Originally published on cgiar.org by:IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) on Oct 8, 2009

Manila, Philippines – Fifteen years of research to help farmers conserve resources and manage their wheat-rice farms better in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan is captured in a book launched today at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Integrated Crop and Resource Management in the Rice-Wheat System of South Asia outlines the work and impact of the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) — a network of international and national organizations working together to address issues of intensively-cultivated and irrigated cropping systems in the semi-arid agro-ecoregion of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in South Asia.

Senior editor, Dr. J.K. Ladha, from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in India, says that “rice-wheat production in the IGP is highly intensive, often with excessive use of irrigation water and chemical inputs that have made it increasingly unsustainable.”

“The land and crop management practices developed by the RWC partners and highlighted in this book include laser land leveling, zero- and reduced-till drill-seeded wheat, direct seeding of rice, and a leaf color chart for nitrogen management.

“These technologies have been widely adopted by farmers across the IGP because they have increased production, reduced costs, and increased productivity,” adds Dr. Ladha.

Support from the Asian Development Bank has been fundamental to the success of the RWC.

Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, vice president of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development at ADB, notes that "ADB has played a catalytic role in the establishment and development of these agricultural technological and institutional innovations. We provided funds of more than $3 million for this important research work over more than a decade."

"Together with the national agriculture research and extension systems (NARES), the international agriculture research centers (notably IRRI and CGIAR), and other donor partners, we contributed to increasing the farmers' crop yields and incomes, and enabled the development of local manufacturers and providers of resource-conserving farm implements. Altogether, these enabled a more stable rice-wheat system that, hopefully, will pave the way for more secure access to food for the present and future generations."

As a nonprofit organization, IRRI shares its research widely to ensure it is available to others to benefit from and to multiply its impact. Integrated Crop and Resource Management in the Rice-Wheat System of South Asia can be viewed or downloaded for free via Google Books.

Other valued donors of the RWC include DFID, IFAD, the Netherlands, NZODA, USAID, and the World Bank. This research was conducted in collaboration with NARES partners in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan; and CIMMYT under an ADB-supported project Enhancing Farmers’ Income and Livelihood through Integrated Crop and Resource Management in the Rice-Wheat System in South Asia.

	Contact   Philip Wood, ADB: +63 2 632 4132, pwood@adb.org Sophie Clayton, IRRI: +63 2 580 5600 (ext. 2204), +63 917 552 6082 or s.clayton@cgiar.org
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