Presented in ACIAR-IFPRI two days Regional Dialogue on Machine Reforms’ for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in South Asia on July 21-22, 2017 in New Delhi, India

1. Harminder Singh Sidhu
Sr. Research Engineer
H.Sidhu@cgiar.org
Technological innovations in CA Machinery : How can
policymakers support engineers?

2. • Supporting/Enabling elements – Declining
Farmers income, Labour Shortages,
Degradation of Natural Resources (Soil, Water
& Environment), Climate Change &
Sustainability of Agriculture
• Challenges – Land Holding, Economic
Condition, seasonal use , size & shape of
Fields, terrain, machine v/s Labour and mind
set (CA Course)
Mechanization & CA

3. Conservation Agriculture
Three Principles
• Minimum Disturbance
• Soil Cover with residue
• Crop Rotation
Three Benefits
✓ Enhanced Productivity
✓ Richer Resources
✓ Climate Adaptation
<<<<<<<<<< Choosing Directions >>>>>>>>>
•System Approach & Un-sustainability can not be the option
•It need to be biophysically and socio-economically sustainable.
•Sustainability also demands confronting climate change

4. Burning Issue of Residue Burning & SI
NGT and PIL in High Court

5. NASA’s satellite picture on November 03, 2016 - rice residue burning in North-West India
:https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/?p=geographic&l=MODIS_Aqua_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor(hidden),MODIS_Terra_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor(hidden),VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance
_TrueColor,Reference_Features(hidden),Reference_Labels,Coastlines,VIIRS_SNPP_Fires_375m_Night(hidden),VIIRS_SNPP_Fires_375m_Day&t=2016-11-02&z=3&v=35.0973907447395,-
1.955896021329437,125.0973907447395,40.51285397867056&ab=off&as=2016-10-18&ae=2016-10-27&av=3&al=true
Impacts & Challenges

6. Super SMS

8. 5.0
7.0
9 .0
11.0
13 .0
15.0
17.0
19 .0
7.5 15 3 0 6 0 9 0 12 0
Depth of layers (cm)
Moisturecontent(%)
without mulch
With mulch
Weed matter after 90 days of sowing
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Quantity(t/ha)
Plot A2 Plot P6 Plot P1
Plots
With mulch
Without mulch
39
6
140
11
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
quantitykg/ha
N P K S

9. Canopy temperature under various tillage option
Wheat
Varieties
Canopy Temperature ( ºC )
Turbo Happy
Seeder
Zero till Conventional Rotoseeder
DBW 17 30.1 30.6 31.8 32.8
PBW 550 29.5 30.7 31.7 33.9
HD 2894 31.5 32.5 32.9 33.2
Average 30.37 31.27 32.13 33.30
No. of
observations
43 10 18 5

10. First Research Farm with Complete Rice Residue Management Solutions– No Burning
30-10-16
01-11-16
19-01-17 21-11-16
A Technology with ‘Multiple Wins’

12. Germination

21. Installing Tensio Meter in Water Management Spring Maize trial with Surface Drip

22. Precision water management in Spring
maize: an emerging crop in NW India
Water mgt Grain yield
(kg/ha)
Irrigation water
(m3/ha) IWP (kg/m3)
-R +R -R +R -R +R
FP 10570 10640 6642 5806 1.59 1.83
F-45 kpa 10380 11210 5701 5127 1.82 2.19
F-60 kpa 10700 11630 5388 4448 1.99 2.61
AF-45 kpa
8770 11810 3985 3735 2.20 3.16
AF-60 kpa 8570 9950 3493 3027 2.45 3.29
D-45 kpa 9620 10520 2732 2410 3.52 4.37
D-60 kpa 9000 9290 2249 1981 4.00 4.69
CIMMYT-BISA, Ludhiana (2013)

23. Can We marry CA and PW&NM using SSD ?
• Minimize Surface Evaporation
• Improved WUE
• Easy Mechanical operations
• Effective fertigation – Better NUE
• reduce the volatile losses of NH3
• minimize immobilization in surface residues
• May be Less Weeds & More Drip line life
• Possibility of Automation

24. Newly designed tractor operated lateral laying machine

27. Wheat on permanent beds with Sub Surface drip in Maize-wheat System

28. Direct seeded Wheat after Direct seeded Rice with Sub Surface drip in Rice -wheat System

29. Enhancing Water and Nitrogen Use efficiency through fertigation in Maize Wheat and Rice Wheat system using
Sub Surface drip (SSD) irrigation under Conservation Agriculture
• Fertigation using SSD saved
25% of fertilizedN in both
Maize and wheat without
any yield penalty
• Irrigation water productivity
increased by about 150 and
100% in maize and wheat,
respectively
• Saving of 20% fertilizerN
and increased irrigation
water productivity by about
60-80% in rice with similar
yields
• Increase in wheat grain yield
and irrigation water
productivity by 10 -20% and
30%, respectively.
MW system
RW system

33. Barriers to Wider adoption
• Mind set (undoing conventional Agriculture)
• Preachers and Practitioners
• Conflicting Messages & policies
• Short term / Long term gain v/s risk
• Ability of the farmer to take risk & no incentive
• New Set of Machines & Knowledge Intensive
• Few Custom operators

34. How Policy Can Support Engineers
• Avoid Policy Mismatch
• Encourage Farmer and Environment Friendly Innovations
with proper knowledge dissemination and effective
trainings
• Criteria of Promotion for a machine should be linked
with environmental /soil health benefits
• Forceful implementation or willful adoption
• Strong policy support -Turning Agriculture Waste into
Wealth – with wide publicity
• Innovative business cases for scaling and Win Win for all
• CA - Sacred service to save environment, water, soil
health with more net returns

35. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-
nation/smog-in-delhi-arvind-kejriwals-men-bat-for-punjab-
farmers/articleshow/55300431.cms
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe-columnist/pollution-in-delhi-how-
paytm-ceo-can-fight-stubble-burning-to-clear-the-air/440656/
http://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/2016/11/08/paytm-ceo-
should-promote-no-straw-burn-wheat-cultivation
http://epaper.tribuneindia.com/1027333/Jalandhar-
Edition/JLE_07_December_2016#page/4/2

36. Conservation Agriculture
Agriculture of the Future
Future of the Agriculture
Thanks
With Strong Policy Support