BADHAIYATAL, NEPAL — In 2023, Jagdish Tharu’s farm produced three times more rice than he expected. In an era of dried-up springs and protracted drought in this agricultural area, this success surprised Tharu — as well as his neighbors.
When they saw tall weeds growing in the fields, they predicted that at most Tharu’s field would produce 12 quintals (1.3 US tons). Instead, the yield was 32 quintals (3.5 tons).
It wasn’t Tharu’s best yield ever, but it didn’t break his wallet or his back. He didn’t have to hire the 30-odd laborers he usually did to work in his fields. And the work was easier, he says, even though he did it by hand, by himself.
That’s all because of a paddy cultivation technique called the direct seeded rice method, which is slowly becoming popular in China, India, the United States, and some parts of Europe and Africa.
The technique, called chharuwa dhaan kheti in Nepal, involves planting rice seeds directly in the field — skipping the labor-intensive process of growing seedlings in nurseries and transplanting them into the fields later. Compared to traditional paddy cultivation, direct seeding uses 12%-35% less water, reduces labor costs, and brings crops to harvest seven to 10 days earlier, according to a 2022 paper published in the journal Circular Economy and Sustainability.
Direct seeding is a climate adaptation success story. Traditional rice farming requires, on average, 2,500 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of rice (about 660 gallons for just over 2 pounds) — a huge amount in the face of global water shortages and local droughts. Direct seeding, on the other hand, recharges groundwater, reduces soil erosion, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s a climate adaptation-smart technology,” says Sachin Kumar Mishra, head of the Agriculture Implements Research Station, Ranighat, Parsa District, Madhesh province.
And if people want to keep eating rice, they have to adopt the direct seeded rice method, he says.
“Otherwise the lands will remain barren, because there will be a big water problem in the coming days,” he adds.
Rice is a staple for more than half the global population, sustaining over 3.5 billion people, particularly in Asia, Latin America and parts of Africa. In Nepal, it is the primary food crop. With the country facing longer droughts due to climate change, the need is growing for water-efficient farming methods like direct seeding.
The stakes are high. Around 67% of Nepal’s population depends on agriculture, and the sector amounts to about a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product. The country has already experienced significant losses from climate-related events between 1972 and 2016.
The International Rice Research Institute, a nonprofit that researches the development of the global rice sector, promotes the direct seeded rice method in Nepal’s Terai regions. The Nepali government also recommends rice varieties that can withstand the effects of climate change, particularly drought and flooding.
Some of these acclimatized rice varieties, along with the direct seeded rice method, are slowly gaining popularity among farmers in Bardiya district.
Ramchandra Yadav has planted paddy seven years in a row using the technique. Rice is extremely sensitive to drought conditions during germination and the early seedling growth stage. During droughts, traditional farming is not possible. This year, as an experiment, for the first time Yadav sowed paddy during drought, using the direct seeded rice technique.
“It was like a gamble,” he says. But as the drought passed and it rained, the rice in his fields grew well.
Direct seeding is not without challenges. An increase in weed infestation is the major bottleneck, especially in dry field conditions. Special tools are needed to manage the weeds, and many farmers don’t have access to them.
“Currently, even if the farmers want, the devices for planting paddy and uprooting weeds are not available,” says Mishra, from the Agriculture Implements Research Station, adding that even the tools that are available are expensive for farmers to purchase.
But the gains are clear.
A series of experiments were conducted over seven years, from 2011 to 2017, in the western Terai region of Nepal to measure the performance of and refine the direct seeded rice method. Direct seeding produced higher grain yields with lower total production costs, along with higher water productivity and net profits as compared to traditional practices.
Tharu says that when he used standard methods, the water level was too low for even three machines running to extract it from underground, and the labor methods were high.
It took 10 farmers to extract the seeds, and 20 more to plant them, he says.
“On top of that, farmers had to be given an additional 700 rupees [about 5.25 US dollars] per day and food,” Tharu says. Finding workers is getting more difficult each year, as many people move away from agriculture or go abroad for better opportunities.
Tharu wants to continue to plant paddy next year on his own land, using the direct seeded rice method, and hopes each year will bring better yields. Six other farmers from Tharu’s village joined him in using the technique this year.
Ashish Bhattarai, a 31-year-old farmer in Badhaiyatal, says his generation typically isn’t interested in agriculture. “Everyone holds farmers in low regard,” he says.
But he quit his human resources job to sow paddy on 19.5 bighas of land (nearly 33 acres) — the largest area in his village.
“People believe wheat is easy to grow, but rice is difficult to cultivate,” he says.
The direct seeded rice method changes that perception, he says, pointing to the future of rice agriculture.