Workshop  report:  Applying  and  scaling  up    

alternate  wetting  and  drying  technology  for  paddy  rice    

in  the  Mekong  River  Delta    

January 2015

Vu Duong Quynh B. Ole Sander

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Applying and scaling up alternate wetting and drying technology for paddy rice in the Mekong River Delta Workshop Report January 2015 CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Vu Duong Quynh B. Ole Sander

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Correct citation:

Quynh V. D., Sander, B. O. 2015. Applying and scaling up alternate wetting and drying

technology for paddy rice in the Mekong River Delta. CCAFS Workshop Report. Can Tho

City, Vietnam: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

(CCAFS). Available online at: www.ccafs.cgiar.org

CCAFS Workshop Reports aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and food security research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community. Published by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). CCAFS is a strategic partnership of the CGIAR and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP). CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food secure future. The program is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the European Union (EU), and the CGIAR Fund, with technical support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Contact: CCAFS Coordinating Unit - Faculty of Science, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 21, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. Tel: +45 35331046; Email: ccafs@cgiar.org Creative Commons License

This Workshop Report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Articles appearing in this publication may be freely quoted and reproduced provided the source is acknowledged. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purposes. © 2015CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). DISCLAIMER: This Workshop Report has been prepared as an output for the XXX Theme/project under the CCAFS program and has not been peer reviewed. Any opinions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of CCAFS, donor agencies, or partners. All images remain the sole property of their source and may not be used for any purpose without written permission of the source.

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Contents

 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6  1.   Program ................................................................................................................... 7  2.   Presentation summaries .......................................................................................... 9  3.   Group discussion ................................................................................................... 11  4.   Field trip and discussion ....................................................................................... 14  Annex 1 ........................................................................................................................ 16  

Keywords

Paddy rice; Vietnam; AWD

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Acronyms

AWD alternate wetting and drying

CCAC Climate and Clean Air Coalition for Reducing Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

CCAFS CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

CLRRI Cuu Long River Rice Research Institute

CTU Can Tho University

DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam

DWR Department for Water Resources, Vietnam

EDF Environmental Defense Fund

GIZ Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit, German Society for International

Cooperation

IAE Institute of Agricultural Environment, Vietnam

IPSARD Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam

IRRI International Rice Research Institute

MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam

MDI Mekong Delta Development Research Institute

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Introduction

This workshop was conducted as part of the mitigation strategies in rice production project,

implemented with support from the agriculture initiative of the Climate and Clean Air

Coalition. The project is carried out in Bangladesh, Columbia, and Vietnam with the CGIAR

Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Climate Change (CCAFS), the

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and leading research and agriculture

organizations in Vietnam.

The objectives for organizing this meeting/workshop were to: 1) share experience on applying

and scaling up the alternate wetting and drying technology for paddy rice in the Mekong

River Delta and 2) identify opportunities and barriers for large scale implementation of AWD

in the Mekong River Delta.

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1. Program

Table 1: Program Schedule

Date Time

Content Person in Charge

Day 1 18/1/2015

Arrival and orientation

Noi Bai to Can Tho

IRRI office in Hanoi

Day 2 19/1/2015

7h30-8h00 8h00- 8h10 8h10- 8h30 8h30-8h50 8h50-9h10 9h10-9h30 9h30-9h50 9h50-10h10 10h10-10h30 10h30-11h30

Registration Introduction to workshop objectives & participants Introduction to CCAC-paddy rice component Advantages and disadvantages of AWD application in Mekong River Delta Results from AWD application in field experiments conducted by CLUES project Results from AWD application in field experiments from the EDF low carbon project Coffee break Lesson learnt on AWD application in Bac Lieu Lesson learnt on AWD application in An Giang Group discussion on: 1. Opportunities for scaling up AWD 2. Adoption barriers of applying AWD and how to upscale implementation of AWD, especially in the South 3. How to overcome barriers to scaling up AWD(2 groups: a. AWD on fluvisol, b. AWD on sodic & ferric soil)

Dr. Vu Duong Quynh Dr. Ngo Dang Phong Dr. Ole Sanders Dr. Chu Van Hach (CLRRI) Dr. Ngo Dang Phong Dr. Nguyen Van Sanh (Mekong Delta Development Research Institute) DARD & GIZ Bac Lieu DARD in An Giang Dr. Mai Van Trinh and Dr. Vu Duong Quynh

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11h30-11h40 11h40-11h50 11h50-12h00 12h00-14h00 14h00-16h00 19h00-21h00

Group 1 presentation (AWD on fluvisol) Group 2 presentation (AWD on sodic & ferric soil) Closing remarks Lunch break Can Tho to An Giang (by bus) Welcome dinner

Dr. Ngo Dang Phong IRRI office in Hanoi

Day 3 20/1/2015

8h00- 11h00 11h30- 13h00pm 13h00 pm – 15h00 pm 16h25 – 18h25

Field trip in An Giang Lunch An Giang to Can Tho airport (by bus) Can Tho to Noi Bai airport

