The Background we pulled is rather messy. We have a group folder we put things in, but here's an idea of the information we are working with...
Farming Systems:
Wet/Dry or Receding Water Farming:
- a. Traditional method using the naturally occurring monsoon and dry seasons. Can typically work with two seasons of harvest. High water/irrigation input. Needs a raised barrier to keep the water and fertilizers (both organic manure and chemical fertilizers) from eroding the soil and leaching into surrounding ground. Typically involved seedling groups being hand sown and weeded.
- b. Constraints to Wet/Dry Farming include soil and hydrology aspects (contamination, compaction, hard pan, leaching, CH4, Organic Matter, CO2 sequestering, etc). Water management and labor inputs. Scalability, Fertilizer applications, genetic stock, erosion, loss of product during monsoons or draughts. Time management (seasonality).
c.
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Farming:
- d. System using six-point framework:
- i. Younger seedlings are sown
- ii. Individual seed stock is sown
- iii. Wider square planting instead of long continuous rows
- iv. Intermittent water irrigation allows soil to dry out and ‘crack’
- v. Rotary weeding instead of hand weeding
- vi. Organic fertilizer only
- e. Constraints with the SRI model include soil and hydrology aspects (contamination, compaction, hard pan, leaching, etc). Long term adaptability (no long term studies currently). Scalability. Concerns from the farms about the societal and traditional knowledge aspects. Water management and labor inputs.
f. 
Location of Rice Farming:
Supply Chain and Primary Actors:
I. Farmers
II. Agribusiness Suppliers (seed, machines, fertilizers)
III. Bank
IV. Processing Plants
V. Middle Men/Agents
VI. Mandi (Market place)
- a. Retailers
- b. Industry Buyers
- c. Individuals
VII. Retailers
- a. Village co-ops
- b. Grocery store
- c. Supermarkets
- d. Online
VIII. Industry Buyers
- a. Global Distributors
- i. Distributors/Transportation
- ii. Marketers
- iii. Fair Trade
- iv. Tertiary Processors
- b. Hotels
- c. Restaurants
- d. Online
- e. Caters, etc.
IX. Individuals
Notes from Resource Book:
Chapter 1 - Rice Food Security in India: Emerging challenges and opportunities
- Improved productivity (yield) has provided food security & decreased rural poverty
- 50% yield increase needed in coming 30 years to keep food security
- Decline in groundwater
- Shift production to Eastern India to alleviate rice belts of Northwest & Southern India
- More prone to extreme weather
- Use of improved varieties & integrated crop management (mechanization, nutrient & water management etc) to increase yield & safeguard against extreme weather
- Labour issue (rural outmigration, ageing farmers, wage rates etc) cause mechanization need, cause larger farms to arise
- Land-pooling
Chapter 2 - Rice in the Public Distribution System
- Pregnant and Lactating Mothers
- Janani Suraksha Yojana
- Maternity entitlements
- ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services)
- Preschool Children
- ICDS
- School-going Children
- School Meals
- Adults and Children
- PDS (Public Distribution System)
- Senior Citizens
- PDS
- Pensions
Chapter 4 – Ecological Footprints of and Climate Change Impact on Rice Production in India
Environmental pollution and climate change are emerging as major challenges for sustaining future agricultural productivity and food security. Increasing rice output per unit of land and water while lowering GHG emissions is a major challenge for both technocrats and policymakers.
Academics and policymakers recognize that rice ecosystems are facing serious and multidimensional challenges.
Best management practices covering fertilizer and water management reduced/zero tillage and modified transplanting techniques, and evolving new stress-tolerant varieties will help to overcome many of the critical problems facing rice cultivation in the future.
Policies and programs that will promote balanced and precision use of fertilizers, enhanced water- and energy-use efficiency, and the adoption of water- and energy-saving technologies are necessary.
Chapter 5 - Structural Transformation of the Indian Rice Sector
The availability of land and water for rice farming is decreasing due to population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and the diversification of rice-based cropping systems. Declining human fertility rate, the growth of the nonfarm sector, and rural labor outmigration have led to increasing wage rates and a scarcity of rural laborers, an aging farming population, and feminization of agriculture, with access to production resources and services being inadequate and unequal. In addition, climate variability and change are exacerbating the problem by decreasing land availability and increasing production risk. Moreover, rice farming is under pressure to adopt sustainable production practices and reduce environmental footprints, such as land degradation, water depletion, air and water pollution, unbalanced nutrient cycles, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss.
Chapter 9 – Technological Innovations, Investments, and Impact of Rice R&D in India
During the ‘60s, new varieties were introduced in India. Especially dwarf varieties; more productive and resistant with a more efficient use of fertilizers. These varieties, as well as expanded land use enabled to double production.
There is still a wide use of old varieties, a gap being the acceptance more than the potential.
The investments in R&D are increasingly supported by private investors. These are concentrated around farming inputs and cash/export crops.
Chapter 12 – Institutional Innovations in Rice Production and Marketing in India: Experience and Strategies
Indian rice production face important challenges such as low yields, increased cultivation costs and low prices.
The government and private actors see two courses of innovation that should help rice producers and processors by lowering their costs. These are institutional changes in the structure of rice production and rice marketing.
The institutions are linked with both cultural and legal frames, the cultural and habitus aspects being predominant; they define ‘how things work’. Innovation should provide incentives to reform the food habits.
Production
Institutional innovation aims at reforming how farmers interact with other actors; economic partners and suppliers.
- Raising awareness about MSP and governmental schemes. Farmers are very independent of the government and try to market their products the traditional way.
- Grouping to sell products to dilute market access costs and set quality standards (only 2.2% of farmers are part of associations).
- Machinery rentals or cooperative purchase. Since the green revolution, there are a lot of available second-hand tractors that small farmers still can’t afford.
- Investment in infrastructure, especially irrigation. Again, groups enable for cost-reduction.
- Land leasing/farm leasing for landless farmers under tenancy contracts.
- Promoting access to micro-funding.
Actually, there are little governmental incentives. The promotion comes more from private investments who try and establish a win-win situation with innovative farmers.
Marketing
- Cooperative also play a major role. They can provide bigger, more stable quantities and bargain for better prices.
- Promotion of high value-added crops as side production.
- Investment pools
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