Assessment of Yield Potential of Paddy Variety CR 1009 Sub 1 to Impart Resilience to Farmers in NICRA Village, Thiruvarur District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The study was conducted in the villages of Rayapuram and Keezhapattu in Tamil Nadu, as part of the National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project in the Needamangalam district of Thiruvarur from 2015 to 2018. These villages frequently experienced floods, particularly impacting the rabi season's crop growth and maturity. The monsoon season (September to December) contributed to about 71% of the total rainfall. A comparative analysis was carried out to assess the economic performance of the flood-resistant paddy variety CR 1009 sub 1 in contrast to the commonly grown CR 1009. Traditionally, farmers in Rayapuram and Keezhapattu favored CR 1009 due to its high market value during the monsoon period. However, they faced low income due to flooding in the rabi season. To address this challenge, scientists from KVK, Thiruvarur, recommended the flood-tolerant paddy variety CR 1009 sub 1 for cultivation during the rabi season under the "National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)" project. Specific climate-resilient technologies, including flood-tolerant paddy variety "CR 1009 sub 1" and a high-yield, long-duration rice variety, were tested and demonstrated in the project villages to ensure rice production despite climatic variations leading to floods. It was crucial to assess how these varieties responded to climate vulnerabilities and how receptive farmers were to adopting them. Calculations were made to compare paddy productivity and economic returns under the improved technology with the traditional practices of farmers. The results indicated that the "CR 1009 sub 1" variety yielded higher harvests compared to the farmers' practices in the years 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18, with increases of 12.60%, 11.69%, and 12.95% respectively. Furthermore, using improved technologies for paddy cultivation generated higher net returns of Rs. 57233, 60768, and 57728 per hectare in 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18, respectively, in contrast to the farmers' practices (which yielded Rs. 49147, 50295, and 46266 per hectare in the same years). In comparison to the farmers' practices (with an average net return of Rs. 48569 per hectare and a benefit-cost ratio of 2.37), the demonstration fields showed an average net return of Rs. 58576 per hectare and a benefit-cost ratio of 2.56.