To address issues related to greening Rice fallow areas a two-day national workshop on 'Strategies and Approaches for Greening Rice Fallow Areas' was inaugurated by Dr. S.K. Chaudhari, Deputy Director General, NRM, ICAR, New Delhi on 3rd January 2025 at ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar.
During the inaugural speech, Dr. Chaudhari stressed on the urgent need to address the agricultural challenges faced by farmers in rice fallow areas. He highlighted the importance of land digitization, linkage of village-level institutions, minimizing the gap between groundwater potential and its utilization, and also emphasized on innovative techniques and management practices, such as resource conservation technologies, zero-tillage and residue management, and weed control in rice fallows. Dr Chaudhuri also appreciated the effort of Bihar Govt. in implementing programs like CRA.
The workshop brought together with the distinguished panel of speakers, including esteemed directors such as Dr. Masood Ali (Former Director, ICAR-IIPR), Dr. C.L. Acharya (Former Director, ICAR-IISS), Dr. J.S. Mishra (ICAR-DWR, Jabalpur), Dr. N.G. Patil (ICAR-NBBS LUP), Dr. Bikas Das (ICAR-NRC Litchi), Dr. A. Sarangi (ICAR-IIWM), Dr. Sunil Kumar (ICAR-IIFSR, Modipuram), Dr. Pradip Dey (ICAR-ATARI, Kolkata), Dr. Anil Kr. Singh (RPCAU Samastipur), Dr. D. P. Tripathi (Director, BAMETI) among others like Dr. B. P. Bhatt, PS, NRM Division, ICAR, New Delhi as well as Dr. R.K. Jat (BISA) and Dr. S.P. Poonia (CIMMYT) from international organizations.
In his welcome address, Dr. Anup Das, Director, ICAR-RCER, Patna shared the institute's success in greening over 1000 hectares of rice fallow areas in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh through participatory efforts involving Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). He noted the potential of these interventions to bridge the demand-supply gap for pulses and oilseeds, contributing to the self-sufficiency and improving farmers' incomes.
The dignitaries mostly emphasized on identification and prioritization of rice fallow regimes based on soil moisture across the ecologies, adoption of sustainable practices, including short-duration climate resilient cultivars of pulses/oilseeds that thrive well on the residual soil moisture, as critical to unlocking the productivity of these fallow lands. They also discussed about integrated water management practices; including rainwater harvesting (in-situ/ ex-situ conservation), integrated soil nutrient management and organic matter incorporation as well as the importance of climate-smart agriculture in managing rice fallow areas.
An integrated approach involving Crops-Livestock-Fodder-secondary activities as per socio-economic conditions was emphasised by the experts. Further, central-state agencies especially KVKs and CG centres may take up multi-local trials for the development of validated technologies must be taken up for greening Rice-fallows.
Further enriching the discussions, Dr. Masood Ali, Former Director of ICAR IIPR Kanpur, and Dr. C.L. Acharya, Former Director of IISS Bhopal, have emphasized various aspects of agronomic interventions for cropping intensification in rice fallow areas; enhancing pulses/oilseeds production from rice fallow areas; intensifying rice fallows with vegetables/spices crops; water and nutrient management in rice fallows among others.
Dr. D. P. Tripathi, Director, BAMETI appraised the gathering about the efforts of Government of Bihar in addressing the issue of Rice-fallow areas through crop diversification, promotion of millets-oilseeds-pulses, climate-resilient agricultural programme and also emphasized on fourth Krishi road map. On this occasion, Dr. Chaudhari inaugurated the Swarna Rath (e-Rickshaw) and an exhibition showcasing innovative technologies and sustainable practices for improving agricultural productivity in rice fallow regions.
The workshop concluded with a consensus on the critical role of participatory approaches, stress-tolerant crop varieties, and rainwater harvesting infrastructure in enhancing productivity and addressing food and nutritional security for resource-poor farmers. Participants (progressive farmers) shared their experiences in rice fallow management. This was attended by more than 100 participants from all over the country. The whole programme was co-ordinated by Dr. Rakesh Kumar and ended with vote of thanks from Dr Saurabh Kumar.
