A workshop on “System intensification and harnessing rice fallows in Assam” was jointly organized by Assam Agricultural University (AAU) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) under the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) on Saturday at Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati.
Attending the workshop, Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner, Government of Assam, stressed the need for immediate action on bringing the maximum rice fallows under crop cultivation in order to increase the cropping intensity of Assam. He said, “Utilisation of rice fallow for growing a second crop is a complex issue as most of the farmers are reluctant to grow the second crop, despite the existence of suitable conditions and a good number of government schemes favouring the same. The situation needs to be delved into deeper to know the micro-reasons, and accordingly, a village- or block-level action plan needs to be prepared.” Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, Director, ISARC, stressed the importance of increasing the cropping intensity of Assam to more than 170 percent within the next 6-7 years to increase the productivity and profitability of farmers and suggested the preparation of a strong, workable action plan for addressing the rice fallow issue in Assam.
In Assam, rice is the single most important crop, occupying 2.54 million ha of the gross cropped area of 4.16 million ha. It contributes 96 percent of the total cereal grain production in the state. However, researchers state that there are ample possibilities to further enhance the total land area and productivity of rice. AAU and IRRI have mapped rice-fallow areas in Assam from 2018–19 onwards till 2020–21 using time-series satellite data and found that the rice-fallow area in the rabi season varied from 56–58 percent of the kharif rice area. Also, data from the last three years reveals that the average rice-fallow area in Assam is around 10.34 lakh ha with residual soil moisture, and these regions have tremendous potential for rice-based cropping systems. With this background, the participants of the workshop thoroughly discussed the challenges and opportunities of system intensification and harnessing rice fields in Assam.
The brainstorming session was attended by Dr. Prasanna Pathak, Director Extension Education, AAU; Dr. Mrinal Saikia, i/c Director Research, AAU; Gunajit Kashyap, Director ASCL; Mousam Hajarika, Director ASOCA; Mayur Bhuyan, Additional Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, Government of Assam; officials from the ARIAS Society and the Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam; and representatives from farmer producer companies in different districts. The workshop was virtually attended by Dr. H.S. Gupta, Chairman, Assam Agriculture Commission. During the workshop, an Atlas on potential areas for growing different crops titled ‘Suitability Atlas for the Rice-Based Cropping System of Assam, 2022’ was launched. The atlas will provide information on the areas suitable for rabi crops in Assam.
Jorhat, PIN - 785013 Assam