Trans-Disciplinary Responses to Climate Change: Lessons from Rice-Based Systems in Asia

Abstract

Climate change will continue to have a largely detrimental impact on the agricultural sector worldwide because of predicted rising temperatures, variable rainfall, and an increase in extreme weather events. Reduced crop yields will lead to higher food prices and increased hardship for low income populations, especially in urban areas. Action on climate change is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 13) and is linked to the Paris Climate Agreement. The research challenge posed by climate change is so complex that a trans-disciplinary response is required, one that brings together researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers in networks where the lines between “research” and “development” become deliberately blurred. Fostering such networks will require researchers, throughout the world, not only to work across disciplines but also to pursue new South–North and South–South partnerships incorporating policy-makers and practitioners. We use our diverse research experiences to describe the emergence of such networks, such as the Direct Seeded Rice Consortium (DSRC) in South and Southeast Asia, and to identify lessons on how to facilitate and strengthen the development of trans-disciplinary responses to climate change.

An assessment of irrigated rice cultivation with different crop establishment practices in Vietnam

“…Demand for rice is estimated to double when the global population reaches 9 billion by 2050 2 . However, rice production currently faces many serious challenges, such as climate change, labor shortage, water shortages and loss of crop lands because of increased urbanization and industrialization 3 , 4 . Flooded rice production has a substantial environmental footprint, such as contributing 1.5% to global GHGEs 5 .…”

“…The 1M5R approach applied in Vietnam increases nitrogen, water and pesticide use efficiency without compromising productivity and profitability 7 , 8 . A water-saving technology called “Alternate Wetting and Drying” has been also applied on a large scale in the MRD 4 , 17 , 18 . Such intermittent irrigation can reduce GHGEs by 40–50% compared to a continuously flooded rice production system 19 – 21 .…”

Transforming labor requirement, crop yield, and profitability with precision dry-direct seeding of rice and integrated weed management in Eastern India

“…Recently, there is also increased interest to shift from puddled transplanted rice (PTR) – the most dominant rice cultivation method in Asia to direct-seeded rice (DSR) to address major drivers of agricultural change in the region. These drivers include labor and water scarcity, as well as rising costs of cultivation ( Kumar and Ladha, 2011 ; Chakraborty et al, 2017 ; Hellin et al, 2020 ). DSR can be established by three methods: dry-seeding (Dry-DSR), wet-seeding (wet-DSR), and water seeding ( Kumar and Ladha, 2011 ; Rao et al, 2017 ).…”

Advanced Strategic Research to Promote the Use of Rice Genetic Resources

“…In spite of past successes, the need for research on characterizing and utilizing genetic resources remains high due to serious challenges of climate change and not least due to the predicted demographic, land-use, and socio-economic factors [3]. Rice adaptation to climate change and other imperatives will need to keep pace with the rate of change.…”