Mapping Opportunities to Increase Productivity in Coastal Bangladesh

The Ganges Basin Development Challenge (GBDC) Program of the CGIAR Challenge Program for Water and Food is focusing on improving livelihoods and increasing productivity sustainably in the coastal polder zone, and has developed and tested innovative cropping systems and water management practices suited to the local conditions.Before a new cropping system can be recommended, it is important to identify its “extrapolation domain,” which determines where it could be successful

Analyzing multi-year rice-fallow dynamics in Odisha using multi-temporal Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-1 Data

Sustainable intensification of existing cropland is one of the most viable options for meeting the escalating food demands of the ever-increasing population in the world. Accurate geospatial data about the potential single-crop (rice-fallows) areas is vital for policymakers to target the agro-technologies for enhancing crop productivity and intensification. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate and understand the dynamics of rice-fallows in the Odisha state of India, using SAR (Sentinel-1) and Optical (Landsat OLI) datasets. This study utilized a decision-tree approach and Principal component analysis (PCA) for the segmentation and separation of different vegetation classes. The estimated overall accuracy of extracted rice-fallow maps was in the range of 84 to 85 percent. The study identified about 2.2, 2.0 and 2.1mha of Rice-Fallows in the years 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18, respectively. The combined analysis (all three years) of rice-fallow maps identified about 1.34mha of permanent rice-fallows, whereas the remaining 0.6–0.8mha area was under the current-fallow category. About 50% of the total permanent rice-fallows were detected in the rainfed areas of Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Bolangir, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Baleswar, Nawarangpur and Bargarh districts. The study also illustrated the time-series profiles of SMAP (soil moisture) datasets for the ten agroclimatic zones of the Odisha, which can be utilized (along with rice-fallow maps) for the selection of crop and cultivars (e.g. short or medium duration pulses or oilseeds) to target the rice fallows. The approach utilized in the current study can be scaled up in similar areas of South and South-east Asia and Africa to identify single-crop areas for targeting improved technologies for enhanced crop productivity and intensification

Using remote sensing technologies to enhance resource conservation and agricultural productivity in underutilized lands of South Asia

Satisfying the food demands of an ever-increasing population, preserving the natural resource base, and improving livelihoods are major challenges for South Asia. A large area of land in the Middle and Lower Gangetic Plains of South Asia remains either uncultivated or underused following the rice harvest in the kharif (wet) season. The area includes "rice-fallow," estimated at 6.7 million ha, flood-prone riversides ("diara lands," 2.4 million ha), waterlogged areas (4.9 million ha), and salt-affected soils (2.3 million ha). Bringing these lands under production could substantially improve the food supply and enhance livelihoods in the region. This paper describes a methodological case study that targeted resource conserving technologies in underused lands of the Ballia District of eastern Uttar Pradesh (India) using multispectral remote-sensing images. Classification of temporal satellite data IRS-P6 in combination with Spot VGT 2 permitted the identification of all major categories of underused land during the post-rainy rabi/winter season, with an average accuracy of 89%. Based on three-year averages of field demonstrations, farmers gained an additional income of $63/ha by introducing raised beds in salt-affected soils;$140 and $800/ha by introducing deepwater rice varieties (monsoon) and boro rice (winter) in waterlogged areas; and$581/ha by introducing zero-till lentil (winter) in rain-fed fallow lowland. Timely wheat planting through zero-tillage implies an additional income of $147/ha and could increase wheat production by 35,000-65,000 tons in the district. The methodologies and technologies suggested in the study are applicable to more than 15 million ha of underutilized lands of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia. If the technologies are precisely applied, they can result in more than 3000 million US$ of additional income every year to these poverty prone areas