Is conservation agriculture a potential option for cereal-based sustainable farming system in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of Nepal?

Authors

Dipendra Pokharel, District Agriculture Development Office, Sunsari, NepalFollow
Raj Kant Jha, District Agriculture Development Office, Sunsari, NepalFollow
Thakur Prasad Tiwari, CIMMYTFollow
Mahesh Kumar Gathala, CIMMYTFollow
Hari Krishna Shrestha, Nepal Agricultural Research CouncilFollow
Dinesh Panday, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

0000-0001-7195-7123

0000-0001-8452-3797

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

Cogent Food & Agriculture (2018), 4: 1557582

Comments

© 2018 The Author(s).

Open access

https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2018.1557582

Abstract

A decline in land and water productivity, increase in the cost of cultivation, and labor-intensive practices are affecting the cereal-based farming system in Nepal, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Conservation agriculture (CA) practices have been found to be the climate-, energy-, and labor-smart and sustainable agricultural production technologies. Sustainable and Resilient Farming System Intensification (SRFSI) has been working since 2014 in response to the sustainability of the cereal-based (rice–wheat and rice–maize) farming in Sunsari and Dhanusha districts of Nepal. This study was conducted to assess the adoption and scaling up of CA in addition to input usage, production, net profit, benefit to cost (B:C) ratio, and labor use of CA practice on average scale land holdings in Sunsari district. The study employed structured questionnaires and key informant surveys as the main data collection tools and project reports were used as secondary data. Results revealed that farmers had several tangible advantages: lower labor utilization per area (71 people day⁻¹ ha⁻¹ as compared to 106 for conventional), lower input cost (NRs. 78,395 ha⁻¹ as compared to 102,727 ha⁻¹), less irrigation with regards to ponding time (50%) as compared to conventional practice, and higher crop productivity (8.11 t ha⁻¹ as compared to 8.08 t ha⁻¹ in rice–wheat and 13.1 t ha⁻¹ as compared to 11.75 t ha⁻¹in conventional rice–maize) farming system through the adoption of CA practices. This study assessed the potential of CA-based practices in a cereal-based cropping system to improve the yields and net profit for sustainability.