Mr. Cao Vinh Thong, Dr. Ngo Dang Phong, Dr. Vu Duong Quynh Dr. Vu Duong Quynh IRRI office in Hanoi

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2. Presentation summaries

1. Dr. Ole Sander (IRRI)

Topic: Introduction of CCAC-paddy rice component

a. Objectives of CCAC-paddy rice component

b. How to build AWD suitability map in Vietnam (example from Philippines)

c. Input requirements for AWD suitability map

2. Dr. Chu Van Hach (CLRRI)

Topic: Advantages and disadvantages of AWD application in Mekong River

Delta

a. AWD application reduced water use by 30% compared to common farmer

practice of continuous flooding

b. AWD application reduced anaerobic toxicity

c. AWD application did not reduce pH and electrical conductivity on sulphate

soil

d. AWD application showed the same rice grain yield as compared to farmer

practice of continuous flooding

e. Discussion: What are the economic benefits of AWD application as

compared to farmer practice of continuous flooding?

3. Dr. Ngo Dang Phong (CLUES project)

Topic: Results from AWD application in field experiments conducted by CLUES

project

a. Introduction of CLUES activities

b. Cooperation between CLUES and GIZ

c. AWD applied well in An Giang and Bac Lieu, but not in Hau Giang and Can

Tho

d. Scaling up AWD in Bac Lieu: farmer suggested that AWD should be applied

in winter/spring rice season

e. Farmers used plastic tubing to manage irrigation/drainage in the first year.

They then manage irrigation/drainage depending on their own experience

(field observation)

f. AWD application requires flat fields and more time for water level

monitoring

g. Discussion: Why did farmers not apply AWD in the rainy season? What is

the lodging ratio of AWD compared to farmer practice of continuously

flooding?

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4. Dr. Nguyen Van Sanh (EDF project)

Topic: Results from AWD application in field experiment from EDF’s low

carbon project

a. AWD technology showed more advantages than the typical farmer practice of

continuous flooding; advantages included reduction of lodging, pests, disease,

water use, and GHG emissions

b. Discussion: How did farmers and the project assess the lodging ratio? Is it

dependent on percentage of rice plant falling or the diameter of rice stem?

5. Mrs. Phung (DARD, Bac Lieu) & Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phuong (GIZ, Bac Lieu)

Topic: Lesson learned from AWD application in Bac Lieu

a. Summary and scale of AWD demonstration (areas, number of farmer trained

on AWD)

b. AWD reduced number of pumping (3 times) compared to farmer practice of

continuous flooding

c. AWD saved 200-300 USD/ha compared to farmer practice

d. Receiving support from local policy makers for scaling up AWD

e. Barriers for scaling up AWD: rice fields that are not flat and irrigation

systems that are very poor

f. Solution: farmers in Bac Lieu need more training on AWD

6. MSc. Cao Vinh Thong (DARD, An Giang)

Topic: Lessons learned from AWD application in An Giang

a. Introduction of “3 reductions – 3 gains”; “1 must do 5 reductions” applied in

An Giang

b. AWD helps farmers reduce pumping cost

c. AWD reduces greenhouse gas emissions

d. AWD reduces the consequence of ineffective tillering

e. AWD facilitates better root development

f. AWD reduces pests and diseases

g. Suggestion: The commune people’s committee should actively support and

make strong connections with water service providers and farmers, which

will provide mutual benefits

h. Water service providers should reduce pumping costs if the amount of

pumping is reduced

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3. Group discussion

Topics

a. Opportunities for scaling up AWD

a. Barriers associated with applying AWD and how to accelerate the implementation of

AWD, especially in the south of the Mekong Delta

b. How to overcome barriers associated with scaling up AWD: Group 1 discussed AWD

on fluvisol and Group 2 discussed AWD on sodic & ferric soil

Table 2: Group 1 discussion on AWD application in fluvisol in An Giang

Discussion An Giang

Experiences using AWD • Applying AWD in 3 rice seasons (winter-spring,

summer-autumn, and autumn-winter) because they have drainage systems in place for the summer-autumn and autumn-winter rice seasons

• They drain water from the field 3 times during the rice-growing season: at sowing stage, end of tillering stage and 10 days before harvesting time

• They irrigate when water level is -10cm to -15cm

depending whether they have high or low rice field positions

Opportunities for scaling up AWD

• Reduced pumping costs

• Better root development resulting in increased

nutrient use efficiency and reduced ratio of lodging at mature stage

• Reduction of anaerobic toxicity (anaerobic

decomposition of organic compounds such as animal manure or rice straw, which fixes nutrients)

