First end-to-end Sustainability Program for Rice Cultivation
nurture.farm, India’s leading Agtech startup has rolled out its Sustainable Rice Program for the Rabi’23 season. Hundreds of farmers have pledged & joined the program to lead the change by transforming the way they cultivate rice. The program aims to make the rice value chain sustainable by implementing techniques that streamline cultivation practices, leveraging artificial intelligence & water conserving technologies to help farmers cultivate more from less, creating traceable data sets, improving soil health, and boosting farm productivity to deliver sustainable outcomes for the farmer, the buyer, and the environment.
The implementation of the program is being monitored with the help of agri-industry experts & researchers from the Regional Agriculture Research Station, Marateru under the leadership & guidance of Dr M Bharatalakshmi, Associate Director at the Institute. In addition to the institute partnership, leading ag-industry leaders like Ashish Dobhal, CEO of UPL SAS, are lending their support and guidance, and committing their resources to help make the program a success.
Ashish Dobhal, CEO of UPL SAS, said, “India is the largest producer and consumer of rice, accounting for 21 per cent of the world’s total rice production. The rice cultivation alone contributes to 1.5 per cent of total GHG emissions. Furthermore, rice cultivation requires a lot of water; flooded fields lead to the anaerobic decomposition of soil organic matter, which leads to methane emissions and impacts the soil quality, often leading to the leaching of nutrients and soil erosion resulting in reduced farm productivity. Thus making the transition to sustainable cultivation practices a necessity.
The Sustainable Rice Program is a testament to the core mission of building a resilient and sustainable agriculture ecosystem for a brighter, inclusive and more abundant tomorrow. The program is unique and ambitious as it promises to deliver end-to-end implementation, helping improve yield quality, soil health and acreage, optimise input usage and water consumption, shorten crop cycles, boost farm productivity, and reduce the cost of cultivation while ensuring profitability and measurable sustainable impact on GHGs.”
