Past Agricultural Innovation in Perspective | 35
BOX 4.2
Adoption of and constraints associated with selected sustainable rice production practices Integrated pest management farmer field schools (IPM FFS) began in the 1980s and have been promoted in all East Asian countries. FFS are a common approach used to transfer specialist knowledge, promote skills, and empower farmers around the world. At least 10 million farmers in 90 countries have attended such schools. FFS are implemented by facilitators using participatory “discovery-based” learning based on adult education principles (Waddington et al. 2014). A meta-analysis verified that IPM FFS have been beneficial in improving intermediate outcomes relating to knowledge learned and adoption of beneficial practices, as well as final outcomes relating to agricultural production and farmers’ incomes (Waddington et al. 2014). Their wider adoption, however, remains limited—FFS are a knowledge- intensive approach, which makes them challenging to convey to multiple small farmers, often with limited education (Waddington et al. 2014; World Bank 2005). System of rice intensification (SRI) is an agro- ecological methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice by changing the management of plants, soil, water, and nutrients. Over the past 30 years, SRI has evolved into a suite of principles, including reducing plant population, improving soil conditions and irrigation methods, and improving plant establishment methods, that are adaptable to local conditions. An estimated 4–5 million farmers in more than 50 countries around the world use SRI in whole or in part, with yield increases of 20–50 percent, reductions in required seed, and significant water savings (Uphoff 2012). SRI management leads to
improved root structures, making crops more resilient to droughts, storms, and other climatic shocks (Abraham et al. 2014). Challenges to adoption include access to training and technical follow-up, labor needs, and access to tools and equipment (Styger and Uphoff 2016). Governments have implemented SRI programs in each of the four countries producing two-thirds of the world’s rice: China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam (Uphoff 2012). In China, SRI is becoming the main rice cultivation system in much of the southern part of the country (Sichuan). These SRI production areas are using less water and fertilizer and are simultaneously boosting production beyond the national average of 6.6 tons per hectare to achieve 8–11 tons per hectare (IRIN 2012). In Vietnam, more than 1 million farmers were reportedly using SRI by 2011, representing 10 percent of all rice growers in the country, after initial studies demonstrated healthier rice fields and plants, reduced production costs, reduced water consumption, and increased profit (Dzung 2012). Alternate wetting and drying is a water-saving irrigation technology that reduces water requirements by up to 40 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 20–90 percent. Although alternate wetting and drying has resulted in savings in water use and reduction in greenhouse gases (Lampayan et al. 2015; Linquist, Snyder, and Anderson 2015), it has not been widely adopted because of its negative effects on yield (5 percent) and the complexity of the system (Carrijo, Lundy, and Linquist 2016).
source, its development has received less attention than crops. Production efficiency of livestock has increased, along with nutrient pollution (from manure) and GHG emissions6 (FAO 2019). Improved livestock management practices can, however, reduce GHG emissions by about 30 percent (FAO 2019). Sustainable livestock production practices center on improved organizational strategies and technological innovations such as improved feeding, genetics, animal health, general husbandry, and information and communication technology use, which are driving up productivity and making resource use more efficient (FAO 2019). Regarding GHGs, four key approaches for reducing on-farm livestock emissions are currently available: (1) improving feed quality and digestibility, (2) precision farming of ruminant production,7 (3) improving animal health and husbandry,
