KisanKraft joins World Bank’s low methane rice project in UP

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KisanKraft Ltd, the Bengaluru-based agri-firm has joined the World Bank’s Water Resource Group (WRG)’s low methane rice project to promote the direct seeded rice (DSR) in Uttar Pradesh. Also the company has recently entered into agreement with seed companies Delta Agri Genetics and Savannah Seeds to offer its DSR seed varieties for multi location trials.

Over the past few years, KisanKraft has developed 15 new varieties of paddy that are suited for DSR method of cultivation that uses less water for growing the cereal crop. The DSR varieties do not require stagnant water at any stage, reduce water requirements by about half, along with reduction in pesticides and fertilizers use.

Ravindra Agrawal, Chairman, KisanKraft said his company has joined the “Low Methane Rice” project by World Bank’s 2030 Water Resource Group (WRG) under UP-PRAGATI Accelerator programs to promote DSR cultivation in Uttar Pradesh. KisanKraft will supply free seeds, agronomy support, machinery for sowing, and crop management for these pilots of dry-DSR in 25 locations of six districts of UP during this kharif season.

Terming the development as a signficant event for KisanKraft, which after seven years of investment and R&D, Agrawal said the pilots will be carried out by the company in the districts of Rae Bareli, Sitapur, Pratapgarh, Barabanki, Unnao and Ayodhya.

UP has launched an acclerator program in collaboration with the 2030 Water Resources Group, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the private sector. The initiative, named The Uttar Pradesh Program for Agricultural Transformation and Increased Incomes (UP-PRAGATI), aims to bring about significant agricultural advancements and boost incomes across the state by promoting water-use efficiency and low-carbon practices through technological and institutional innovations.

The UP PRAGATI program aims to promote Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) across the state over the next five years, targeting a scale-up on 250,000 hectares in collaboration with stakeholders, said Anjali Parasnis, Technical Lead, WRG-30. Private players such as Corteva and Bayer among others including the KVKs and farmer producer organisations are supporting the initiative, which KisanKraft has also joined from the 2024 season.

DSR paddy cultivation was expanded to 8,000 acres during 2023 in UP under the initative and in the upcoming kharif 2024 season, the objective is to significantly increase the area to about 50,000 acres, Parasnis said.

Agrawal slso, KisanKraft has also entered into agreements to provide their dry-DSR technologies to Hyderabad-based “Delta Agri Genetics” and Gurugram-based “Savannah Seeds Private Ltd”. As part of the agreement, Delta Agri and Savannah will conduct their own multi-location trials of dry-DSR varieties developed by KisanKraft in the upcoming kharif season, and then go into commercial production for selected varieties for their markets, Agrawal said. KisanKraft is also undertaking multi-location trials of its DSR rice varieties in various states.

Rice is the most important food crop of India. Paddy uses the largest amount of freshwater and covers 28% of the irrigated lands. With increasing freshwater scarcity and soil degradation new technologies, such as Dry Direct Seeded Rice (dry-DSR) are now gaining traction.

In the dry-DSR system seeds are directly sown in dry soil and cultivated just like Maize or Pulses. “By eliminating stagnant water many diseases are eliminated, methane emissions are dramatically reduced, eutrophication of freshwater bodies is prevented, and since no puddling is done the soil structure is preserved. Reduction in input and labor costs increases farmer’s income as a result,” Agrawal said.