Rice landscape management for raising water productivity, conserving resources, and improving livelihoods in upper catchments of the Mekong and Red river basins

Project Leader: Dr. Sushil Pandey, IRRI
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Executive Summary

More than 20 million people directly depend on the land and water resources of upper catchments of the Mekong and Red rivers for their livelihoods. The incidence of poverty and food insecurity is very high in the region, with many farmers relying on rice-based cropping systems to meet their food needs. However, the productivity of land and water resources is low and increased pressure for intensification of these fragile lands is leading to rapid degradation of valuable resources. Farmers are thus caught in a vicious circle of low productivity, food insecurity, degradation of resources, and poverty. Raising the productivity of rice, a major staple, can be seen as an important entry point for breaking out of this cycle. This requires, among other interventions, careful management and use of water, which is a critical determinant of farm productivity and the health of the overall ecosystem.

The overall objective of the project is to improve the food security of farmers in upper catchments and reduce their poverty while developing innovative ways for managing the land and water resources of the catchment in a sustainable manner. The project will contribute to those objective directly by developing, validating, and disseminating improved technologies for rice-based cropping systems. The development and validation of technologies to raise the productivity of water, land, and labor will be conducted in the context of overall farming systems and the diversity of livelihood strategies. This process will be pro-poor, participatory, and demand-driven and will be designed to bridge the gap between the indigenous knowledge of farmers and scientific potential. Active participation of men and women farmers in all stages of the project will be developed. The suitability of interventions will be assessed not only in terms of the usual productivity and income measures. The impact on women, the poor, and the environment will be emphasized.

The research work will focus on finding technological and institutional options for improving the productivity of water and poor people's access to water. A multiscale analysis that includes plots, farms,a nd micro-catchments will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team and in close partnership with major stakeholders. The project will develop participatory and integrative strategies and tools for planning and managing natural resources so that the stakeholders are empowered to improve the management of land and water resources across the rice landscape. The overall hypothesis is that landscape management of rice-based production systems in upper catchments in an integrative manner is the key to achieving higher water productivity, resource conservation,a nd food security. The project will also help develop the capacity of NARES partners to more effectively plan, coordinate, and implement resource management programs for sustainable development of upper catchments.

Participating Institutions

Theme and Basin Coverages