Sustainable rice production: 10,000 farmers to receive DSR training from IIRR

Nearly 10,000 paddy farmers will soon undergo training in village and campus settings under the ‘Promotion of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) for Sustainable Rice Production’ project launched by the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) with financial support from the SBI Foundation.

“We are conducting this training for farmers to promote mechanised Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) for sustainable rice production and improve farmers’ income in the erstwhile Khammam and Nalgonda districts on a pilot basis. As part of this project, funded under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by SBI Foundation, 500 selected farmers will also receive field-level support, including seed support and pest management,” said Director of ICAR-IIRR, R.M. Sundaram.

Two vehicles, ‘SBI Kisan Sarathi’ and ‘SBI Krishi Darshan’, were flagged off to support DSR training activities on Monday. While ‘Kisan Sarathi’ provides free transportation for farmers to attend trainings at ICAR-IIRR and KVKs, ‘Krishi Darshan’ is a mobile awareness campaign vehicle equipped with audio-visual aids and a dedicated trainer conducting village-level training sessions and offering soil testing kit support.

According to the Director of ICAR-IIRR, the IoT-enabled Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) sensors are installed in fields to monitor water levels in real-time and optimise irrigation practices as part of the project. A rainout shelter equipped with automated weather sensors has been established for training and research on DSR production at the ICAR-IIRR Hyderabad campus. SBI Foundation Managing Director, Sanjay Prakash, said that the foundation is committed to promoting sustainable agricultural practices through its CSR initiative. The project was informally launched during the last Yasangi season in these districts, and training will be provided to farmers over a period of another year. IIRR is also developing 12 paddy varieties suitable for the DSR method.

What is Direct Seeded Rice?

Direct Seeded Rice is a method of rice cultivation where seeds are sown directly in the field without raising a nursery and transplanting seedlings. It can be practiced in two main ways: sowing rice seeds directly in dry soil using a seed drill attached to a tractor before the onset of monsoon, or sprouting rice seeds and broadcasting them manually or using a drum seeder or tractor-mounted seed drills in wet fields.

According to a senior scientist, in both methods, seed requirement is only 8-10 kg per acre, nearly 8-10 kg less than traditional transplanting, saving ₹400-₹500 per acre. Additionally, the absence of transplanting reduces dependency on labour, addressing labour shortages and lowering planting costs by ₹4,000-₹5,000 per acre. Since DSR avoids transplanting shock, the crop matures 10 days earlier, providing an opportunity for timely commencement of the second crop.