Smart Seeding System is a method of Direct Rice Seeding and this means a lot of saving for farmers on resources like Labor, Water, & Time etc.

1. Ajai Rana
6th August 2014
1

2. 306
438
121.6
77.8
109 118.2
48.9 24.5 15.9 27.6
1440
1040
377
282
205
348
122
85 77 6767.2
35.6 48.8 58 28.5 44.2 39.6 51 66.5
36.4
China India Indonesia Vietnam Thailand Bangladesh Philippines Brazil Japan Pakistan
Rice Area, Production and Productivity of top 10 contries
Area Harvested (Lac HA) Milled Rice Production (Lac MT) Yield (Rough) (Quintal/HA)
2
Source:
USDA, FAS 2014

3. • Land - 110 million acres
• Water – 5000 lts / kg of milled rice
• Labour – 8 man days per acre only for transplanting
– Rs 1600 – 2500/acre
• Fuel – 16 lt diesel per acre only for puddling
– Rs 1000/acre
3

4. Population (Billion)
Per Capita Consumption
(kg per person per year)
Rice Consumption
(Mio MT)
Peak Buffer Stock
Requirement (Mio MT)
Assuming export to remain the
same (Mio MT)
Total Rice Requirement
(Mio MT)
Productivity
(MT / Ha) (Rough)
1.25
73
80
14
10
104
3.56
1.52
73
110.96
17
10
138
4.48
Source:
United Nation Population Front FCI Buffer Stock Norm
USDA, FAS
4

5. 104
3.56 44
138
6.7
30
Present Milled
Rice Production
(Mio MT)
Present
Productivity
(MT / Ha)
Required land
(Mio Ha)
Milled Rice
required in
2030 (Mio MT)
If productivity
Incresed to
China level (MT
/ Ha)
Required land
(Mio Ha
India can free as much as 14mio ha of rice land
for other uses if we reach China’s productivity level
5
3.6 3.6
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.4
0.6
0.6
Present 3.6 MT Agronomic
Intervention
(5%)
Herbicide /
disease
Tolerance (10%)
Genetics (15%) Total (4.8 MT)
Assuming rice acre to remain constant till 2030
(Average Yield in MT / Hectare)
Present Agronomic practices Herbicide / Disease tolerance Genetics

6. Challenges
Labor
Scarcity
and
Cost
Water
Problem
Marketing
Problem –
Ease and
priceGovernment
procurement
System … no
transparency
Disease /
Pest
occurrence
Counterfeit
seeds
Lack of
awareness
Source : Market Research, May 2011 (8 states) 6

7. -
Y 2010 Y 2013 Y 2014
4800
7800
4455
12000
17000
9350
18200
24000
Fertilizer Retail Price Trend
(MRP Rs. per MT)
SSP MOP DAP
0
200
400
68
137 154
77 93
191
306 304
175
218
Average Daily Wage Rate (Rs.
per Day)
Year 2009 Vs 2013 2009
2013
34
38
39
49
55
63
0
20
40
60
80
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Diesel Price (Rs. Per Liter)
238
%
256
%
185
%
7
Units required (Hectare)
Cost (Rs. / Ha) at 2014 Price
Increase in Cost over 2009 (Rs. / Ha.)
Additional Cost in RPS 2014 over 2009 (Cr)
Manpower for
Transplanting
20 Mandays
4360
2500 (234%)
1095 Cr. Rs.
Diesel for
Puddling
40 Lt
2520
1360 (185%)
596 Cr. Rs

8. Increased labour cost since last four years
2010 2011 2012 2013
Nursery Expenses 497 505 573 600
Transplanting Cost 1500 1800 2100 2500
Impact on Convenience with rice transplanting
Impact on Cost – Rs/acre
Impact on Rice production System Efficiency
Optimum
35 – 40 Plants per Mt2
Actual
15 – 20 Plants per Mt2
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9. Nursery
Preparation
Field
Preparation
Transplanting
Transplanted Rice SSS
Not Needed
Field Preparation Flooding Puddling
Field
Preparation /
Levelling
Maintain
Moisture
Transplanting
done
manually
9

10. Convenience,
Cost & Peace
of mind
Cost Water Saving
Efficient Rice
Production system by
maintaining optimum
plant population
10

11. Weeds growing
faster than rice
plants
New generation herbicides has provided wider and effective control
• Azimsulfuron-50% DF
• Bispyricbac Sodium
Farmer’s perception of poor germination and growth
60 plants per meter square
Critical is to handhold farmers in the
initial 30 days 11
• Planting Machinery & Weed Control
– Different Weed flora in SSS fields.
– Traditional herbicides were ineffective.

12. 12

13. • Land - By improving productivity potential to reduce nearly
10 million ha rice acreage
– By optimizing plant population
– Genetic gain and agronomic practices
• Labour & Fuel - 32% saving in Cost of Cultivation
– Rs. 2800/acre translates to Rs 8400 crore if 1/3 rice area is
converted to Smart Seeding System
• Water & other Intangible benefits:
– Crop duration is reduced by 4-7 days
– Reduced labor dependency
– Saving natural resource-Water
– Reduce Green House impact
13

14. • Stage 1 - System performance validated
– 3 years in house studies
– 3 years PAU studies
– USA & Brazil already using this system
• Stage 2 - Validate performance in farmers field
– More than 200 demonstration in farmer field
– Show case to key stake holders
• State & central government officials
• Progressive farmers
• Drill manufacturers & input suppliers
• Stage 3 – Public & Private sector collaboration to scale up
adoption
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