FSII to Organize Conference on DSR for Sustainable & Profitable Rice Production

Rice is India’s largest crop and is grown in a variety of agro-climatic conditions, it is responsible for 50% of crop-related methane emissions & approx 40% of water consumption in agri leading to depleting groundwater levels & warming, soil degradation due to water runoff, residue management and intensive manual labour are other major challenges in traditional rice cultivation. DSR has the potential to address these challenges however pre-requisite to successful transformation is better yield & increased return on investment for farmers, they need confidence that their plants will establish well, and effectively manage weeds, disease & pests to produce crops that offer at par or higher yields than transplanted cultivation methods.

To successfully drive this transition from transplanted puddled rice to DSR with minimum fear and risk, allowing farmers to experience first-hand convenience and an equivalent or higher return on investment would require the agri-input industry to closely work with the Government of India, State Governments, mechanisation, millers.

Realizing this Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) will be organizing a conference on DSR for sustainable & profitable rice production at The Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi on March 15, 2024.

Points of Discussion:

• How remunerative is DSR for farmers vis-à-vis traditional rice cultivation

• Challenges in the adoption of DSR, Training & capacity building of farmers

• Developing an ecosystem to encourage DSR adoption

• Synergies between center & state government policies

Agenda of Conference

• 10:00-10:10 hrs: Opening remarks & context setting- Ajai Rana, Chairman, FSII and Managing Director & CEO, Savannah Seeds

• 10:10-10:20 hrs: Seed Industry perspective on sustainable rice production- Anuja Kadian, Director, FSII & Asia Pacific Government Affairs, Director, Corteva Agriscience

• 10:20-10:30 hrs: Special address by Guest of Honor- Prof Vijay Paul Sharma, Chairman, Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices

• 10:30-10:40 hrs: Special address by S Jaswant Singh, Director - Agriculture, Punjab

• 10:40 hrs: Launch of FSII-Sathguru Report on DSR

• 10:40-10:50 hrs: Brief Summary of Report Dr K V Satyanarayana, Vice President – Lifesciences Advisory Group, Sathguru Management Consultants

• 10:50-11:05 hrs: Special address by Chief Guest Dr A K Singh, Director, Indian Agricultural Research Institute

• 11:05-11:15 hrs: Closing remarks & Vote of Thanks, Rajvir Rathi, Vice Chairman, FSII & Head – Agricultural Policy & Stakeholder Affairs, Bayer CropScience

Session 1: DSR Genetics & Breeding

The benefits of DSR are well known as it is resource efficient, environment & soil friendly, has higher yields & less manpower requirement because of the shift from flooded to direct seeding system which leads to variation in water, tillage, nutrient, the crop faces challenges of weeds, panicle sterility, pest & diseases attacks, lodging. To overcome these challenges new varieties of seeds should be herbicide tolerant & treated with fungicides to manage soil-borne diseases.

Points of Discussion:

• Availability of seed varieties suitable for DSR

• Drought tolerance

• Plant phenotype

11:30-12:30 hrs: Presentation & Session Moderator- Dr R Mahender Kumar Principal Scientist & Head - Crop Production & Agronomy Indian Institute of Rice Research

Distinguished Panellists:

• Dr T K Das, Professor & Principal Scientist, Indian Agricultural Research Institute

• Dr Veeresh RP Gowda, Head – DSR Breeding, Bayer CropScience

• Dr Mahantesh Gangashetti, APSI EZ & New Initiatives Lea, Corteva AgriScience

• Dr R S Mahala, President Research – Field Crops, Seedworks International Ltd

• Ramanathan Vairamani, Chief - Technology & Innovation, Rallis India

Session 2: Perspective from Ecosystem Stakeholders for Widespread & Successful Adoption of DSR

DSR has proved to be an alternative to unsustainable water-intensive transplanted rice world-over, but a heavy infestation of a variety of weed species leads to more competition for nutrients, water & other valuable resources which creates yield drag and increases in cost of cultivation due to regular sprays & weed management and limits the large-scale adoption of DSR cultivation. Herbicide-tolerant trait can provide a solution in this situation, associated support of crop care and mechanisation is necessary for the widescale adoption of DSR.

Points of Discussion:

• Integrated Weed, Pest & Disease Management

• Machinery for planting & harvesting

• Biotechnology

12:45-13:45 hrs: Presentation & Session Moderator- Dr Panneerselvam Peramaiyan Principal Scientist International Rice Research Institute

Distinguished Panellists:

• Manoj Mahuli, Director – Sales, Savannah Seeds Pvt Ltd

• Sahin Ozkan, CEO, ADAMA India

• Dr Nilanjan Sanyal, Head - R&D South Asia, BASF India Ltd

• Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, Chairman, KisanKraft Ltd

• Avinash Kumar, Chairman, Anuj Kisan Producer Company Ltd

Session 3: Role of Policy & Market Dynamics in Encouraging Adoption of DSR

The majority of rice farmers constantly struggle with issues of water availability and cultivation costs. Rice is the staple food for the population and has good export potential at the same time this crop is resource-intensive and has a severe impact on the environment.

DSR promises to address these challenges however this requires the support of government policies and procurement systems to encourage farmers to switch from traditional rice cultivation methods to DSR. For example, preferential procurement and/or higher MSP for DSR can galvanize adoption. The rice milling industry also needs capital & policy support for processing DSR varieties. A green credit system can also be explored to promote DSR.

Points of Discussion:

• Policy priority for DSR

• Revisiting paddy procurement policy holistically

• Support for the Paddy processing industry

14:45-15:45 hrs: Session Moderator- Ram Kaundinya, Advisor, Federation of Seed Industry of India

Distinguished Panelists:

• Dr Tanushri Kaul, Group Leader - Nutritional Improvement of Crops, International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology

• Dr Makhan Singh Bhullar, Director Extension, Punjab Agricultural University

• Umang Agarwal, Head Carbon, Grow Indigo

• Nathi Ram Gupta, President, All India Rice Exporters Association

• Srivatsa Sreenivasarao, Co-Founder & CEO, TraceX Technologies