Title: Organic farming of rice with water-saving techniques - evidence of enviro-economic benefits from Uttarakhand, India
Authors: Samraj Sahay; Manab Chakraborty
Addresses: Department of Finance and Business Economics, University of Delhi, South Campus, New Delhi, India ' Department of Finance and Business Economics, University of Delhi, South Campus, New Delhi, India
Abstract: The present study assesses the economic feasibility of organic farming for Basmati and paddy along with economic benefits, water savings and efficiency of organic paddy using three water-saving techniques - alternate wet and drying (AWD), direct seeding of rice (DSR) and systemic rice intensification (SRI). Data from two participatory field trials conducted in Nainital District of Uttarakhand, India was used for the evaluation. The enviro-economic benefits were determined using the gross margin, water saved, irrigation and economic water productivity. The gross margin for organic was 11.10% and 6.76% more than the conventional for Basmati and paddy respectively. SRI was the most feasible choice with highest yield, gross margin, irrigation water productivity of 2.40 kg/m3 [2.75 times of conventional farming (CF)] and economic water productivity of 108.10 INR/m3 (2.87 times of CF), followed by AWD, DSR and CF. The findings encourage organic farming with SRI along with an effective market for organics.
Keywords: organic farming; paddy; Basmati; alternate wet and drying; AWD; direct seeding of rice; DSR; systemic rice intensification; SRI; gross margin analysis; water productivity; India.
DOI: 10.1504/IJARGE.2023.133346
International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2023 Vol.19 No.1, pp.64 - 89
Received: 06 Aug 2022
Accepted: 04 Jul 2023
Published online: 12 Sep 2023 *