and Parral in Chile applying AWD technology In the selected farms characterized by family farming of irrigated rice communities, experimental field were established during the first years of this project, contrasting the management of Conventional irrigation with two AWD alternatives at each study site. It was possible to generate in two cycles indicators of production (yield), environmental impacts (greenhouse gas emissions) and efficiency in the use of resources on the farm (comparison of water and nutrient use).

For the year 2021, validation areas were established on a commercial scale in fields of innovative producers with the technological advances found during the first phase of the study. During the field-scale evaluations (validation stage), the objective was to demonstrate that AWD management techniques allow a significant reduction in water consumption and possibly costs without affecting crop yield.

On the other hand, a socio-economic study is being carried out that aims to estimate production costs and the economic implications of water use, in order to identify the possibilities of applying the technology in the areas.

Results

Regarding GHG, there are dissimilar results between countries, treatments and evaluation cycles. For Colombia, there were reductions between 66.7% and 98% of the accumulated net flows of CH4 and of 21.9% and 98% in the accumulated net flows of N2O, except in the third cycle where due to the permanent rain conditions there was no decrease ; Chile presented a decrease in methane up to 37% in direct sowing and 26% in N2O. In the case of Peru, a methane reduction of 37.8% was obtained up to 93% and an increase in the emission of N2O.

There were differences in the reduction in water use with respect to the control: in Colombia it was between 19.1% and 42%, in Chile between 3.5% and 28.9% and in Peru between 15.5% and 23.2%

Regarding performance, different different results have been found in the evaluated localities, showing in general terms that there are no statistically significant differences.

20 events have been with 1,769 participants

Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries are small growers in Colombia, Chile and Peru, whose livelihood is based on rice production.

In Saldaña and Putificación, Colombia, there are near to 1,200 growers, of which 80% have less than 10 Ha, they are the target population for the progress made with the project.
In Chile, it must be considered that, in Parral, where the project is carried out, approximately 80% of the rice consumed in this country is planted. This area concentrates the largest number of medium and small rice farmers. 1.500 growers will be beneficiaries
In Peru it is estimated that the number of growers whose will be beneficiaries from the technology are over 2000.