• Reduced ineffective tillering

• Reduced pests and diseases

• Stable pan layer for using harvesting machines

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• Reduced post-harvest loss

• Reduced methane emissions

• Scaling up of AWD is suitable with agricultural development policies such as 1M5R, SRI and large rice field demonstrations

Challenges / barriers to applying/scaling up AWD in specific areas in the Mekong Delta

• Irrigation system is poor

• Rice field is not flat

• Farmer awareness is not synonymous among all

farmers (some willing to apply AWD, but some not)

• Farmer did not follow 100% of the recommendations for applying AWD: they monitored water level by visual observation without using plastic tube

• Conflicts benefit between farmers and pumping

station regarding pumping fees

• The difference between the AWD rice grain yield and CF rice grain yield is not significant

How to overcome the barriers to scaling up AWD

• Level rice fields using laser technology

• Redistribute the rice fields to make bigger rice

fields

• Balance benefits between the farmers and pumping station, by using the local cooperative work as referee

• Improve irrigation systems by supplying drainage

canals

• Create training/media/demonstration of AWD

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Table 3: Group 2 discussion on AWD application in acid sulphate soil in Bac Lieu

Discussion Bac Lieu Experiences using AWD • Applying AWD in 3 rice seasons (winter-spring,

summer-autumn, and autumn-winter) because they have drainage system in summer- autumn rice + autumn-winter rice seasons

• They drain water out of the rice field 3 times during

growing rice season: sowing stage, end of tillering stage and 10 days before harvesting time

• They irrigate water when water level is -10cm to -15cm

depending on high or low rice field positions

Opportunities for scaling up AWD

• Reduces amount of pumping (3 time/season) while

maintaining rice yield

• Produces a stronger rice plant stem, resulting in reduced ratio of lodging

• Reduces prevalence of pest and disease, resulting in

reduced pesticide input

• Increased rice quality

• More convenient for harvesting machine

• Farmers are willing to apply the new technology

• Scaling up of AWD is suitable with agricultural development policy such as 1M5R, SRI and large rice field demonstration.

• Support from local decision maker

Identifying the challenges / barriers to applying / scaling up AWD in the area

• Farmers are familiar with traditional water

management, not AWD

• Different ages and education levels among farmers make expanding awareness difficult

• Farmers apply AWD differently

• The irrigation system is very poor, only allowing

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application of AWD in the winter-spring rice season

• Rice field is not flat (the effect of sodic and ferric soils)

How to overcome the barriers to scaling up AWD

• Scale up AWD demonstration field and training on AWD in other district of Bac Lieu

• Combine AWD with 1M5R tocreate a larger rice field demonstration

• Do research on salinity-resistant rice varieties

• Combine AWD with local extension work and

convince farmers to apply AWD

• Develop better irrigation systems

• Develop suitable irrigation management strategies

4. Field trip and discussion

The farmers in Phu An hamlet, Binh Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district, An Giang

province can apply AWD in three rice seasons (winter-spring, summer-autumn rice, and

autumn-winter) because they have drainage systems. They normally drain water from the rice

field three times during the rice season: at the sowing stage, the end of the tillering stage and

ten days before harvest. They irrigate the rice field when the water level is around 10-15cm

lower than soil surface; depending on whether the rice field positions are high or low.

The farmers who have rice fields next to the main canal can irrigate and drain by using

their own pump; they pay approximately 25 USD/ha/rice season. Farmers who have rice

fields far from the main canal must sign contracts with the pumping station which costs 50

USD/ha/rice season for irrigation and drainage.

The farmers agreed that applying AWD reduced pumping time (2-3 times per rice

season), lodging, pests and diseases, and provided good conditions for mechanized

harvesting. However, the farmers also experienced problems with rats and weeds. The farmers

therefore suggested that DARD of An Giang province may provide laser-levelling technology

to flatten their rice fields.

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Workshop notes

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Field trip photos

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Annex 1

Participants

CLRRI- Chu Van Hach, Vo Thi Bach Thuong

CTU- Le Vinh Thuc

DARD, An Giang Province- Tran Van Duong, Cao Vinh Thong, Nguyen Van Toan

DARD, Bac Lieu Province- Nguyen Van Khiem, Phung Phung, Hong Kim Thu

DARD, Can Tho Province- Nguyen Thi Kieu

DARD, Soc Trang Province- Huynh Ngoc Van

DWR, MARD- Le Van Chinh

EDF- Tran Thu Ha

Extension Center of Kien Giang province- Nguyen Trung Kien

Extension Center of Tra Vinh province- Viet

GIZ, Bac Lieu province- Phu Phuc Nhan, Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuong

IAE- Bui Phuong Loan, Vu Duong Quynh, Mai Van Trinh

IPSARD- Tran Dai Nghia

IRRI- Ngo Dang Phong, Bjoern Ole Sander, Michael Adair Sheinkman

MDI- Nguyen Van Sanh, Tran Kim Tinh