ScaleDirect Project conducts baseline study on rice-based production systems in India

ScaleDirect Team initiates a robust baseline study in India to later inform measurement of the project's impact on improving environmental and socio-economic sustainability of rice production in the region.

July 26, 2024, India - Gearing up to measure the impact of its climate-smart technologies in rice-based food systems, the Rice Breeding Innovation of  the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in partnership with Bayer Crop Science, launched a baseline survey last July 8 to support its Climate Smart Rice Technology Project.

Also dubbed as "ScaleDirect," the four-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) aims to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in Asia and Africa by introducing, validating, and scaling climate-smart technologies and agronomic practices, focusing on the widespread adoption of direct-seeded rice (DSR) systems.

Results of the ScaleDirect baseline survey shall serve as the basis for gauging its impact on key areas, which include: increasing farm productivity, reducing poverty, improving farmers' resilience, and promoting gender inclusion in its partner communities. By tapping involvement from over 800 rice farmers in Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh in India, the survey intends to establish baseline information on the region’s rice farming practices and farm characteristics, rice production and post-production processes, varietal preferences, as well as the farmers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions on mechanized direct seeded rice as a viable farming method.

To ensure efficient and quality data collection on the ground, nine (9) local enumerators were trained from June 25 to 28 at the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC). The participants were strategically selected based on their work history with IRRI and familiarity with the target locale.

Facilitated by the Seed System and Agronomy team with technical guidance by the Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Impact Assessment (MELIA) unit from IRRI, the training involved a mix of lectures and hands-on activities. A detailed demonstration and pre-testing of the Survey Solutions tool then followed these discussions to test the sensitivity of the questions and usability of the tool. The team led by seed system expert Sk Mosharaf also provided the participants with guidance on protocols and etiquette for field engagements.

These capacity-building sessions centered on implementing appropriate MELIA studies support the unit’s objective of facilitating needs—and evidence-based programming and implementation across projects. In the long run, MELIA envisions these activities to strengthen its advocacy of mainstreaming quality monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for institute-wide learning and adaptive management.

The baseline study is set to be replicated in Tanzania within the year, followed by Bangladesh, Kenya, and Mozambique next year.

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