Research helps rice farmers see the value of going green

Several universities in rice-producing countries are working with students, farmers and communities to help them switch to growing “greener” or more environmentally friendly varieties and to employ more sustainable farming methods that use only organic fertilisers. But not everyone is on board.

The rice-farming sector is the lifeblood of most Asian communities and is essential for food security in the region where demand for rice is expected to rise as populations grow. There are strong cultural attachments to rice cultivation in these ancient agrarian societies.

However, there is resistance to change: some farmers do not believe organic farming produces a good yield and that it could impact their livelihoods.

“Green agriculture is seen as a branding strategy to increase the competitiveness of agricultural products in domestic and international markets,” argues Emeritus Professor of Agriculture Sumithra Jayasekera, a former vice-chancellor of Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. “Everything boils down to the income of the farmer. No country has gone 100% organic or green”.

Staple food

Rice is the main staple food in Asia, which both produces and consumes 90% of the world’s rice. China continues to be the world’s biggest national producer, growing one-third of Asia's total at 29 million hectares. India produces nearly a quarter on 43 million hectares.

Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, and Bangladesh are other leading rice-producing countries in Asia, while Sri Lanka achieved its cherished target of self-sufficiency in rice in the 1970s.

Rice cultivation in Asia rose dramatically in the 1960s due to the chemical fertiliser-driven “green revolution”. However, its very success is today driving the need to green rice farming inputs, fertiliser in particular, to sustain the sector.

Dr Lucille Parreno-De Guzman, researcher at the Institute of Crop Science, University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), has been involved in sustainable agriculture research for three decades.

She told University World News that since the 1980s several professors at UPLB have been advocating the promotion of sustainable agriculture in and outside the university and have introduced courses in ecological agriculture and organic horticulture.

High resistance

However, she also noted a high degree of resistance among rice farmers to go into organic farming due to a perception that it is not economically viable. “This is true only in the first few years, during the conversion period from conventional to organic production, where yields and profitability are low,” she argued.

“The reason for this is that the soil is still recuperating from the negative impacts of inorganic inputs and still building up the population of helpful microorganisms as well as the soil’s organic matter content.”

It is important for institutions involved in agriculture research to convey these facts and remedies “in detail” to students and farmers during classes and trainings, she stressed, noting the Philippines enacted a law to promote organic agriculture: Republic Act 10068 (Organic Agriculture Act of 2010) which was amended on 23 December 2020 to Republic Act 11511.

In 2020 UPLB established the Organic Agriculture Research and Development Extension Centre (OARDEC) for research and development, academic activities, capacity building, and hands-on training. It also aimed to act as an information hub in support of the organic agriculture industry.

“It needs an interdisciplinary approach,” Guzman said, “tasked with research, extension, and public service programmes [promoting] organic agriculture”.

Experimenting with organic inputs

Situated in Thailand’s northeast – a major rice-growing area – Mahasarakham University (MSU) has established the Walai Rukhavej Botanical Research Institute (WBRI) within an area of 200 hectares of cleared forest land, 70 kilometres from the main campus.

With a staff of 23 – mainly rice farmers from the area working on the farm as well as employed in community outreach to other farmers, the institute is experimenting with new varieties using organic farming inputs.

“We test various varieties of rice and how they grow with organic fertiliser. Pink variety rice is ancient and we are experimenting here with organic fertiliser. We research how it grows here,” WBRI Director Dr Sudarat Thanonkeo said during a visit by University World News to the research farm on the fringes of forest, close to a scenic lake with blooming lotus flowers and surrounded by fruit trees.

“Not only students, but farmers can also come here and learn the methodology to grow it,” she said. “We introduce rice farming without using chemical fertilisers to farmers.”

Thanonkeo confirmed she has to prove to farmers that organic fertiliser can give them a good yield. She runs workshops every year for local farmers to promote organic farming.

“When they come for workshops here, I try to prove that organic farming is safer, and it can give a good yield. I show how it can be done,” she said.

Government support through the university has enabled her to employ researchers to gather data to present to farmers showing it is beneficial to go into organic farming, which is traditional to Thailand. Though it is not a separate faculty at MSU, WBRI has the same status as a faculty. “The university supports my whole budget,” she said.

Ill-conceived policy

In the past, some moves towards green farming have misfired. In Sri Lanka, for example, a growing movement towards organic farming was nipped in the bud after an ill-conceived policy was announced by the government in May 2021 that required the country to switch to 100% organic farming almost overnight – in part to counter the need for costly fertiliser imports, which were banned during the country’s foreign exchange crisis.

“Most researchers, university academics, and farmers protested against the decision, as organic farming should have been introduced gradually with a proper marketing system for such products,” Jayasekera said.

“There were no organic fertilisers available. What was available was of poor quality and made out of rubbish. [Making] organic fertiliser is not an easy task. It is time consuming and [is based on] scientific principle-methods,” he said, referring to the production of organic fertiliser from household, farm, and hotel waste.

“No training was given for farmers or officials regarding this practice [of making organic fertiliser and applying-using it in farms]. Even the Department of Agriculture didn’t know anything about recommendations on organic fertilisers,” Sanath Bandara, Sri Lanka’s former assistant director of agriculture in the Ministry of Agriculture told University World News. It was only after the announcement that politicians asked (Agriculture Department) officials to start research on it.

“That’s how the concept [of organic farming] lost its credibility”.

No overnight operation

“This will not be an overnight operation. It needs to go through several generations. Universities and the Agriculture Department need to work closely,” Bandara said.

Despite the bungled attempt to switch to green farming, Jayasekera said government departments such as agriculture were working continuously on organic farming.

“They have not given up the idea. They conduct many training programmes on this subject. There are quite a few university academics who do research and promote organic agriculture. Almost all agriculture curricula have a component on this subject,” Jayasekera noted.

The Faculty of Agriculture at Sri Lanka’s Ruhuna University, for example, is now offering a BSc Green Technology course, a four-year degree with a research project and four months of industry training. Other universities also offer training programmes in green agriculture, especially rice farming.

However, adopting green technology is still a problem in practice.

“Farmers need to get a substantial income for their living. The most important factor in this whole process is to find the correct market for the products,” noted Jayasekera. “Farmers will produce, but they can’t sell the product at a reasonable price. The middleman makes the most of it.”